Eduardo Rodriguez and Paul Sewald gave the Diamondbacks exactly what they needed Friday night: a reset.
Both pitchers had been shelled in their previous outings, but they answered with a strong performance in the series opener. Rodriguez delivered a quality start, and Sewald finished the job by earning another save after getting back on track.
There was also movement on the injury front, with Corbin Burnes now targeting an early-September return, according to Lovullo. Burnes will want to show both himself and everyone else that he has recovered from surgery, and the Diamondbacks still need to find out whether he can be effective. Even so, the situation has reached a point where simply having Burnes penciled in for a return in spring feels like it would be a gain.
Lovullo also adjusted the lineup, moving Corbin Carroll back into the leadoff spot and sliding Ketel Marte down to cleanup.
Elsewhere around baseball, one take on the Athletics’ future suggested it may not happen in this generation, even with some solid moves. Oakland Las Vegas West Sacramento also added Dallas Keuchel on a minor league deal, meaning the veteran left-hander is still hanging around.
Dave Schoenfield also looked ahead to the Hall of Fame Class of 2026 and explained why Beltran, Jones, and Are in. And Chicago Cubs center fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong is once again projected to lead the 2026 MLB pre-arbitration bonus pool list, with the largest share of the $50 million pool based on his regular-season numbers.
In Other News...
Diamondbacks Draft Strategy Just Raised The Stakes For Their Pitching Future
The Diamondbacks came out of the 2026 MLB draft with a clear type in mind, and it showed in the way they spread their early picks across players who fit the organizations preference for high baseball IQ, versatility, velocity and maturity. Director of amateur scouting Ian Rebhan pointed to that blend as the guiding force behind the first five selections, with catcher Ryder Helfrick, right-hander Blake Bryant and infielder Carson Kerce among the names that fit the mold and gave Arizona a little more shape to its next wave of talent.
The more interesting part for the long haul is how aggressively the club kept leaning toward the mound as the draft went on. Arizona used nine of its last 15 picks on pitchers, a sign the front office wanted to keep building depth in a system that can always use more arms. Some of those later selections were viewed internally as possible starters, which makes the class feel less like a one-note pitching grab and more like a deliberate bet on how much upside the organization can still uncover. [Read more 🡒]
Diamondbacks Fans Have A Real Mitch Bratt Debate To Watch
Mitch Bratts early run has given Diamondbacks fans something more interesting than a box score to track. The left-hander has already made three starts, but he still has not gotten through five innings in any of them, and his latest outing showed both the workload and the intrigue around him as he threw 84 pitches over 4.2 innings. For a club that has watched starting-pitcher usage evolve, Bratts quick rise at 23 only adds to the conversation about how Arizona is handling young arms and what it expects from them right now.
The bigger debate goes beyond one pitcher and into the way decisions are assigned to starters in the modern game. With more outings ending before the traditional threshold, the old five-inning line can feel out of step with how clubs actually deploy pitchers, and this is where Bratt becomes part of a larger argument. Arizonas recent history with short starts only sharpens the issue, making his next turn a useful test case for a rule that some around the game think should be adjusted. [Read more 🡒]