Bold opening: The Diamondbacks are counting on a deep rotation, even as Merrill Kelly’s MRI results hang in the balance.
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — Arizona must wait until Monday to learn what the MRI of Merrill Kelly’s back reveals.
Kelly, who re-signed with the D-backs in December on a two-year, $40 million deal after being traded to the Rangers last season, was pegged as the Opening Day starter by manager Torey Lovullo early in camp.
“I don’t have a concern level yet,” Kelly said Saturday. “Because we don’t know, at the end of the day, what it is. I mean, the last week and a half, I’ve been throwing, been doing everything normal, and it didn’t kind of rear its head until today. So I’m going to take that as a good thing, the fact that I’ve felt it for that long but I’ve still been able to do everything.”
The club hopes for more clarity on Monday. If the issue requires time off, Arizona can lean on its growing depth in starting pitching, reinforced by the recent re-signing of Zac Gallen.
Gallen, signed four days into camp, joins a six-man veteran group that already includes Kelly, Ryne Nelson, Eduardo Rodríguez, Brandon Pfaadt and Mike Soroka, who joined as a free agent at the Winter Meetings.
GM Mike Hazen praised the strategic benefit: “One of the huge benefits of doing this, not only having a talent the caliber of Zac, but also it builds out another really good starting pitcher in our rotation. I don’t know how many starting pitchers we used last year. I’m assuming we’re going to use the same amount this year.”
Last season’s group looked plentiful on paper with Corbin Burnes, Gallen, Kelly, Pfaadt, Rodríguez, Nelson and Jordan Montgomery. Yet injuries reshaped the plan, with Montgomery out after Tommy John surgery and Burnes sidelined early in the season.
The Diamondbacks are also refining how they deploy the ABS (automatic ball-strike) system in Spring Training and into the regular season. Lovullo outlined a practical approach: the catcher and batter will be the primary challengers, not the pitcher, who may be too far removed from the action to evaluate confidently.
“We discussed that if you’re 100 percent certain and you’re the catcher or hitter, you can fire and you can challenge,” Lovullo said. “I don’t want us to be left without a challenge in the seventh, eighth or ninth inning when the other team has theirs. It’s a team challenge, a team concept, and you want to try to win innings, not at-bats, that’s the starting point.”
And this is where the plan gets interesting: the Diamondbacks aim to preserve late-inning leverage by ensuring the lineup and coaching staff stay aligned on when to challenge calls, even as they navigate early-season ambiguity about the rotation and ABS implementation.
Controversial thought to consider: is relying on a deep rotation enough if one or two anchors miss time, or will the team need to recalibrate its bullpen emphasis and offense to cover the gaps? What do you think—should a team bet more on depth or riskier, high-upside upside arms to gain a true advantage? Share your take in the comments.
