Are the Diamondbacks rushing players back from injury too soon?

Alek Thomas' Setback with his hamstring injury raises questions

Arizona Diamondbacks Alek Thomas struck out swinging against the Kansas City Royals / Rob Schumacher/The Republic / USA TODAY

Alek Thomas was first placed on the injured list with a left hamstring strain on April 1st. At the time the verbiage around the injury was somewhat fuzzy. Torey Lovullo said it was a "high Grade 1." Typically a Grade 2 hamstring strain requires anywhere from 4-8 weeks to heal.

That kind of slicing of the reports and grade designation may have bit Thomas and the Diamondbacks. According to Thomas he had begun running the bases and taking swings as early as Friday, April 17th, far quicker than the typical down time required for a Grade 2 strain.

He played in three games for Triple-A Reno in a rehab assignment this past weekend, and it appeared that he was set to be activated from the injured list. He's had a setback however, reporting some issue with the hamstring. Instead of flying to Cincinnati, he's on his way to Phoenix to get another MRI and evaluate the current status.

OF Alek Thomas felt a little something in his left hamstring following Sunday's game with Reno. Took Monday off and tried running today and still didn't feel quite right so the @Dbacks have sent him to Phoenix to have an MRI and be evaluated.

— Steve Gilbert (@SteveGilbertMLB) May 7, 2024

This is not the first time this season that a player has seemingly tried to come back too quickly. Eduardo Rodriguez was diagnosed with shoulder strain, also described as a lat strain, near the end of of spring training. The team was also unclear about the actual grade of the injury at the time as well, although Rodriguez expressed "surprise" at what was on the report.

He began a throwing program just a week later, and subsequently suffered a setback that landed him on the 60-day injured list. He has not yet begun throwing. Lovullo expressed some regret with the way that injury was handled.

Paul Sewald was diagnosed with a Grade 2 Oblique strain and placed on the IL just before spring training started as well. Typically the time required to return from a Grade 1 Oblique injury has been 35 days, according to MLB.com, and Grade 2 strains usually require longer than that.

Sewald began throwing several weeks ago, but had to hit the pause button due to experiencing some soreness. After being assured he had not re-injured the oblique, he resumed his rehab and was activated for tonight's game. You can expect him to be thrown right into the fire tonight if there is a save opportunity, according to Lovullo's pre game comments, as reported by Nick Piecoro of AZCentral on X

The Diamondbacks have started out slowly this season, going 15-20, and lagging well behind in the NL West and in the Wild Card standings. They've suffered more than their fair share of injuries, contributting to the slow start.

They are also missing Merrill Kelly, (Shoulder strain) and Geraldo Perdomo (Meniscus surgery). Relievers Miguel Castro and Luis Frias both have shoulder injuries, and Drey Jameson is out for the year due to Tommy John surgery. Tonight's starter Zac Gallen had a start skipped due to a hamstring spasm.

Lovullo recently said he was "holding his breath" due to all the injuries and has been somewhat shell shocked. But it's fair to ask whether the D-backs may be rushing players back in an attempt to get back into the playoff hunt. That has the potential to be counter productive, and we may be seeing that play out before our eyes.