Mike Hazen Reveals Potential Timeline for Eduardo Rodríguez's Return

While the injury was much more severe than originally portrayed, there is light at the end of the tunnel

Arizona Diamondbacks pitcher Eduardo Rodriguez leaves the game against the Texas Rangers / Rob Schumacher/The Republic / USA TODAY

When Eduardo Rodríguez got hurt during his Spring Training start on March 19th, there was some mystery as to the nature and severity of the injury. He could be seen wincing after a couple of warmup pitches, threw one more, and came out of the game. After the game Torey Lovullo said Rodríguez felt "left lat tightness", but his concern was "minimal", and there was no plan to get imaging. That early optimism turned out to be unfounded.

As it turned out that imaging would be required after all. He got that imaging done a few days later and when the results came back Rodríguez said he was surprised by what the report said. While declining to be specific, clearly it was more severe than originally thought and reported. He still insisted on March 22nd that "I know this isn't gonna be too long. I just feel like it was a little tightness in there, but I feel great today. And like I said, I know I'm gonna be back faster than we think."

Two weeks later and he's just now getting ready this weekend to throw a bullpen session off a pitching mound for the first time since the injury. He's been playing catch on flat ground over the last week to 10 days, and most recently was reported to have thrown long toss out to 180 feet. So just how long is it going to be for Rodriguez to get back in a major league game ?

Speaking on a podcast with Jon Heyman and Joel Sherman, Diamondbacks General Manager Mike Hazen said that newly signed free agent Jordan Montgomery "would defintiely be in front of Rodríguez". Montgomery was officially signed on March 29th. During his press conference he said that he and the team were targeting April 19th in San Francisco for his first start. Montgomery is making his first start for the Reno Aces on Sunday April 7th. Depending on how things line out, he is likely to get two starts to get stretched out and will return either the 19th, or perhaps a day earlier on the 18th.

So with that we know with certainty that Rodríguez is still more than two weeks away from returning, extending the total time out to a minimum of one month. Exactly how long it takes him to get ramped up is still unclear. While they certainly have a plan, the team is playing their cards close to their chests. Assuming that Rodríguez throws that elusive bullpen mound session this weekend however, it seems likely he'll need to throw a live bullpen with batters in the box sometime after that before heading out to Reno on his minor league rehab assignment.

From there Rodríguez will need a minimum of two, perhaps three rehab starts. Looking at the schedule, we can project the absolute earliest Rodríguez could return is during the St. Louis Cardinals series in St. Louis April 22-24th. The latest he should be back is April 26th-28th when the team is in Seattle to play the Mariners. The above timeline is conditional on there being no setbacks of course.

Tommy Henry and Ryne Nelson will need to help hold down the fort for at least two more weeks, They'e each going to get at least two or three more starts before both Montgomery and Rodriguez can assume their places in the rotation. The Diamondbacks are in an extremely tough portion of their schedule over the next four weeks, and they'll need both of those young pitchers to perform better than they did in their first starts or the team could end up in a big hole standings wise.

The D-backs play three games this weekend in Atlanta against the Braves, with some very tough pitching matchups. Henry and Nelson will both pitch in the series. The team then goes to Coors Field in Colorado for three before returning home to face the Cardinals and Cubs for a six game homstand. Then it's back out on the road for a 10 game, 11 day road trip to San Francisco, St, Louis, and Seattle. They end the month with a three game home stand against the first place Los Angeles Dodgers.

The D-backs have been dealing with a rash of injuries beyond Rodriguez. Closer Paul Sewald is on the injured list with a Grade 2 Oblique strain. Alek Thomas is also on the IL with a left hamstring strain, described as a "high grade 1", meaning he is out for several weeks at minimum. All Star shorstop Geraldo Perdomo suffered a knee injury on Wednesday, and was described as "day-to-day" that afternoon by Lovullo. We are still awaiting further news as to the actual severity of that injury, but given the team's track record of down playing injuries, there has to be concern.

The one piece of good news on the injury front is that it appears that Randall Grichuk will be activated for the Atlanta series. He began the year on the IL while still recovering from off-season surgery to remove bone spurs from his ankle.