Carson Kelly searching for a way out of slump

Carson Kelly has been slumping at the plate for weeks, but the Diamondbacks catcher believes he’s close to rediscovering the swing that led to his offensive breakout earlier this season.

“I’m looking back at the times I’ve done really well,” Kelly said, “and I’ve seen a difference in the video of my swings.”

Kelly said he identified the flaw and has been working to correct it over the past 10 days or so.

The bigger challenge, he said, has been trying to stay in the right place mentally as his struggles have become more pronounced.

“Over the course of a season, you’re going to have ups and downs,” said Kelly, who entered Monday hitless in his past 15 at-bats and was just 8 for 55 (.145) over the past month. “That’s part of the learning process. I’m still a young player. I’ve still got a lot to learn. This is my first time playing into September at the big league level, so there’s a lot of new territory for me.”

Kelly, 25, said he isn’t worn down from the length season – “I feel great,” he said – but is trying to keep from hitting the “panic button.”

“The farther away you can stay from hitting the panic button (the better),” he said. “You’ve got to ride those waves. When you hit the panic button, that’s not a good place to be.”

Despite the struggles, Kelly, one of the key acquisitions in the Paul Goldschmidt trade, is enjoying a solid first full year in the majors. He is hitting .247/.349/.497 with 18 homers and 18 doubles. His .846 OPS ranks fifth among major league catchers with at least 300 plate appearances.

Bad memories

The last time the Diamondbacks faced the Marlins, whom they are hosting this week at Chase Field, they dropped three of four in Miami in the days leading up to the trade deadline.

Asked if that were maybe the series he most regrets from this season, Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo said it “stands out” in his mind because he thinks his team might have “overlooked them a little bit.”

“I have that one in my mind,” he said. “I have probably 10 or 15 other games in mind, as well.

“The way I look at it is, it’s baseball, and you can’t take anything for granted. I wish I could replay and redo a lot of things that I’ve done (this season) – I know the players feel the same way – for a different outcome.”

Several players said at the time they might have been distracted by the trade rumors swirling around the club, most of them involving veterans potentially being shipped off.

Short hop

Lovullo said right-hander Luke Weaver will throw another bullpen session on Tuesday but he did not say what the next step would be in Weaver’s rehab. It could be in the majors. Weaver threw two scoreless innings for High-A Visalia, touching 97 mph with his fastball and sitting at 94 mph.