PHOENIX — The Arizona Diamondbacks placed designated hitter Pavin Smith on the 10-day injured list with a strained right oblique on Sunday.
Arizona selected the contract of first baseman/outfielder Tristin English from Triple-A Reno to fill his spot on the active roster. To create a 40-man roster spot, Arizona recalled left-hander Tommy Henry and placed him on the 60-day IL (elbow surgery).
Smith has played 79 games this season, starting regularly against right-handed pitching as Joc Pederson had done last year before leaving in free agency. Smith started the season on a tear, hitting .342 with a 1.1.03 OPS through his first 28 games as one of the top producers in the game.
His post-April numbers have not been quite as impressive (.674 OPS), and for the season he’s hitting .261 with an .817 OPS.
The Diamondbacks on Sunday ran out a lineup with Randal Grichuk as the DH against a right-handed starter, which was a sign something was amiss.
English, meanwhile, receives his first major league opportunity after getting selected in the third round of the 2019 MLB Draft out of Georgia Tech.
The 28-year-old is a right-handed batter who has primarily played first base and right field this season, although he’s also taken reps at third base and left field.
English has slashed .338/.388/.549 with nine home runs and 23 doubles in 58 games with Triple-A Reno this year. He won the Pacific Coast League Player of the Week on June 22.
Diamondbacks injury notes
– The Diamondbacks previously placed reliever Ryan Thompson on the 15-day IL with a scapular strain after he had been dealing with upper back soreness. Bryce Jarvis was recalled to provide length in the bullpen.
– Manager Torey Lovullo revealed that Henry had surgery to repair his UCL with a brace, as opposed to a reconstruction. That could lessen the time Henry needs to return.
– Catcher Gabriel Moreno has yet to be cleared for full baseball activities, but he is doing what he can without his right hand. Moreno has a fractured right index finger and has been on the injured list since June 8.
“He’s doing base running, he’s receiving, catching games on the Trajekt (pitching machine),” Lovullo said. “We’re gonna try to get him the projectable starters for the time that he comes back, our starters to get their sequencing, start to let him stand in on the projectable starters that we’re gonna be facing on the Trajekt, so that’s gonna start to happen at some point over the All-Star break.”
– Drey Jameson has been on the minor league IL since May 20, and his rehab assignment in the complex league last week was cut short. He underwent imaging, and Lovullo said the source of his discomfort had to do with a bone fragment that chipped and is loose in his arm. It is not believed to have anything to do with his Tommy John surgery he underwent in September 2023.
“Whether they go in there and remove that, I’m not sure,” Lovullo said. “Whether they let it lodge (in a muscle), which a lot of times that’s the case, once it lodges in a comfortable spot, he just pitches with it.”
No timetable was given, as Jameson has to get asymptomatic first.
