Diamondbacks Give Worrying Injury News on Gabriel Moreno, Pavin Smith

Arizona Diamondbacks hitters Gabriel Moreno and Pavin Smith are both dealing with forearm tightness according to manager Torey Lovullo (first reported by AZCentral's José Romero).

For Moreno, it's the right forearm. Smith's issue is to his left. Both players will sit out Friday night's game with the Kansas City Royals. Moreno will have an MRI — Smith will not.

“We thought we would use some extra caution and get him off the field, let him rest up,” Lovullo said of Moreno (via Alex Weiner of AZSports). “It’s something that’s been lingering for a couple days and we just want to knock it out and make sure we get to the bottom of how he’s feeling.”

Lovullo also said Moreno "barely" feels the tightness when throwing and is not affected by it when hitting.

Arizona Diamondbacks' Moreno, Smith Dealing with Injuries

Arizona Diamondbacks catcher Gabriel Moreno (14) during spring training workouts at Salt River Fields on Feb. 13, 2026, Scottsdale. | Rob Schumacher/The Republic / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Per MLB's Steve Gilbert, Moreno has been dealing with the forearm tightness for several days. Arizona's star catcher had reportedly thought he would be able to play on Friday night, but had to shut down those hopes.

Moreno has had a difficult injury stretch in recent seasons, struggling to maintain optimal health and remain on the field. He missed a large portion of 2025 with a hairline fracture in his hand.

Moreno hit .285/.353/.433 in just 83 games last season. He had been struggling to collect hits in spring training, but was generally hitting the ball hard. He crushed his first home run of spring training on March 7 — a mammoth shot nearly to the Salt River Fields concourse that traveled 460 feet. That was the young catcher's career long.

Losing both a Gold Glove catcher and a top-order hitter for significant time would be a serious blow to an already somewhat thin group of hitters. If he is out extended time, the D-backs' catching contingent would likely be veteran James McCann and journeyman Aramis Garcia, as Adrian Del Castillo is currently dealing with a calf injury and may not be ready for opening day.

Smith's issue does not appear to be as serious if imaging is not required, although that is a development that may come with time. Similarly to Moreno, Smith was not able to stay healthy in the 2025 season, hitting to a .258/.362/.434 slash with eight homers in only 87 games of action.

While Smith has struggled to replicate the success he had in a heavy platoon role during the 2024 regular season, he still figures to be a key top-order bat against right-hand pitching, while platooning at first base alongside veteran Carlos Santana.

Arizona's depth, which has already been tested in 2025 and during 2026 spring training, might be getting that much thinner.

Of course, neither the tightness itself nor the announcement of an MRI automatically guarantees a lengthy downtime, though it is somewhat concerning that Moreno had to have imaging after dealing with it for multiple days.

Diamondbacks On SI will continue to report on the injury status of both players.