Diamondbacks Activate Key Reliever From Injured List

The Arizona Diamondbacks have reinstated right-handed reliever Kevin Ginkel from the 15-day Injured List, the team announced Tuesday. To clear a spot for him on the roster, right-hander Drey Jameson was officially optioned to Triple-A Reno, as was reported Monday.

Ginkel began the 2025 season on the Injured List, working his way back from right shoulder inflammation, though no surgery was required. He made a pair of rehab assignments with the Reno Aces, and now joins the D-backs in New York as they prepare to face the Mets for a three-game series.

Ginkel, 31, has been a major member of Arizona's relief corp in the past handful of seasons, emerging as one of MLB's top setup men in the 2023 season. Ginkel's late-inning heroics were a critical piece of the D-backs' march to the World Series two seasons ago, pitching to a 2.48 ERA.

In 2024, his ERA did take a bit of a hit, though his peripherals suggested he was pitching just as well as the previous year. He threw to a 3.21 ERA and 2.85 FIP over a career-high 70 innings. His walks per nine were a career-best 1.93 last season.

Ginkel surrendered a pair of runs in his first rehab outing, but then tossed an efficient scoreless inning his next time out with a punchout and no baserunners allowed. His fastball velocity looked much like his usual number, sitting in the 94-96 MPH range.

Arizona's bullpen has struggled of late this season, as blown leads have become more and more frequent in recent weeks. The injuries to Ginkel and co-closer A.J. Puk have taken a toll, while flamethrower Justin Martinez was down for an extended period due to shoulder fatigue, and his velocity was down significantly in his recent save.

With Ginkel up, Jameson will look to fine-tune his stuff back in Triple-A for the time being. The fiery right-hander made a triumphant return to MLB action earlier this month, locking down an extra-inning save opportunity for the D-backs in his first taste of the majors since he went down with an elbow injury in 2023, and subsequently underwent Tommy John surgery.

Jameson began the year in Reno, tossing 6.2 innings and striking out 10, with two earned runs and no walks. But after his initial call-up to the majors, he struggled with location and hard contact giving up two runs in extra innings his next time out.

The Diamondbacks are in dire need of reinforcements to their bullpen, and Ginkel could provide just that. The righty has excelled at stranding inherited runners, and can be used both to put out mid-inning fires and to lock down late, high-leverage innings, assuming he can pitch as well as he has in recent seasons.

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