Diamondbacks catcher Gabriel Moreno is on track to return after the minimal 10-day stint on the injured list with a sprained left thumb. Manager Torey Lovullo told reporters, including the Arizona Republic’s Theo Mackie, that Moreno will not need to embark on a rehab assignment with a full-season minor league affiliate before getting activated from the IL.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!Torey Lovullo said Gabi Moreno will likely not need a rehab assignment. It sounds like he’ll be back Tuesday against the Dodgers if all goes well this weekend.
— Theo Mackie (@theo_mackie) June 29, 2024
As part of Friday’s health updates, Lovullo told reporters that Moreno would catch five innings with the team’s complex league squad. He already caught Zac Gallen’s bullpen session on Thursday.
Moreno sprained his left thumb in the Diamondbacks’ 5-4 win over the Philadelphia Phillies on June 21. While it’s unclear exactly which play it occurred on, he was looking at his left hand after a failed attempt to stretch a single into a double then later took a foul tip to the glove hand a couple innings later. He was pulled from the game in the sixth inning and was placed on the IL the next day.
While Moreno has been out, the team has relied on Tucker Barnhart and José Herrera behind the plate. He’ll be first eligible to be activated from the IL on July 1, although the next game will be against the Dodgers at the start of their Southern California road trip on July 2.
Gabriel Moreno expected to return to Diamondbacks lineup next week
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Michael McDermott covers the Arizona Diamondbacks and more for Burn City Sports. You can follow him on X via @MichaelMcDMLB
