Why Hasn't Justin Martinez Been Pitching for the Diamondbacks?

Justin Martinez was seen bounding out of his locker, glove in hand Monday afternoon, when reporters asked if they could speak with him. He declined, as he was on his way out to the field for the 3:15 Reliever Throwing Program that was on the Diamondbacks schedule.

During the pregame press conference immediately after that, manager Torey Lovullo indicated that Martinez, who has not pitched since April 17 due to arm fatigue, should be ready to go on Tuesday. "All indications are that he's ready to go today, so far."

In fact, he was not ready to go. As the D-backs came to bat in the bottom of the eighth inning holding a 3-1 lead in a save situation, it was Shelby Miller warming up in the pen, not Martinez. The D-backs scored two runs, taking off the save chance and it was Juan Morillo who came in to pitch.

After the game Lovullo said that Martinez could be experiencing a "dead arm" phase and specified that the fatigue he was feeling was in his right shoulder. This was more detailed information than had previously been offered. At the same time Lovullo stated this was a short term issue and he believed that Martinez needed just one more day. On follow-up he said that no imaging is planned as of Tuesday night.

Up through April 17, Martinez had pitched in eight of the team's first 19 games. He had been lights out, throwing seven innings and 102 pitches. He's yet to allow a run, giving up just three hits, one walk, while striking out 10.

But the young and recently-extended fireballer was not available at all over the weekend in the three game series against the Cubs in Chicago. This was understandable on Friday night, as Lovullo was told by the training staff Martinez was a no-go to pitch three days in a row and needed more time to recover.

But by Sunday, in a close one run game that went extra innings, Martinez's absence stood out like a sore thumb. So much so that reliever Drey Jameson didn't realize he was going to pitch in the game until he realized that Martinez was not warming up.

After Sunday's game Lovullo said Martinez was "just a little bit fatigued, heavy workload for the first couple weeks of the season. With the built-in off day tomorrow, we feel like he's going to be 100% ready for the rest of the season."

Thus the developments Tuesday night were somewhat of a surprise and have raised concern levels.

On the surface, pitching in eight of the team's first 19 games, a pace for 68 games pitched did not seem like an exceptionally heavy workload. And there had been no indication in his pitch velocity that anything was amiss, as he's averaged over 100 MPH with his fastball in every game.

But it's not just innings and pitches that are thrown in games that amount to a pitcher's workload. How many times he warmed up, how many pitches thrown in the bullpen, during warmups on the mound, or just playing catch, are all mixed into a blender to create a usage and availability matrix created by the medical team. Lovullo adheres to that fairly religiously, with only occasional exceptions when he feels he has no choice.

All of this is against the backdrop of the injury to co-closer A.J. Puk, who is in the process of getting second and third opinions on his elbow MRI from two different surgeons. The ominous significance of that development is not lost on Lovullo, the training staff, or the organization as a whole. Lovullo also partially blamed himself for the Puk injury as well.

It's certainly understandable the team would want to be extra cautious in this situation. At the end of the day, they have to listen to the athlete, and if he says he's not right or ready, then they can't force the issue.

So we wait, along with an organization and fanbase that is holding its collective breath until the next time Martinez pitchers. We'll be here to report on all of it as it unfolds. Stay tuned.

Why Hasn't Justin Martinez Been Pitching for the Diamondbacks?

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