The Diamondbacks have their decision with the rotation. Left-hander Jordan Montgomery will stay in the rotation when his spot comes up on Wednesday while right-hander Ryne Nelson told Jack Sommers from Arizona Diamondbacks on SI he will be moved to the bullpen for Wednesday alone.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!Manager Torey Lovullo gave a clarification, telling Jesse Friedman of PHNX Sports that Nelson will work out of the bullpen on Wednesday if needed and will start Friday if not. In that situation, they would roll with a six-man rotation one more turn through, kicking the decision down the road another week.
If the team ultimately chooses to bump Nelson to the bullpen the rest of the season, the move would be designed to get him more comfortable with the type of role he’d play in the postseason. Assuming Eduardo RodrÃguez and Merrill Kelly are fully healthy and able to go, those two would join Zac Gallen and Brandon Pfaadt as Arizona’s starting four for the postseason. Given the nature of off days in postseason baseball, they do not need more than four starting pitchers.
The Diamondbacks enter play on August 12 with a 65-53 record and having won six of their last seven. Nelson played a key role in that, with a 2.90 ERA in his past eight appearances, stabilizing the rotation while they waited for RodrÃguez and Kelly to return from shoulder injuries. Without a doubt, he should get heavy consideration for future starting opportunities next season. For the rest of the season, Arizona will roll with the starting five they planned to go with all season before injuries took hold.
It will be interesting to see how Montgomery finishes out the season. With just 44 games left, Montgomery is looking at nine remaining starts on the season if he finishes the season healthy. The Diamondbacks are clicking on all cylinders offensively, although the veteran left-hander’s recent track record is somewhat concerning. It will be interesting to see how this move plays out.
In other rotation news, left-hander Blake Walston has been activated from the 15-day injured list and optioned to Triple-A Reno. The Diamondbacks announced the roster move on X.
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Michael McDermott covers the Arizona Diamondbacks, Arizona Cardinals, and more for Burn City Sports. You can follow him on X via @MichaelMcDMLB
