SCOTTSDALE\u00a0 \u2013 Diamondbacks pitcher Merrill Kelly will miss Opening Day with a back injury, manager Torey Lovullo said Wednesday.<\/p>\n
Kelly, 37, was diagnosed with intercostal nerve irritation, but testing revealed no structural damage.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Lovullo wouldn\u2019t name a timetable for the right-hander’s return, but was optimistic that the former Arizona State pitcher would recover soon.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s what we\u2019re going to remain hopeful for,\u201d Lovullo said. \u201cHe was out there actually throwing today. So once we got the news that he could resume certain baseball activities, we\u2019re going to take advantage of that.\u201d<\/p>\n
Kelly signed a two-year, $40 million contract with the Diamondbacks last December, marking his second stint with Arizona after the Diamondbacks traded him to the Texas Rangers at the 2025 MLB trade deadline for pitchers Kohl Drake, Mitch Bratt and David Hagaman.<\/p>\n
Although Kelly looked forward to taking the mound March 26 on Opening Day against the back-to-back defending World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers, the main thing he wants to focus on is getting healthy.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI had a little bit of a conversation with Merrill on that,\u201d Lovullo said. \u201cOf course, he\u2019s a little bit bummed about that honor, but the most important thing is his health.\u201d<\/p>\n
Lovullo wouldn\u2019t name an Opening Day starter yet, saying he wanted to make sure everyone gets a fair chance to compete for the spot.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI believe that everybody gets equal opportunity, but I balanced that out last year, and I can\u2019t use my own evidence against me when I said Zac Gallen, with my history and my time with him, gave him the nod over Corbin Burnes,\u201d Lovullo said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ll add it all up, and I\u2019ll put everything into my own personal hopper and then make that decision.\u201d<\/p>\n
The leading candidates to take the mound Opening Day for the Diamondbacks include Gallen and Ryne Nelson. Gallen started for Arizona on Wednesday in a spring training game against the Dodgers, finishing his inning with two strikeouts and only one hit allowed.<\/p>\n
\u201cI feel I’m in good shape, never really been in bad shape. But yeah, I just feel I\u2019m in a really good spot,\u201d Gallen said after his brief outing, throwing 23 pitches, 14 for strikes.<\/p>\n
Gallen, who had a rough 2025 season, compiling a pitching-career worst in ERA (4.83), walks allowed (66) and WAR (1.1), said he wasn\u2019t sure how many pitches he would throw in his next outing.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cNo idea,” he said. “Whatever the collaborative effort between the training staff, Torey and whatever we feel is the safest way to go about this thing.\u201d<\/p>\n
Nelson was one of the more consistent starters for the Diamondbacks last season, going 7-3 in 23 starts with career highs in strikeouts (132) and innings pitched (154.0).<\/p>\n
Gallen was the Opening Day starter for Arizona in 2025, but arrived late this year to spring training due to contract negotiations. After officially re-signing with the Diamondbacks on Feb. 13, he has gotten up to speed quickly, Lovullo said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s been going very well for him. He\u2019s a very process oriented player,\u201d Lovullo said. \u201cHe came in real good shape. I can tell that from when he was getting his workouts done.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThe fact that it\u2019s been two weeks since he signed, the fact that he\u2019s turning around and he\u2019s starting a game today, tells me that story in a lot of ways. I\u2019m anxious to see what he looks like. We know very, very well he\u2019s going to be on the attack for one inning, and then we\u2019ll continue to build him up from there.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Other options for an Opening Day starter include free-agent signing Michael Soroka, who last pitched for the Chicago Cubs in 2025, and Eduardo Rodriguez, who had a 9-9 record and 5.02 ERA with the Diamondbacks last season.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThe build-up portion of it is going to be important, and everyone is on the table right now, but I don\u2019t know the answer,\u201d Lovullo said.<\/p>\n
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\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tDiamondbacks pitcher Merrill Kelly out indefinitely with back injury, will miss Opening Day<\/p>\n
Keythin Thomas, Cronkite News
