General Manager Kevin Towers said shortstop prospect Didi Gregorius, acquired in December in the Trevor Bauer trade, has been shut down for roughly the past month with elbow problems and might have to start the season on the disabled list.
Towers said Gregorius’ elbow didn’t feel good after a long-toss session in January, at which point he traveled to Arizona to be evaluated by team physician Dr. Michael Lee.
"Dr. Lee said it was nothing serious and we decided to err on the side of being cautious," Towers said. "Dr. Lee felt it would be best to take four weeks to shut him down, with no swinging a bat or throwing, and then start ramping him up."
Gregorius is scheduled to begin a throwing program sometime next week, Towers said, but he still is expected to miss the start of the Cactus League season. Towers is hoping Gregorius will be able to start playing in games near the end of spring training, but he "may be a week late" to start the regular season.
"It’s nothing serious, no surgery or anything like that," Towers said.
Gregorius already was a long shot to make the Opening Day roster, given his limited experience in the upper minors and the presence of Pennington and Bloomquist, and the injury all but guarantees that he’ll start the year in the minors.
As to when his season will begin, time will tell.
