Thomas, Suárez Healthy, Fifth Starter Still In Question

Prior to their contest with the San Diego Padres, manager Torey Lovullo addressed the media with some health updates and reflections on player development, as well as the current starting pitcher situation.

Health 

Alek Thomas is healthy and back in the lineup from his wrist inflammation. Eugenio Suárez is also healthy, following a few days off with left side tightness. 

"Both players have been feeling good, have been working hard to get back out there, and just anxious to see them, see what it looks like and see their progress." Lovullo said, "I watched [Thomas'] BP up on field two earlier, and it looked like the ball was coming off his bat really well, seems like he's ready to go

Lovullo praised Thomas' approach to the injury, as the young outfielder was "happy" to take time off now to recover from his injury rather than trying to fight through it.

“I think thats a mature way to look at it, these players have to be responsible for a lot of different things, when you're banged up and you need to step out for a minute or two, that's hard for a young player. They want to go out there and impress you, but our players are well beyond their years, they understand the importance of being on the field, and to be able to do what he did was very impressive from my angle too."

Lovullo said that Christian Walker is still in recovery from his hand contusion, but the manager hopes to have the slugger back in the lineup Thursday.

Fifth Starter

The D-backs are still in the midst of a battle for who will take the final pitching slot in the rotation. Lovullo noted that, although Tommy Henry and Ryne Nelson might be the names at the top of everyone's lists, there are more than just those two in mix.

“[There's] more than two, I know everybody targets Tommy and Nelly, but they're the two maybe front runners, because of what they’ve done, but we have a lot of guys that can go out and execute game plans, everything they're doing is going to be considered, we've got to make the best decision for this ball club, to help us win baseball games."

Lovullo did emphasize that there was no official timetable to make a decision, and that they will take as much time as possible to make the best possible decision for the team. That being said, the manager did confirm bullpen games would be left in 2023 if possible, and there would be no attempt to platoon the fifth starter role.

"I think you have to make adjustments and be adaptable, inside of this game, [bullpen games are] nothing that we wanted to do, but I think we were forced to. But we want five traditional starters, we want them to go six-plus innings every single time and turn it over to a very healthy bullpen," Lovullo said.

Brandon Pfaadt

The young right-hander has had a couple of early outings this Spring, coming off a dominant postseason run in 2023. His first outing was shaky, allowing a walk, two hits and two runs in one inning.

His second outing went two innings. Although he did allow two hits and a run, he had better command of the zone, and looked much better than his debut.

Although not an ideal start, Lovullo continues to have faith in the young right-hander.

"It was his second outing, so it’s of minimal concern to me. I would see it the same way he did, it was much better than running away from his arm… he was more in the middle," Lovullo said.

Lovullo noted that Pfaadt was throwing the ball better, but might have benefitted from some better pitch selection, as he favored his fastball for a portion of his outing. But despite some kinks to work out, Lovullo did say he looked "much better."

"I'm not concerned with him whatsoever,” the Skipper said.

The D-backs will have an off-day tomorrow, but will be back in action against the Rangers on Thursday at 1:05 PM.