Diamondbacks Morning Notebook March 24th

Jake McCarthy was back in the clubhouse after dealing with an undisclosed illness. Originally described as "flu like symptoms" by Lovullo when McCarthy first became ill, he was later described as being asymptomatic.  All of this terminology generally refers to a Covid infection, although that's never been disclosed.  

As of yesterday he was back in the clubhouse. He was trying to get back in the lineup yesterday but Lovullo and the medical staff felt it would be best to let him get his feet back under him and then play in a game Friday (today). Lineups have not yet been posted as of this writing. Lovullo said  McCarthy had been feeling fine the last few days, he's been hydrating and there is no weakness or fatigue. Lovullo said he has plenty of time to still get ready for opening day, and he that he looked good taking batting practice on Thursday. 

Ketel Marte was a late scratch from yesterday's lineup in Mesa as he was feeling "under the weather", but Lovullo said this was not the same situation as McCarthy, at least not right now. 

Carson Kelly does not have a timeline for return and Lovullo won't have a timeline for at least the next several weeks. He's in a sling and has clean break. On yesterday's television broadcast Steve Berthiaume seemed to allude to Kelly possibly being out "several months".  

Gabriel Moreno will need to take on the lions share of the playing time. Acquired in trade with the Toronto Blue Jays this past off season in exchange for Daulton Varsho, he'll need to get up to speed with the pitchers quickly. He's hit well in spring training, but workload may be an issue as he's never caught more than 67 games in a season. The primary competition for the backup spot appears to be between Jose Herrera and P.J. Higgins. Michael McDermott reviewed these players and options they present a few days ago.  

Merrill Kelly is not fully stretched out. He threw 61 pitches in a WBC game against Colombia, but then was only able to get in 36 pitches in the final against Japan on March 21st. Lovullo joked that there was no way he was going to call Kelly and ask him to go throw 40 pitches in the bullpen after being pulled in that game. (Kelly was visibly upset when pulled from the game). Lovullo conceded some level of concern with Kelly's ability to get stretched out in time for his first start of the season. Kelly will likely be limited to about 85 pitches in his first start of the season in Los Angeles. 

As a side note, Kelly seemed to reveal on the broadcast yesterday while being mic'd up that Zac Gallen will start on opening day next Thursday in Los Angeles against the Dodgers. This seemed a forgone conclusion, but had not been officially announced yet. MLB made formal announcements on each team's website this morning. Kelly thought he himself would be starting next Friday. TBD

Madison Bumgarner has been working on backfields as opposed to official Cactus League games where he has only made two appearances and thrown 6.1 innings. His most recent outing was this past Tuesday. Per Lovullo he "threw the ball good, was throwing all pitches in all areas, and was landing the pitches that he wanted to. He threw the ball well enough".  Lovullo said he did not know how many pitches Bumgarner threw however. 

5th Starter Competition:  Prior to yesterday's split squad games where both Drey Jameson and Ryne Nelson pitched,  Lovullo said that no decision had been made as yet and it will probably come down to the wire, as they want to take as much time as they can to evaluate them.  He indicated that both  Jameson and Nelson will get in one more game before the end of spring. The next opportunity to pitch in a major league exhibition game for either of them would be next Tuesday against the Guardians at Chase Field. (Game time 12:30). Whichever of the two does not pitch in that game would probably have to throw in a backfield or minor league game. You can read our full report on yesterday's outings here 

Pitch Com:  The device that allows catchers to call games electronically to their pitcher will now be a two way street, as the pitchers can wear the device and call their own game. This will probably work out better with veteran pitchers throwing to young catchers such as Gabriel Moreno. On the other hand, they probably don't want young pitchers without experience calling their own games yet.  Lovullo said that some  veteran pitchers are not suited to it and others. He joked that  "Andrew Chafin tried to do it and he about ripped that thing off and threw it back in the dugout. Some guys are meant for it and some guys are not. If a younger pitcher came to me and said they were interested in doing it I would need to see it before I just ran it out. I want it to be something they tried in spring training."