Diamondbacks catcher Gabriel Moreno suffered an injury running out an infield single in the second inning against the Cleveland Guardians. He was immediately replaced on the bases by backup José Herrera. Moreno’s injury comes as another hard blow to a resurgent Diamondbacks squad who has each of their last six series.
They lost Christian Walker to an oblique injury last week but lucked out when Josh Bell became available by the Marlins. After the trade deadline, they do not have such luxuries and have to depend on their internal options while Moreno is out. Arizona’s catching depth has considerably thinned out over the last five weeks.
After releasing Tucker Barnhart at the end of June, they have gone with the tandem of Moreno and Herrera behind the plate. Adrian Del Castillo, who is enjoying a breakout season with the organization’s Triple-A affiliate in Reno, was stated by general manager Mike Hazen as the third catcher on the depth chart. That was a big reason why the Diamondbacks did not move him at the trade deadline.
Del Castillo is almost certain to be called up to the major leagues tomorrow, but they’ll need to make an additional 40-man roster move. They currently have an open spot on the 40-man roster but with Eduardo Rodríguez set to come off the 60-day injured list and make his Diamondbacks debut Tuesday , they need to clear out two spots. Moreno going to the IL is likely to be one of the two active roster moves, along with either Humberto Castellanos o.