Diamondbacks' Merrill Kelly scratched from start with shoulder injury

Diamondbacks right-hander Merrill Kelly was scratched from his start in San Francisco Sunday afternoon, with Kelly telling Steve Gilbert of MLB.com that he’s suffering from an injury involving his teres major strain. 

Nick Piecoro of The Arizona Republic adds that, per manager Torey Lovullo, Kelly has already undergone an MRI and is going to head back to Phoenix to be evaluated by team doctors. Piecoro adds that the club remains hopeful that the veteran hurler can avoid a stint on the injured list.

Missed time for Kelly would be a serious blow to the Diamondbacks’ rotation, which has already been without veteran southpaw Eduardo Rodriguez to this point in a season due to a lat strain. 

Losing Kelly, who sports a 3.26 ERA and 3.75 FIP over 67 starts dating back to the 2022 campaign, would compound the loss of Rodriguez and right-hander Ryne Nelson, who was placed on the injured list with a right elbow contusion last week. Kelly’s start Sunday afternoon went to right-hander Slade Cecconi, who posted a 4.33 ERA and 4.37 FIP in 27 innings of work for D-backs last year.

If Kelly misses more than just Sunday’s start, the club would likely need a fifth starter to go along with Cecconi, Zac Gallen, Jordan Montgomery and Brandon Pfaadt. 

One possible option could be left-hander Tommy Henry, who has pitched 154 1/3 innings of work across 30 appearances with the Diamondbacks since his debut in 2022 but has generally struggled in those appearances. While he posted a roughly league average ERA of 4.15 with the club last year, he allowed 15 runs (14 earned) in just 18 1/3 innings across four starts in the majors this year and holds a career ERA in the big leagues of 4.84 with a 5.18 FIP.

More from around the NL West:

• The Dodgers are having some rotation issues of their own, with Bobby Miller, Kyle Hurt and Emmet Sheehan all joining arms such as Clayton Kershaw, Dustin May and Tony Gonsolin on the shelf in recent weeks. Of the club’s many injured starters, right-hander Walker Buehler appears to be the only one nearing a return, though even he won’t be an immediate solution to the club’s rotation puzzle. As noted by Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register, manager Dave Roberts recently told reporters that Buehler will make at least one more rehab start before returning to the big league club. Said start is scheduled for Wednesday, meaning the earliest Buehler could be expected to pitch in the majors would be April 29. In the meantime, the club figures to lean on right-hander Landon Knack to fill out the rotation alongside Tyler Glasnow, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, James Paxton and Gavin Stone.
• The Giants placed right-hander Alex Cobb on the 60-day IL Saturday after the right-hander suffered a setback in his rehab from hip surgery earlier this week. While that news initially appeared to be somewhat ominous, Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area relays Sunday afternoon that manager Bob Melvin told reporters that it’s “realistic” that Cobb could be activated as soon as he’s first eligible to return on May 27. That’s great news for San Francisco, as the club has leaned on Cobb more than any pitcher besides Logan Webb since he joined the club on a two-year deal prior to the 2022 season. In that time, he’s made 56 starts for the Giants while pitching to a 3.80 ERA with an even stronger 3.41 FIP. Young righty Keaton Winn has filled out the club’s rotation alongside Webb, Blake Snell, Kyle Harrison and Jordan Hicks while Cobb has been out of commission.