Diamondbacks Suffer Another Surprise Pitching Injury

The Arizona Diamondbacks' pitching staff continues to take hits.

Aug 2, 2025; West Sacramento, California, USA; Arizona Diamondbacks pitcher Kevin Ginkel (37) throws a pitch against the Athletics during the ninth inning at Sutter Health Park. Mandatory Credit: Dennis Lee-Imagn Images | Dennis Lee-Imagn Images

The Arizona Diamondbacks have suffered yet another injury to their pitching staff. On Monday, right-hander Kevin Ginkel was placed on the 15-day Injured List with a right shoulder sprain, retroactive to August 3.

In a corresponding move, right-hander Andrew Hoffmann has been called up from Triple-A Reno.

Arizona Diamondbacks' Kevin Ginkel Goes on IL

Ginkel will take his second stint on the IL this season. With the loss of co-closers A.J. Puk and Justin Martinez, and the recent injury and subsequent trade of Shelby Miller, Ginkel had taken over closing duties for the D-backs.

Ginkel began his season on a rough note, seeing his ERA skyrocket above 10.00 after a handful of blowup outings.

But since July 25, he had allowed just two earned runs over 11 appearances. Ginkel closed out August 2's win over the Athletics on 20 pitches in a non-save situation, but manager Torey Lovullo chose to turn to Kyle Nelson with a three-run lead in the next game.

As it turns out, there was a reason for that decision.

Lovullo said Ginkel had been dealing with some discomfort for the previous week, but felt good enough to pitch Saturday.

"We knew that he wasn't 100 percent, but in no way did we feel like there was going to be anything that said he couldn't pitch. We were just going to use him in certain scenarios and certain situations," Lovullo said.

The manager said Ginkel was unavailable Sunday and received imaging that revealed a sprain in his shoulder. This injury is unrelated to the shoulder inflammation that held the righty out of the first portion of the season.

The D-backs' bullpen continues to suffer blow after blow. Ginkel, Andrew Saalfrank and Kendall Graveman had taken over the majority of the high-leverage innings, with Jalen Beeks returning from injury on August 1 and Ryan Thompson still on the IL with a scapular strain.

Diamondbacks Call Up Andrew Hoffmann

Hoffmann, 25, was the return in the trade that sent outfielder Randal Grichuk to the Kansas City Royals.

Related Content: Diamondbacks Trade Platoon Outfielder to Royals for Reliever

The right-hander pitched to a 2.25 ERA over 32 appearances, 40 innings with the Royals' Triple-A affiliate. He made two scoreless appearances with the Reno Aces before his swift call-up.

Hoffmann comes with an upper-90s fastball, a changeup and a slider. The D-backs are looking for as much high-quality contribution out of their battered bullpen as possible, and Hoffmann is the latest to get his shot.