Diamondbacks move RHP Luke Weaver to 60-day IL, select LHP Ryan Buchter

The Diamondbacks have transferred right-hander Luke Weaver to the 60-day injured list, selected lefty Ryan Buchter and optioned righty Corbin Martin, per a team announcement.

Weaver landed on the 10-day IL with a strained shoulder on May 18, at which point he seemed optimistic he wouldn’t miss a significant amount of time. However, he will indeed be out for the foreseeable future, as the move to the 60-day IL means Weaver won’t come back until at least the second half of July.

This injury is yet another worrying setback for Weaver, who missed a large portion of 2019 with forearm and UCL injuries. Weaver appeared to be coming into his own that year, his first with the Diamondbacks after they acquired him from the Cardinals in the Paul Goldschmidt trade, but he hasn’t returned to form since. Weaver threw 52 innings of 6.58 ERA/4.52 SIERA ball last year, but he has logged a better 4.50 ERA/4.18 SIERA in 40 frames this season. The 27-year-old was also rather effective in his two most recent starts, in which he combined for 10 1/3 scoreless innings and gave up five hits with nine strikeouts against two walks, but it will be quite some time before he’s able to build on that.

Buchter, 34, inked a minor league pact with the Diamondbacks last winter after throwing a meager six innings as an Angel a season ago. Historically, Buchter has been a more-than-capable reliever with a few teams in the majors, where he has logged a 2.90 ERA with a 26.8 percent strikeout rate and an 11.2 percent walk rate over 220 frames. Buchter’s fielding-independent marks haven’t been as promising, yet he has still found a way to limit left-handed hitters to a .189/.269/.351 line and hold righties to a .209/.317/.378 mark.