Projecting the Diamondbacks Updated Rotation Order

With Jordan Montgomery moved to Wednesday night's game how does that impact Zac Gallen and the rest of the rotation?

Apr 26, 2024; Seattle, Washington, USA; Arizona Diamondbacks starting pitcher Zac Gallen (23) / Steven Bisig-USA TODAY Sports

Prior to last night's game between the Dodgers and Diamondbacks, a bee swarm collected on the netting behind home plate. A two hour delay ensued while waiting for the bees to be removed and the game could get underway. The removal of the bees was quite an event in and of itself as Matt Hilton of Blue Sky Pest control become the hero of the moment.

Jordan Montgomery, the scheduled starter for the Diamondbacks, had already been completely warmed up and gone through his pre-game routine. Due to what amounted to a two hour delay, Lovullo opted to scratch Montgomery and go with Brandon Hughes as an opener in a bullpen game.

Montgomery will now start on Wednesday night instead. After the game Lovullo explained his thought process for making that move. "Jordan [Montgomery] .....was a minute away from walking onto the field. His body and his mind and everything was full go, gassed up. When we found out it was going to be at least a two hour delay we made the decision to scratch him."

Montgomery was officially signed to a free agent contract one day after season started on March 29th. Prior to that, he had been working on his own to get ramped up for the season. In just three short weeks of condensed preparation, he threw several bullpens and two rehab outings before making his season debut on April 19th. The Diamondbacks have had a slew of pitching injuries, and did not want to risk another one.

"When you talk about taking care of the human body we just didn't want to risk it. It didn't make any sense for us to do that," Lovullo said. The Dodgers made a different decision, letting their starter Landon Knack pitch as scheduled. Lovullo was not surprised by that, however. "Every dugout, every clubhouse, every conversation is different."

An ancillary benefit is the team is now able to push Zac Gallen back an additional two days, giving him extra time to recover from a hamstring spasm suffered in his last start. He will now start on Friday against the San Diego Padres instead.

"In response to everything that he's been going through....to give him as much time [as possible]. We had this opportunity. I spoke to the medical team, I spoke to him, and this made the most sense. We need Zac for the long haul," Lovullo said.

The D-backs have not yet announced their rotation for the Padres beyond Gallen. Originally it lined out to be Slade Cecconi Friday, Brandon Pfaadt Saturday, and Ryne Nelson returning from the 15-day IL to start on Sunday. Lovullo had previously indicated that Nelson would be returning as soon as he was eligible, and that he intended to keep everyone else on their normal schedules.

The question now becomes whether or not Nelson is pushed out to Monday, May 7th or inserted ahead of Pfaadt. It seems most likely the team will still want to keep Pfaadt on regular rest. If that is the course they choose then the below table is what the rotation could look like over the next 12 days. We'll update in the coming hours and days as the team firms up their plans.

Diamondbacks Projected Rotation May 1-12 / Jack Sommers