NL West Notes: Diamondbacks, Yaz, Haniger, Luciano, Profar

In the definition Carson Kelly for assignment earlier today, the Diamondbacks they’re a little short on catching depth, and GM Mike Hazen told reporters (including MLB.com’s Steve Gilbert) that the club was looking for outside catching options. Gabriel Moreno is the capture of the present and the future in Arizona, and beyond the backup Jose Herrera, Ali Sanchez and John Rye are the only other backstops in the organization with Major League experience. Despite the situation, Hazen felt that “with five to six weeks to go, depth becomes less important than trying to put your best foot forward [team] on the pitch… When we had the roster construction in the first half of the season with Gabi and Herrera, we played very well. I don’t know that this is going to be the secret formula to get back to the way we were before, I don’t think it’s anyone’s expectation, but that was the choice we had, to send Herrera down or to make this move. We decided to make this move.”

Today’s win over the Padres moved the D’Backs to a .500 record (59-59), although the club is just 10-25 since the start of July. Between that slide and the Dodgers catching fire, the D’Backs have gone from leading the NL West to Los Angeles after 12.5 games, and the Snakes are also 2.5 games back of a wild-card spot. While any number of factors have contributed to Arizona’s struggles, a lack of pitching has been the biggest culprit, and the D’Backs will “take some risks and play it by ear, week in and week out” with their rotation, according to Hazen. Jacques Gallen, Meryl Kellyand Brandon Pfaadt will continue to serve as traditional starters, but the team is open to using bullpen games, piggyback starters or opener/mass pitcher setups for the remaining two rotation spots until Zach Davis returned from the 15-day injured list to take one of the spots.

A few other notes from the NL West…

• Mike Jastrzemski was in Giants10-day IL since July 31 recovering from a hamstring strain, but Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle writes the outfielder is close to being activated. Yastrzemski had a live batting practice Saturday and is running the bases at full speed, so it doesn’t look like he’ll need any minor league rehab work. With Yastrzemski likely to return Monday, Slusser speculates the Giants might pick Luis Matos in Triple-A, since Heliot Ramos has been hitting well lately.
• To another Giants injury updates, Mitch Haninger could soon begin a minor league rehab assignment, and Slusser estimates he can return to the big leagues in about two weeks. Haniger has not played since June 13 due to forearm surgery, continuing his unfortunate recent history of injury-shortened seasons. The news is not so good for Mark Lucian, as the top prospect will be sidelined for at least a month with a hamstring strain. Luciano made his MLB debut with a four-game cameo with the Giants in July as the team needed an extra player to help solve some depth issues. Over 292 combined appearances at Double-A and Triple-A in 2023, Luciano hit .231/.336/.445 with 13 home runs.
• Jurickson Profar What happened to her Rocky Mountains described as a sprained left knee in today’s game, which forced Profar to make an early exit. Profar had to collide with the left field ball to score a run at a Mookie Betts fly ball, and Profar was visibly upset afterwards. Colorado manager Bud Black told reporters (including Patrick Sanders of the Denver Post ) that Profar was already dealing with a sore left knee even before today’s injury, and the player will undergo an MRI to determine the extent of the problem.