Back Injury Sidelines J.J. Putz

In what has been a pretty quiet spring in terms of injuries, the D’Backs got some concerning news regarding their new closer on Friday. J.J. Putz was scratched from a Friday night appearance against the Seattle Mariners due to back stiffness. The ninth inning man couldn’t get loose when warming up in the pen. The injury flared up during the afternoon and the team felt that it was best if Putz got a few days of rest. This is all coming a few days after Putz was roughed up in his second outing of the spring where he didn’t retire a single of the five batters that he faced. This is the first time that Putz has had such an injury. Manager Kirk Gibson said that it could be minor and that “it may just go away.” With less two weeks to the start of the regular season, it doesn’t make sense to rush him back. If Putz were to miss an extended period of time, Juan Gutierrez would get the first crack at the ninth inning job. Lets just hope it doesn’t com...