D-backs Preview #100: 7/24 @ Cubs

Roster move

The Arizona Diamondbacks made the following roster moves:

• Reinstated INF Asdrúbal Cabrera (strained right hamstring) from the 10-day injured list.
• Placed INF/OF Josh Rojas (left finger dislocation) on the 10-day injured list, retroactive to July 22.

I’m likely going to be watching even less Diamondbacks games over the next few weeks, as the Olympics roll on. Bit awkward with it being in Tokyo, in terms of time-shifting stuff, so there will be heavy use of the DVR. I’m hoping the online portals end up being useful in terms of catching the sports we want to see. It’s less the “big ones” like athletics, though we will poke our heads in to the gymnastics. We enjoy the sports that don’t get air-time the other 47 months of the cycle. Archery. Fencing. Handball. Previously, these have been relegated to somewhere in a four-hour block of programming, resulting in heavy leaning on the fast-forward. Hopefully NBCSports.com will be a bit more useful. We shall see...

At least there’s baseball this time, with six countries taking part: USA, South Korea and Israel are in one group, with Japan, Mexico and the Dominican Republic in the other. They play each other, round-robin. It then gets... complicated, with ten further games played to determine the medals. Everything gets under way next Wednesday, the 28th in Tokyo which will be... late Tuesday in the US? Oh, figure it out yourselves, I’m having enough problems with three consecutive days of morning baseball! Former Diamondback Edwin Jackson is part of Team USA, while Emilio Bonifacio is on the Dominican squad. If there’s a 149-pitch no-hitter thrown, we’ll know who to blame...

Torey Lovullo notes

• Josh Rojas to IL: “There was a dislocation but the joint was not compromised, it’s very stable.......we feel like it’s a very similar situation to Locastro, I know Locastro missed two weeks. But in Locastro’s case there was an open wound and stitches . That was not the case here with Josh. We feel like the length of time could be similar to Locastro’s and a little bit less.” Translation: Josh is expected to be out 10-14 days.
• Asdrubal Cabrera was activated. He played 3 consecutive days in the ACL and rushed out to Chicago to join the team. ”Asdrubal brings a sense of reliability, a consistency with the approach and the at bats without hustle or mistakes. Defensively he is comfortable and confident at two positions (3b & 1b) . What he brings also is a style of leadership and a certain example that he plays by every single day. Everybody follows that and sees that”
• Rain in the Valley disrupts rehab. Due to the weather the last couple of days some of the rehab work for injured players has backed up.
• Taylor Clarke will throw live BP at Chase field today and Carson Kelly and Ketel Marte will take at bats. Carson will then head out to a rehab assignment to HIllsboro tomorrow. Ketel is several days behind Carson and will still be working the next 2-3 days in the ACL and possibly get some game action in the ACL once the weather clears.
• PROJECTION: It sounds like it’s possible Kelly could be back with the team as soon as the Texas series in Texas July 27th, but more likely he’ll be back by next Friday July 30th at home to face the Dodgers
• Ketel could possibly be back in time to face the Giants at home on August 2nd.

Torey Lovullo audio [or link]