Hale, Hudson sympathize with Parker
Diamondbacks manager Chip Hale got a call from his son Saturday morning telling him he needed to watch a video.
Hale was sickened by what he saw. Oakland’s Jarrod Parker, trying to comeback from a second Tommy John surgery, grabbed his right elbow after throwing a pitch and crumpled to the ground during a rehabilitation start on Friday. The extent of the injury is unknown but Hale, who was Bob Melvin’s bench coach in Oakland the last three seasons, said it looked, “just awful.”
“It’s just sad,” Hale added. “I know how hard he worked to come back from the first one (surgery) and how hard he was working coming back from the second one. I just feel for him.”
Parker was the Diamondbacks’ first-round choice (ninth overall) in the 2007 amateur draft. He underwent his first Tommy John surgery in late October of 2009 and made his debut for Arizona 23 months later when he started against the Los Angeles Dodgers and got the win. Arizona traded him to Oakland in December of 2011 for Trevor Cahill.
Diamondbacks reliever Daniel Hudson, who has worked his way back from two Tommy John surgeries, met Parker during spring training in 2011. They haven’t stayed in touch but like Hale, it was hard for Hudson to watch the video of Parker going down.
“I don’t know what happened to him,” Hudson said. “But it didn’t look good. I’ve never seen that kind of reaction from somebody. You just kind of hope for the best. You hope it’s not as bad as it looks.”
Hudson said that even if Parker didn’t blow out his elbow again, “It’s just another setback. It can be hard mentally on you. I’m just hoping it’s not a worstcase scenario.”
Hedging bets
Hale said struggling starter Jeremy Hellickson will remain in the rotation “right now.” Hellickson, whose 5.85 ERA is third worst among National League starters, gave up eight hits and five earned runs in just 42⁄ in
3 nings Friday against San Diego. It was the third time in six starts he hasn’t pitched into the fifth inning.
“We’re talking about what’s going to make him better,” Hale said.
With the Diamondbacks having a day off on Thursday, Hellickson’s next start likely would be Friday in Philadelphia.
Medical updates
Reliever David Hernandez threw in an extended spring training game Saturday, but his return to the Diamondbacks will be delayed from mid-May to late May at the earliest because of overall body soreness he had last week after throwing.
“He’s definitely going to be later than we thought,” Hale said.
Hale said Hernandez will throw at least one more extended spring training game before the team decides whether he’s ready to head to the minor leagues for a rehabilitation stint.
Archie Bradley, on the 15-day disabled list, is scheduled to throw a simulated game Monday at Chase Field. The Dia- mondbacks expect him to come off the D Lon May16. Left-hander Patrick Corbin is scheduled to throw an extended spring training game Monday at Salt River Fields at Talking Stick. SCOTT BORDOW AZCENTRAL SPORTS
Figuring it out
Hudson has been encouraged by his two most recent outings after three appearances in which he allowed seven earned runs in four innings. He struck out four batters in a two-inning stint against the Los Angeles Dodgers on May 1 and pitched a scoreless inning against San Diego on Thursday.
“I’m trying to focus on throwing more quality offspeed pitches to get guys off my fastball a little bit,” Hudson said. “I think that’s kind of paid off the last couple of outings.”
Mix and match
Hale still wasn’t ready to name a starter for Sunday after Saturday’s game, saying, “We’re not going to make an announcement.” The most likely possibilities: Reliever Daniel Hudson, who didn’t pitch Saturday, or minor-league starter A.J. Schugel.