Diamondbacks right-hander Kendall Graveman has been battling some back tightness in camp and still hasn’t appeared in a Spring Training game. Manager Torey Lovullo tells Alex Weiner of Arizona Sports that the issue cropped up again yesterday after throwing live batting practice. Weiner relays that Graveman appears to be questionable for Opening Day.
The Snakes signed Graveman to a one-year, $1.35MM deal less than a month ago. The modest price is a reflection of the fact that Graveman missed the 2024 season recovering from shoulder surgery. The D’Backs have made a modest bet that he could bounce back to his pre-surgery form. From 2021 to 2023, he tossed 187 1/3 relief innings with a 2.74 earned run average, 24.5% strikeout rate, 10.4% walk rate and 48.9% ground ball rate.
If healthy, Graveman would be one of the club’s key leverage relievers, alongside guys like A.J. Puk, Kevin Ginkel and Justin Martínez. This back issue doesn’t seem to be a major concern but isn’t the ideal way for him to start down the comeback trail. Opening Day is still two weeks away, which gives him some time, but it will be a situation to watch for the Diamondbacks and their fans.
More notes from around the National League West…
- John Seidler is now officially the control person of the Padres, reports Dennis Lin of The Athletic. The brother of the later Peter Seidler, John was approved by the league as control person over a month ago. Despite the league approval, it was noted at that time that the transfer would not become official until all the paperwork was complete on John becoming the trustee of Peter’s trust. Lin relays that the process with the trust is now complete, making John the official control person. After Peter’s death, the duties of control person were handled by his previous business partner Eric Kutsenda on an interim basis. There is an ongoing legal dispute over control of the club in the wake of Peter’s passing, with his widow Sheel filing suit against his brothers.
- Giants catcher Tom Murphy continues to be on the shelf. The club informed reporters, including Justice delos Santos of The Mercury News, that Murphy would require another epidural injection this week. He’ll be doing rehab only for the next two weeks, meaning no baseball activities. That makes him a lock for the injured list to start the season. That’s not a shock, since it was reported in late February that he has a herniated disc in his mid-back area and would be getting an epidural injection that would sideline him for weeks. He’s now getting a second shot and is still not close. Murphy has flashed a potent bat in his career but injuries have often stood in the way. He has nine MLB seasons but only appeared in 50 or more games in two of those. The Giants have Patrick Bailey as their primary catcher. With Murphy out, the backup job could fall to Sam Huff. Non-roster options in camp include Logan Porter and Max Stassi.