Tomas to have season-ending surgery
Outfielder hampered by upper-leg injury since May
NEW YORK – Outfielder Yasmany Tomas will undergo surgery on Tuesday in Philadelphia for the nagging upperleg injury that has bothered him since May, a procedure that will bring an early end to his season.
Tomas will have what manager Torey Lovullo described as “core” surgery; it’s to address an injury often referring to as a sports hernia. The Diamondbacks had been referring to his issues as groin injuries.
Tomas entered the year with high expectations. He had a big second half of the 2016 season, and the Diamondbacks were hopeful he would carry over that production into this season.
He did that, to some extent, posting a .291 average with a .900 OPS in April, but he slumped in May and played his last game on June 2. He had to shut down a rehab assignment in July because of lingering discomfort, and continued to be bothered in recent weeks, prompting the club to send him to specialist Dr. William C. Meyer, who will perform the surgery.
“We’ve been very optimistic about his return all season long,” Lovullo said. “We knew there were a lot of moments where he was improving quickly. I saw him firsthand through some of his rehab moments and it looked like he was getting close. But the past 10-12 days he’s started to feel more discomfort in this particular area and that’s why we decided to have the check-up.”
The Diamondbacks addressed Tomas' absence last month when they acquired outfielder J.D. Martinez in a trade with the Detroit Tigers.
Descalso enjoys pitching but would rather not
Infielder Daniel Descalso tossed a perfect inning in Sunday’s 12-5 loss to the Twins, soaking up an inning rather than the Diamondbacks having to use a reliever in a lopsided game.
It was his second such appearance this season, giving him 2 1/3 innings of scoreless relief in his career. (He tossed one-third of an inning for the St. Louis Cardinals in 2014.)
“Yeah, I’m aware,” Descalso said when reminded of his numbers. “Scoreless, no walks, no hits. And one inherited runner left on base. I figure the more times that I run out there, the more likely it is that my perfection is broken up – and obviously it means we’re losing by a lot – so I don’t really feel like doing it anymore this year.”
Descalso hit 86 mph on the radar gun displayed on the Fox Sports Arizona broadcast, and he said he even mixed in four sliders, throwing strikes with three of them, one of which induced a groundball out.
“I pitched once a week in high school,” Descalso said. “That was a long time ago. But … I feel like I can throw strikes up there. That’s the main thing. You don’t want to walk anybody and you don’t want to hit anybody.”
Short hops
» Right-hander Randall Delgado is expected to throw a bullpen session on Tuesday, the first time he’s done so since landing on the disabled list on July 16 with a flexor tendon strain in his right elbow. If all goes well, Delgado could return sometime in September.
» Shortstop Nick Ahmed (fractured hand) played in his first rehab game in the rookie-level Arizona League on Saturday. He was scheduled to play again on Monday night.
» Right-hander Matt Koch was replaced to take the spot of right-hander Braden Shipley, who threw 5 2/3 innings in relief on Sunday in Minnesota. Koch gives the Diamondbacks a fresh bullpen arm available to pitch multiple innings if needed.
» Right-hander Jimmie Sherfy called his debut on Sunday in Minnesota a “dream come true,” and he was especially excited his parents, who live in southern California, were able to make it to the game. “They were coming up to Reno to see a game and I called them and they got a flight immediately,” he said. “So that was awesome.” Sherfy tossed a perfect seventh inning, striking out two, in the Diamondbacks’ 12-5 loss.