The Diamondbacks got a pair of arms back on Wednesday, reinstating Zac Gallen from the 60-day injured list and activating Michael Soroka from the 15-day IL before their matchup with the Royals.
Arizona made room by optioning Kade Strowd and Blake Walston to Triple-A.
Gallen’s return comes after he’d been sidelined since early July with right elbow inflammation. Soroka’s stay on the injured list was much shorter, as he worked back from shoulder inflammation. Both right-handers threw simulated games on Friday, and the club could use them together in tonight’s outing.
For Gallen, the comeback follows the toughest season of his big-league career. He has a 6.34 ERA across 19 starts, including an eight-start run in which he gave up 40 earned runs before landing on the injured list. His strikeout rate has also fallen to a career-low 13.9%, a number that had never dipped below 21.5% over a full season.
Soroka has been steadier through a season interrupted by multiple IL stints. He was sitting with a sub-3.00 ERA in mid-August before a rough outing against the Reds bumped his season mark to 3.40. In that last appearance, his fastball velocity was down about 1 mph.
With Corbin Burnes back last night, Arizona’s rotation suddenly looks healthy again. The Diamondbacks now have six starters for five spots with Gallen, Soroka, Eduardo Rodriguez, Brandon Pfaadt, Merrill Kelly, and Burnes all in the mix.
A six-man rotation is one possible path the club could take to finish the regular season. Burnes is also stretching out after going three innings on 57 pitches yesterday.
Strowd’s latest trip to the majors was brief, lasting just one day after he was recalled before Tuesday’s game. He came in behind Burnes and got five outs.
Walston, meanwhile, handled the final two innings of last night’s game, allowing the ghost runner to score in the 10th before keeping the Royals off the board in the 11th to pick up the win. It was his second appearance since joining the club when rosters expanded in September, and like Strowd, he’s headed back to Reno for the next call.
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For a club trying to keep its roster moving through the grind of the season, those are the kinds of updates that matter even before anyone returns. Each of the three has been working back from injuries that cut into his time this year, and the next step now is simple enough on paper: get into games, handle the workload, and show the Royals they are nearing a place where reinforcements can actually be considered. [Read more 🡒]