The injury bug struck again and Nelson is out. Who would you like to see be first in line to replace him?<\/p>\n
James Attwood: Brandon Pfaadt. Pfaadt\u2019s future is as a starter, whether that is as a #3 or as a #5, he\u2019s still a starter for now. Pfaadt has also had some modest success at the MLB level, where the other candidates have not yet had the chance. Given that the team\u2019s injury issues have gone critical, Pfaadt goes from mop-up duty in blowouts to mop-up duty in the rotation. They need a pitcher who can go 5-7 innings and they need him now.<\/p>\n
samath: I think we\u2019ll have seen Nelson\u2019s spot in the rotation come up by the time this publishes, so it\u2019s kind of a moot point.<\/p>\n
Makakilo: In the minors, Brandon Pfaadt had time to stretch out and make minor tweaks to his pitching. It will be exciting to see his progress, even if his first starts are short.<\/p>\n
DBacksEurope: \u201cLike\u201d is a push. Despite the ERA he has, I\u2019m pretty high on Ryne Nelson. He has been a good rotation arm the past few years and between all those multimillion dollar arms we\u2019ve seen the past seasons, probably one of the most reliable though not spectacular. I think it is a hard loss. He might get back at the end of the season, but with Nelson gone, an important member of the team is gone and it might costs us wins. Who do I want to see? Right now Yilber Diaz is the one. The most logical option is Pfaadt though I think Pfaadt is a sunk cost. Let\u2019s see what the young arms have to offer.<\/p>\n
Ben: I would like to see Corbin Burnes replace him, but that\u2019s obviously not happening. I would have guessed that Brandon Pfaadt would be in line to replace him, but he\u2019s only up to around 50 pitches in his last start. The same goes for Mitch Bratt, the highest pitching prospect who could reasonably step up, but is also coming back from injury.<\/p>\n
Soroka left Friday night\u2019s game early (ultimate result unknown at time of question writing). If he misses time, who should be the second in line to take over a rotation spot?<\/p>\n
James Attwood: Soroka is headed to the IL. It\u2019s just a matter of how long he will be there. If it is going to be for more than two or three starts, then it will be time to promote Mitch Bratt or Kohl Drake. Drake has been getting shelled in Reno, but that is not necessarily indicative of his talent. At the same time, if he has low confidence from getting shelled, he may need some more work.<\/p>\n
samath: Wasn\u2019t the point of sending Pfaadt down to Reno to get him stretched out so he could start again? If that\u2019s really not possible, bullpen games until he\u2019s ready?<\/p>\n
Makakilo: If he misses time, I hope that Diamondbacks have been developing an out-of-sight but very talented pitcher in the minors that they can call up.<\/p>\n
DBacksEurope: I think Soroka will be fine, that is what he said and what I want to believe. If we lose him too, well, the Diamondbacks are doomed.<\/p>\n
Ben: In the alternate world where Burnes is still available, I\u2019d pick him. Instead, it looks like it will be Jose Cabrera, who has made just three starts with Reno, who will at least initially take Soroka\u2019s start. Maybe the team\u2019s plan is to use Yilber Diaz in some kind of piggyback situation with someone else?<\/p>\n
Is there a point where you would believe that the Diamondbacks need to reevaluate how they train their players due to ongoing injury, or does it all just come down to bad luck?<\/p>\n
James Attwood: I think there is probably an argument to be made that the team needs to make some adjustments when it comes to rehabilitating players. This is far from a new phenomenon for Arizona. With the excessive pressure on the front office to win this year, and the lacks of organizational depth across the board, it may be that some timetables have been pushed forward a bit more than they should have been. Some of that is on players trying to get back or push through. Some of that is on the team for allowing them to.<\/p>\n
samath: Eh, pitchers get injured all the time, MLB-wide.<\/p>\n
Makakilo: First, an unsurprising fact. Then let\u2019s consider three top-level views on team injuries.<\/p>\n
UNSURPRISING FACT: The Dodgers lead the Majors in days lost to the injured list. \u201cThe Dodgers, who have had the oldest average age of MLB hitters in that span [2024 to 2026], and the game\u2019s biggest payroll, unsurprisingly led the league in days missed on the big-league IL.\u201d Per the following linked article.<\/p>\n
https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/athletic\/7330754\/2026\/06\/04\/baseball-injuries-organizations-mets-yankees-orioles\/<\/p>\n
VIEW ONE. Injuries are correlated to team age. Two 2026 facts from SpoTrac back that up that view. FACT 1. The Diamondbacks\u2019 team age of 29.3 years ranked as 9th oldest (SpoTrac) FACT 2. The Diamondbacks\u2019 cumulative injury cash payroll of $25.8 Million ranked as the 10th highest in the Majors (SpoTrac). VIEW TWO. Consistency over time enhances the effectiveness of procedures to minimize injuries. Backing that up are the following facts.<\/p>\n
FACT 1. From 2024 to 2026, the Cardinals had the least days lost to the injured list per this article.<\/p>\n
https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/athletic\/7330754\/2026\/06\/04\/baseball-injuries-organizations-mets-yankees-orioles\/<\/p>\n
FACT 2. Roster Resource shows that 8 of the 9 players in the Cardinals batting lineup were drafted by the Cardinals. My conclusion is that whatever they are doing to prevent injuries has been consistently done over many years.<\/p>\n
VIEW THREE. My view is that in 2025, the Diamondbacks had an injury problem. It may be obvious, but I strongly suspect the same will be said about 2026. Supporting that view: In 2025, the Diamondbacks lost 11.9 WAR, which was the 6th highest in the Majors, per this link to a FanGraphs article. https:\/\/blogs.fangraphs.com\/which-teams-have-suffered-the-most-from-injuries\/<\/p>\n
DBacksEurope: It is probably a case of bad luck but the problem is that there is no strong starting pitching in the pipeline unless we acquire it from elsewhere. That is the problem the Diamondbacks need to address.<\/p>\n
Ben: If Mike Hazen and the entire coaching staff is fired at the end of the season – a definite possibility if the team misses the playoffs again – then I\u2019m sure everything about the staff will be reevaluated. But outside of that extreme situation, I think it has more to do with bad luck than anything else. I understand that these are athletes at the height of their capabilities, but Jordan Lawlar\u2019s run down first base that eventually resulted in an IL-worthy hamstring pull looked about as routine as one could be. He even jogged off the field with no support. Afterwards, Torey remarked that Lawlar\u2019s body might have some uniqueness to its soft tissue. I don\u2019t quite know how the training and conditioning staff could have done anything differently that would have prevented an injury on that play.<\/p>\n