PHOENIX -- Just days after learning that their ace, Corbin Burnes, would have to undergo Tommy John surgery that will keep him out for the rest of this year and most if not all of 2026, the Diamondbacks on Tuesday faced the loss of another key arm.
Closer Justin Martinez, who left Monday night’s game with two outs in the ninth inning with elbow tightness had an MRI taken that showed a sprained ulnar collateral ligament.
According to manager Torey Lovullo, Martinez is going to get a second opinion before deciding whether to have Tommy John surgery or try to rest and rehab the injury.
If he has surgery, it would be the second time for Martinez, who had Tommy John surgery in 2021.
It’s another tough blow for the team both on and off the field coming on the heels of Burnes’ injury as they try to stay in the hunt for a postseason berth and force GM Mike Hazen to be a buyer rather than seller at the July 31 Trade Deadline.
Just prior to meeting with the media before a 10-3 win against the Mariners, Lovullo spent some time with Martinez.
“I'm a pretty emotional guy,” Lovullo said. “It hurts when I talk about some of these players getting hurt. You know, with J-Mart sitting in my office, it wasn't an easy conversation. We were both getting teary eyed. So that's what he means to me, and that's what he means to this organization. He's trying to remain as positive as possible.”
As for the players, like it or not, they’ve grown used to watching teammates go down with injuries, get traded or leave via free agency.
Starter Merrill Kelly has been on both sides of the injury equation. The right-hander missed a chunk of last season with a teres major strain. While he and his teammates feel badly for both Burnes and Martinez, it’s on them now to find a way to push forward because the season won’t stop.
“We don’t have a choice,” Kelly said. “Unfortunately if you're in this business long enough, this isn’t the first or the last guy that you’ll see go down on your team. You feel for him in that moment and you try to do as much as you can as a teammate to console him and help him to keep going. But at the end of the day, it's the next man up. You’ve got to flip the page. You’ve got to keep going, because at the end of the day, we're here to keep winning.”
The Diamondbacks will also be without the services of reliever Christian Montes De Oca, who has elbow inflammation and could also miss significant time.
Between those two injuries and the fact that they used seven relievers in their 11-inning win over the Mariners on Monday night, the Diamondbacks needed fresh arms from the Minor Leagues.
With that in mind, the team placed Martinez and Montes De Oca on the injured list and optioned right-hander Jeff Brigham to Triple-A Reno.
To replace the trio, Arizona recalled right-hander Kevin Ginkel and right-hander Kevin Jarvis along with selecting the contract of righty Tayler Scott from Reno.
That’s how they will replace the injured players on the field. How they will handle their mindset is a different challenge.
“I just think you can't worry about what happened yesterday,” Lovullo said. “You can't worry about what's gonna happen tomorrow. You just gotta firmly plant your two feet in today and just do what you can do to control today. We've got eight healthy arms in the bullpen, we've got a healthy starting pitcher, we've got a very eager starting lineup, and we just got to take care of today.”