Mark Melancon, Corbin Martin Shut Down for the 2023 Season
Before today's game, manager Torey Lovullo gave some key health updates on some injured pitchers.
Mark Melancon and Corbin Martin will not return in any capacity for the 2023 season. Melancon had been rehabbing a subscapularis strain, including taking a platelet rich plasma injection in March, including an appearance with Triple-A Reno last weekend. However both the player and team felt there wasn't enough progress to try to bring him back for the postseason. The D-backs will likely decline their half of a $5 million option for 2024 and pay Melancon a $2 million buyout after the season.
Martin got out to throwing 105 feet and will be shut down in a couple weeks to have a normal off-season. He suffered a lat tendon tear after throwing a pitch on March 15th and elected to get surgery to be as healthy as possible for 2024. Martin's career has been derailed by injuries, so having a healthy season next year will be very important.
Austin Adams threw his first one inning, 25-pitch outing at the instructional league on Tuesday and will throw again tomorrow. Adams suffered a fractured ankle when struck by a comebacker against the San Francisco Giants on August 1st. He was 0-1 with a 5.71 ERA and seven holds in 24 appearances with Arizona.
Tommy Henry threw a 25-pitch bullpen today and will throw another one on Tuesday. The goal is to get him into a simulated game soon. On the last homestand, Lovullo said Henry would not be available unless they went deep into their playoff run.
Drey Jameson successfully underwent Tommy John surgery on Wednesday. The surgery was performed by Dr. Keith Meister. Jameson faces a 12-15 month recovery and rehab process before he can return to action.
All five pitchers are currently on the 60-day injured list, so in order to activate Adams or Henry during the postseason they will need to clear room on the 40-man roster.