ST. LOUIS -- Injured right-hander Josh Collmenter has two more rehab outings left before the team has to decide whether to activate him from the disabled list.
Collmenter has been on the DL since the end of Spring Training with inflammation in his right shoulder. He has had mixed results in four rehab appearances, and his velocity was a bit down on Tuesday when he pitched for Triple-A Reno. His next start will be for Reno on Sunday.
"His last outing was good," D-backs manager Chip Hale said. "His velocity was OK. I think he hit 87 [mph], but I think he averaged 83. We'll look for that to tick up a little bit."
Collmenter's velocity was down during Spring Training and he struggled, which led to the diagnosis of inflammation.
Over the past few years, Collmenter has served in a swing role, pitching multiple innings out of the bullpen. His value was in his ability to eat innings and pitch often. Hale said that may have taken a toll and played a role in his injury.
"Yeah, no doubt about it," Hale said. "It has to catch up with your arm at some point."
The D-backs are carrying 13 pitchers and would like, at some point, to get back down to 12. One of the reasons they haven't been able to do to that is that they don't have someone who can easily fill Collmenter's role of innings-eater.
"Josh, when he's right, gives us such flexibility," Hale said. "He almost gives us the flexibility enough to go to 12 pitchers, because you have a guy that can go three [innings] one day, rest a day, and go two, three or four [innings] the next time. That's another thing we have to find out. Can he do that anymore? Maybe that's part of the reason why he's where he's at now. We have to really read how his outings go one day and if he pitches the next day."
In other injury news, David Peralta is making progress with his injured left wrist. Nate Shaw, the D-backs' strength and conditioning coach, stayed in Phoenix instead of coming on the road trip in order to work with Peralta at Salt River Fields.