The Arizona Diamondbacks are calling up right-handed starting pitcher Cristian Mena, the team announced Tuesday. In a corresponding move, left-hander Tommy Henry has been optioned back to Triple-A Reno.
Mena has struggled of late, pitching to a 5.76 ERA over six starts for the Aces. However, that number is somewhat inflated, as he was blown up for eight runs in three innings on April 23, and the PCL offers little respite for pitchers.
He's struck out 33 over 29.2 innings of work thus far in 2025, and has recorded three Quality Starts.
Diamondbacks On SI has Mena as the No. 12 prospect in Arizona's system. The righty made his MLB debut with the D-backs' in 2024 where he made just one start. In that start, he pitched a mere three innings, allowing four runs on two homers and a trio of walks.
Of course, that must be graded on a curve, as Mena's sole major league outing was against the vaunted Los Angeles Dodgers offense.
Still, Mena has had some issues with his subpar fastball, and though he does feature a plus breaking ball, he's had difficulty with his command in his limited experience. The right-hander is still only 22 years old and has just 29 starts at the Triple-A level.
Though not confirmed as of this writing, it is likely that Mena will serve as a potential long relief option, rather than making starts for the D-backs, barring another injury. Right-hander Ryne Nelson had to vacate his long-man spot to pitch in the rotation on Monday, in the wake of Corbin Burnes being pushed back at least one start due to shoulder inflammation.
Lefty Tommy Henry was called up on May 4 to remedy that same long relief vacancy, and pitched 2.2 scoreless innings on Monday to help preserve Arizona's taxed bullpen. He gave up one base hit and hit a batter.
Henry had been roughed up in his six Triple-A starts, pitching to a 8.53 ERA with 15 walks against 25 strikeouts in 31.2 innings of work. He has recorded one Quality Start, but has given up five or more earned runs in five of his six starts. He'll head back down to re-join Reno's rotation in search of better fortune.
The Diamondbacks will face the Mets Tuesday, looking to avoid another series loss after dropping game one by one run. If Mena does get into game action, it's likely a sign that Arizona's starter has suffered a short outing, or things have gone wrong to some extent.
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