D-backs' big offseason acquisition shut down from throwing

Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo told the club’s beat that left-hander Eduardo Rodríguez has been shut down from throwing due to a left lat strain. Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic was among those who relayed the news. The lefty will open the season on the injured list, but his timeline is unclear apart from that.

Lovullo says Rodríguez will be shut down until he’s asymptomatic, but he doesn’t seem to know how long that will take, with video courtesy of Alex Weiner of AZ Sports. “I know you guys want to know lengths of time, all the common questions that I want to know,” he said. “But we don’t know that. It’s going to depend on how he progresses and how he’s feeling day by day. We’re going to assess it daily and then build it out from there. The return will be determined by the length of time that he’s down. And I can tell you that he’s been feeling better day by day.”

Rodríguez departed his start on Tuesday after just one inning with some lat discomfort, and it seems a strain has been found. If he remains out of action for a notable amount of time, he may need to start his spring training ramp-up period from scratch effectively.

It’s unwelcome news for the Diamondbacks, as Rodríguez was their big offseason splash to upgrade the rotation. The Snakes managed to get all the way to the World Series last year despite a starting mix so weak that they were doing bullpen games in the playoffs.

They signed Rodríguez to a four-year, $80M deal this winter with the hope of him stabilizing the rotation behind Zac Gallen and Merrill Kelly. That may come to pass eventually, but he’ll begin the season on the IL and have a questionable timeline until more information comes to light.

In the meantime, the Diamondbacks will have to fill out the rotation with fairly unproven hurlers. Brandon Pfaadt, Ryne Nelson and Tommy Henry are the most likely pitchers to fill in behind Gallen and Kelly. Nelson has the most regular season experience between those three, with just 162 1/3 innings. Henry’s 4.57 ERA is the lowest of the three. Pfaadt finished last year with a strong showing in the postseason, but he’s allowed seven earned runs in 5 2/3 innings this spring.

Despite being the reigning National League champions, the Snakes are likely facing a tough battle this year. The Dodgers are loaded with superstars while the Giants recently had Blake Snell and Matt Chapman fall into their laps. The Padres have battled a budget crunch this winter but still have lots of talent on the roster. The Diamondbacks' rotation is now back to the wobbly state it was in at the start of the offseason, so they will naturally be hoping for a quick return from Rodríguez.