\nFebruary 25, 2026<\/p>\n
SCOTTSDALE\u00a0 \u2013 Diamondbacks pitcher Merrill Kelly will miss Opening Day with a back injury, manager Torey Lovullo said Wednesday.<\/p>\n
Kelly, 37, was diagnosed with intercostal nerve irritation, but testing revealed no structural damage.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Lovullo wouldn\u2019t name a timetable for the right-hander’s return, but was optimistic that the former Arizona State pitcher would recover soon.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s what we\u2019re going to remain hopeful for,\u201d Lovullo said. \u201cHe was out there actually throwing today. So once we got the news that he could resume certain baseball activities, we\u2019re going to take advantage of that.\u201d<\/p>\n
Kelly signed a two-year, $40 million contract with the Diamondbacks last December, marking his second stint with Arizona after the Diamondbacks traded him to the Texas Rangers at the 2025 MLB trade deadline for pitchers Kohl Drake, Mitch Bratt and David Hagaman.<\/p>\n
Although Kelly looked forward to taking the mound March 26 on Opening Day against the back-to-back defending World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers, the main thing he wants to focus on is getting healthy.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI had a little bit of a conversation with Merrill on that,\u201d Lovullo said. \u201cOf course, he\u2019s a little bit bummed about that honor, but the most important thing is his health.\u201d<\/p>\n
Lovullo wouldn\u2019t name an Opening Day starter yet, saying he wanted to make sure everyone gets a fair chance to compete for the spot.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI believe that everybody gets equal opportunity, but I balanced that out last year, and I can\u2019t use my own evidence against me when I said Zac Gallen, with my history and my time with him, gave him the nod over Corbin Burnes,\u201d Lovullo said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ll add it all up, and I\u2019ll put everything into my own personal hopper and then make that decision.\u201d<\/p>\n
The leading candidates to take the mound Opening Day for the Diamondbacks include Gallen and Ryne Nelson. Gallen started for Arizona on Wednesday in a spring training game against the Dodgers, finishing his inning with two strikeouts and only one hit allowed.<\/p>\n
\u201cI feel I’m in good shape, never really been in bad shape. But yeah, I just feel I\u2019m in a really good spot,\u201d Gallen said after his brief outing, throwing 23 pitches, 14 for strikes.<\/p>\n
Gallen, who had a rough 2025 season, compiling a pitching-career worst in ERA (4.83), walks allowed (66) and WAR (1.1), said he wasn\u2019t sure how many pitches he would throw in his next outing.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cNo idea,” he said. “Whatever the collaborative effort between the training staff, Torey and whatever we feel is the safest way to go about this thing.\u201d<\/p>\n
Nelson was one of the more consistent starters for the Diamondbacks last season, going 7-3 in 23 starts with career highs in strikeouts (132) and innings pitched (154.0).<\/p>\n
Gallen was the Opening Day starter for Arizona in 2025, but arrived late this year to spring training due to contract negotiations. After officially re-signing with the Diamondbacks on Feb. 13, he has gotten up to speed quickly, Lovullo said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s been going very well for him. He\u2019s a very process oriented player,\u201d Lovullo said. \u201cHe came in real good shape. I can tell that from when he was getting his workouts done.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThe fact that it\u2019s been two weeks since he signed, the fact that he\u2019s turning around and he\u2019s starting a game today, tells me that story in a lot of ways. I\u2019m anxious to see what he looks like. We know very, very well he\u2019s going to be on the attack for one inning, and then we\u2019ll continue to build him up from there.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Other options for an Opening Day starter include free-agent signing Michael Soroka, who last pitched for the Chicago Cubs in 2025, and Eduardo Rodriguez, who had a 9-9 record and 5.02 ERA with the Diamondbacks last season.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThe build-up portion of it is going to be important, and everyone is on the table right now, but I don\u2019t know the answer,\u201d Lovullo said.<\/p>\n
This article first appeared on Cronkite News and is republished here under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.<\/p>\n
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