MESA — Arizona Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo waited too long to name an Opening Day starter last year and announced his guy too soon this spring, as it turned out.
With Merrill Kelly ruled out for Opening Day but fighting to avoid the injured list, Lovullo said the Diamondbacks have a lot to sort out in the starting rotation beyond the season opener.
“(Eduardo Rodriguez), we don’t know what his workload is going to be. (Michael) Soroka is working and we don’t know what his workload is going to be. We can control (Zac) Gallen, Kelly, (Brandon) Pfaadt, (Ryne) Nelson but they’re all building up in their own way,” Lovullo said Thursday.
“Gallen might be one spin behind, we all know what’s going on with Merrill. Pfaadt might be one spin behind, too. We’ve got to get everybody caught up and throwing the baseball well and then we’ll figure it out.”
Rodriguez and Soroka are competing in the World Baseball Classic and away from the team. Gallen signed with the D-backs a week into camp and Pfaadt was slow played due to offseason side tightness that sprung up.
Whether Kelly progresses well enough to slide into the rotation out of spring training or not also plays a role in how the order has to line up.
Merrill Kelly throws a bullpen
Lovullo said Kelly threw 26 or 27 pitches and used his whole arsenal in a bullpen, which went according to plan.
“I got a chance to speak with him directly after the bullpen, and he said he feels really good,” Lovullo said.
Next steps are to be determined, but getting back on the hill at this point in spring was key for Kelly getting back in time for the season’s start.
Lovullo also mentioned catcher Adrian Del Castillo (calf injury) has been hitting in the cages and catching bullpens, but he has not started running yet.
Drey Jameson looks sharp
Reliever Drey Jameson was Arizona’s standout pitcher from a “clunker” 8-1 loss to the Chicago Cubs on Thursday, throwing a scoreless inning with a strikeout and a single allowed.
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Jameson told Arizona Sports’ Burns & Gambo on Tuesday that he had been feeling smooth with his motion after receiving botox injections to deal with a bone spur.
He sat on 97-98 mph with the heater during his third outing of the spring.
“I’m very pleased with the effort and me being fluid through the zone … and very effortless in my feel actually throwing the ball and it’s still coming out at that velocity, there’s a lot of hope,” Jameson said Tuesday.
Lovullo said Jameson does not have any specific restrictions on him, and he likes how the right-hander is competing for a spot on the roster.
Ryne Nelson on the new world of ABS
Ryne Nelson started on Thursday and was hammered early before settling in to 2.2 innings and two earned runs. He retired the final seven batters he faced, and his average fastball was up to 96.3 mph (95.7 mph in 2025).
“Honestly, it felt like the stuff was good,” Nelson said. “Pretty happy with how everything’s coming out right now. Just got to clean a couple things up.”
His outing started with a 2-1 count to Michael Busch. Nelson threw a cutter down, which was called a ball, and catcher Gabriel Moreno challenged. The call was upheld, and Busch smoked the next pitch for a double.
“I think there’s probably a bit of psychology there, where it’s like it could have been 2-2, or I think that sometimes maybe the zone can shift a little bit after a challenge,” Nelson said. “I’m not sure. We’ll have to see how it plays out over a full year.”
Moreno lost both of Arizona’s challenges within the first three innings, with the second being burned while he was batting.
Diamondbacks notes
There were a couple more hard-hit baseballs from young Diamondbacks. Jordan Lawlar led off the game with a line-drive single to left field on a sweeper headed toward the outside corner of the zone. Lawlar is batting .333 with a 1.297 OPS this spring. He later made a nice catch going back toward the wall in center field. Jose Fernandez nearly went yard, hitting a ball off the top of the wall in left field. His OPS this spring is up to .943. Pavin Smith had an up-and-down day, crushing an opposite-field home run to increase his OPS to 1.050. He also struggled to make a couple plays defensively at first base. Utility prospect Brady Counsell made his spring debut against the club his father, Craig Counsell, manages. He drew a walk in his lone at-bat and he was left on deck when the game ended. Arizona optioned pitchers Yilber Diaz and Dylan Ray to Triple-A Reno and reassigned catcher Gavin Logan to minor league camp. The big league camp roster is at 62 players. The Diamondbacks have a split-squad day on Friday. Right-hander Daniel Eagen will start the home game against the Chicago White Sox, while left-hander Mitch Bratt gets the away leg against the Milwaukee Brewers.Follow @alexjweiner
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