Diamondbacks lose All-Star SS to torn meniscus

Diamondbacks shortstop Geraldo Perdomo has a torn meniscus that will require surgery, The Arizona Republic’s Nick Piecoro reports. The procedure will sideline Perdomo for at least a month. 

Piecoro suggests that rookie Blaze Alexander will get the lion’s share of playing time at shortstop while Perdomo is on the shelf, though he adds that the club is expected to select the contract of veteran Kevin Newman. The club’s 40-man roster is currently full, meaning a corresponding move will be necessary to officially add Newman to the roster assuming Arizona doesn’t place Perdomo or another injured player on the 60-day IL.

Perdomo, 24, earned an All Star nod last year on the back of a strong first half that saw him slash an excellent .285/.388/.435 through the end of June, though he struggled the rest of the way with a line of just .205/.318/.280 after July 1. Even so, Perdomo’s switch-hitting bat offered the Diamondbacks roughly league average offense and defense overall last year in addition to strong baserunning that saw him go 16-for-20 on steal attempts. Perhaps most impressive was Perdomo’s plate discipline, as he struck out just 17.4% of the time last year while walking at an excellent 12.9% clip, and those numbers largely held up even as his production cratered in the second half.

Those qualities were enough to earn Perdomo the nod as the club’s starting shortstop over top prospect Jordan Lawlar this spring. Unfortunately, Arizona will now be without both players. Lawlar is set to miss at least the first two months of the season after undergoing surgery on his thumb in March. The pair of injuries set the stage for Alexander, a 24-year-old who the club drafted in the 11th-round of the 2018 draft, to take over as the club’s starting shortstop for the time being.

Six games into his major league career, Alexander has held his own with an impressive .278/.350/.444 slash line in 20 trips to the plate while splitting time between shortstop and second base. A career .288/.408/.464 hitter at the Triple-A level, Alexander has posted walk rates above 10% consistently throughout his career despite struggling to make consistent contact. He figures to offer a quality glove and decent on-base skills to the Diamondbacks at shortstop.

Should Alexander falter in his first run of regular playing time at the big league level, the Diamondbacks appear poised to turn to Newman. Once a first-round pick by the Pirates in the 2015 draft, the 30-year-old has generally been a below average hitter through his career, slashing a collective .259/.304/.358 (77 wRC+) in six seasons with Pittsburgh and Cincinnati. While those offensive numbers certainly leave something to be desired, Newman makes up for it with a 12% career strikeout rate, a roughly league average 96 wRC+ against lefties and strong defense all around the infield. Newman should act as a right-handed complement to left-hitting bench piece Jace Peterson, who has struggled to a .553 OPS against southpaws in his career.