MESA — Arizona Diamondbacks starter Brandon Pfaadt tossed 2.1 scoreless innings in his spring debut on Wednesday after taking a bit longer to get into game action due to left side tightness this offseason.
Pfaadt said he’s doing fine after hurting himself during offseason workouts, and he reached 25 pitches in Wednesday’s 3-1 win against the Athletics.
“I think just being aggressive, and we did that,” Pfaadt said was his goal. “We were pretty fastball heavy because they came out swinging. We wanted to work on the curveball in the third inning. Didn’t land the 3-2 pitch, which I wish I could have that one back. But it felt good. Stuff was moving great, and we were being aggressive.”
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Pfaadt admitted he was pretty hard on himself at the end of last season. His 12 quality starts ranked 24th in Major League Baseball, but his 5.25 ERA was fifth-highest among 52 qualified pitchers. It was a season of extreme highs and lows, including nine innings of shutout ball against San Francisco and eight runs with no outs recorded versus Washington.
Finding consistency both mentally and physically, Pfaadt says, has continued to be the focus as he enters his age 27 season.
“I think just mentally staying the same person, going out there and being mentally consistent as I can,” Pfaadt said. “I know the physical routines are there. I’m just now locking in on the mental routine and going out there and pitching with confidence.”
“When I went and looked back at it, there was a lot of good in last year, a lot of good outings,” Pfaadt told Arizona Sports’ Wolf & Luke. “Some of the outings that didn’t go as planned, I learned a lot from those. … I think just being consistent, going out there and knowing I have the ability to go out there and do my job.”
On the physical side, Pfaadt said he has worked on his newly added cutter and on tightening his slider this offseason. He worked a six-pitch mix last season, and the cutter was statistically the pitch opponents did the least damage against. His slider was his most effective pitch from 2023-24, but hitters were on it last year (.522).
Merrill Kelly to throw a bullpen
Lovullo had been saying recently that Merrill Kelly (intercostal nerve irritation) would need to get on a mound soon to map out a path where he does not start the season on the injured list.
In a positive development, the plan is for Kelly to throw a bullpen on Thursday.
“Probably somewhere in the 15-pitch range,” Lovullo said on Wednesday. “So that’s really encouraging news. I had a chance to speak to him directly and he said he feels good, good enough to get up back on the mound and begin that progression.”
Kelly has been ruled out to start on Opening Day at Dodger Stadium but could slot into the back of the rotation and pitch in Arizona’s opening home series against the Detroit Tigers.
He has been asymptomatic in his recent catch play after reportedly having a cortisone and lidocaine shot.
“The medical team will put a calendar together and it’s a target date on this day,” Lovullo told Arizona Sports’ Burns & Gambo on Tuesday. “And then it’s worked backwards five days at a time. And then you go the next day, what does that look like? And each day that Merrill is giving us the go, we’re closer to understanding when that day will become.”
Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo said it's looking like Merrill Kelly will throw a bullpen tomorrow, which is a good sign for the pitcher staying off the injured list to start the year. pic.twitter.com/6fD52m7LHN
— Arizona Sports (@AZSports) March 4, 2026
Corbin Carroll facing live arms and pitching machines
Corbin Carroll (broken hamate) is also making progress in his push to be ready for Opening Day.
Lovullo said Carroll has been hitting against coaches pitching overhand, and the next step was facing pitching machines with some higher velocity on Wednesday.
“He’s doing everything he can possibly do to push the limits and get back as soon as possible,” Lovullo said.
Diamondbacks notes
Ryne Nelson will start Thursday against the Chicago Cubs at Sloan Park. Ryan Thompson and Kevin Ginkel are on the list of relievers. Tommy Troy went 3-for-4 with three singles on Wednesday. He is 11-for-21 this spring. “Two (hits) the other way, I love that,” Lovullo said. “It means you’re staying on the baseball.” Troy played some center field last season in Triple-A Reno, but Lovullo said the plan is for him to stick at second base for the time being. Demetrio Crisantes, Arizona’s No. 5 prospect on MLB Pipeline, returned to game action after having missed most of last season with a shoulder injury. The 21-year-old hits a single to left in his lone at-bat. Relievers Jonathan Loaisiga, Brandyn Garcia, Kade Strowd and Philip Abner delivered scoreless innings. Paul Sewald allowed one run on two hits, and his fastball velocity averaged 91.6 mph — up from last year (90.4 mph) but slightly down from his spring debut on Saturday (92 mph). D-backs outfield prospect Jakey Josepha joined Team Netherlands for the World Baseball Classic, replacing Jurickson Profar, who was suspended for violating MLB’s performance-enhancing drugs policy.Follow @alexjweiner
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