This story was excerpted from Steve Gilbert’s D-backs Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.
For the first few months of the season, not only will what happens on the field be important to follow, but also the rehab of a number of key players. While we have a page that will keep you updated with the essentials, let's dive a little deeper in this newsletter on the players who could return in the next couple of months.
Merrill Kelly
Kelly threw a bullpen at Chase Field on Tuesday and came through it in good shape, which means he is scheduled to start for Triple-A Reno in Albuquerque on Friday night.
"All pitches looked very good," Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo said. "He's going to throw in Albuquerque, and we're just going to gauge it from there. And we want to see him go out there and work -- and work successfully and be healthy. Get his pitch count to a certain point, and then we'll read and react from there."
Kelly will be eligible to come off the injured list while the team is in New York, April 7-9, to play the Mets. The initial plan was to have him start one of those games, but for that to happen, he will need to come through Friday night's Triple-A start in good shape and have his pitch count in the 70s.
"I know that we are all targeting New York, but we've got to make sure that it's right and he feels well and that we're going to do the best thing to help this team win a baseball game and make sure that he's ready to go as well," Lovullo said.
Of course, when Kelly does return, the biggest question will be whose place in the rotation he takes. Michael Soroka pitched well in his Arizona debut Monday, striking out 10 over five innings and recording an immaculate inning, so what they do to fit Kelly in remains to be seen.
"I don't know what that answer is," Lovullo said. "I haven't even thought about it, to be honest with you. It hasn't even come up, like, what are we going to do? We've got to make sure Merrill's right. Then we have five days in back of that."
Lourdes Gurriel Jr.
Gurriel's recovery from the surgery he had in September to repair the torn ACL in his right knee has gone quicker than anyone predicted.
Gurriel looked good this spring and has begun playing in some simulated games at the team's Spring Training site and running lightly out of the batter's box.
The next step will be to play in some unofficial Arizona Complex League games in April before the league is fully underway. The plan would then be to get him in some real games around mid-April.
If all goes well, late April would be the earliest that Gurriel would probably be able to return to the big leagues. It's possible Gurriel could DH when he initially comes back.
"How he responds to the next set of challenges will be important for him," Lovullo said. "But he looked very good and feels great."
A.J. Puk
Puk, who underwent his second Tommy John procedure last year, is a left-handed arm the Diamondbacks would sorely like to have back to help finish off games.
Puk has begun throwing bullpen sessions, and Lovullo speculated that he could return in early June.
Adrian Del Castillo
The catcher missed most of Spring Training with a calf strain, but was set to catch for Triple-A Reno on Tuesday night in Albuquerque.
While it might have initially looked like Del Castillo would be assigned to Reno after his rehab, the injury to Pavin Smith could open a spot for Del Castillo on the big league roster.
Those are just the players expected back in the next couple of months.