Diamondbacks' Starting Catcher to Miss Weeks with Injury

The Diamondbacks will be without their starting catcher for "weeks, not days," according to manager Torey Lovullo. Lovullo revealed in his weekly appearance on Burns & Gambo that Gabriel Moreno has a hairline fracture on the metacarpal bone in his right hand.

Diamondbacks' Gabriel Moreno to Miss Significant Time

"He's got a hairline in his pointer finger, just below the knuckle, in the middle of his hand, metacarpal," Lovullo said.

Moreno initially suffered the injury in the rain-soaked game in Cincinnati. With the Diamondbacks and Reds playing through a downpour, Cristian Mena spiked a pitch that hit Moreno in the right hand.

That game proved to be costly on the injury front, not just for Moreno, as Mena suffered a teres major strain in that game.

While the injury initially kept Moreno out of the lineup for three games, the hand soreness returned. Moreno was scratched from the lineup Friday and did not play during the series in Toronto. He was placed on the 10-day injured list on Thursday. The team sent him out for imaging, which revealed the extent of the injury.

With the fractured hand, Moreno went 2-for-12 at the plate with a three-run home run and a single in three games. The home run had an exit velocity of 110.3 MPH.

"One thing I want to say about Gabi is, you can remember some of the at-bats he had, he had quality at-bats. He was doing that with a broken hand, broken finger; that's hard to do.

"The way the ball's coming in there, and the velocity it's coming in there, he would block out that pain. High pain threshold, he got some big hits for us. Super proud of him for going out there and having a true team moment," Lovullo said.

On top of Moreno's injury, the Diamondbacks' catching depth has taken a hit. Adrian Del Castillo, one of the organization's top prospects, was placed on the 7-day IL Friday with a lower back strain. Aramis Garcia was added back to the major league roster when Moreno was placed on the injured list.

Lovullo did not give any specifics on when the Diamondbacks' starting catcher will be back in the lineup.

"We've got to get him asymptomatic, and I'm sure there will be some follow-up MRIs. It's going to be weeks, it's not going to be days."

Per Healthline, a hairline fracture in the hand takes roughly six to eight weeks to recover from. In addition to rest, Moreno will require a ramp-up period in his rehab to be in game shape as quickly as possible once he's cleared for baseball activities. That could mean the Diamondbacks will be without their primary catcher until mid-to-late August.

While Moreno is out, the team will have to rely on José Herrera and Garcia for the catching duties. René Pinto is the only healthy catcher on Reno's roster with major league experience, but he is currently not on the 40-man roster.

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