Diamondbacks Add Bullpen Depth With Series of Roster Moves

Before Tuesday's game against the Dodgers, the Diamondbacks announced a series of roster moves. Left-handed reliever Brandon Hughes has been added to the major league roster, with left-handed starter Tommy Henry being optioned to Triple-A and fellow left-handed reliever Kyle Nelson transferred to the 60-day injured list.

Hughes, 28, was signed by the D-backs on a minor league deal with an invite to Spring Training in February after getting non-tendered by the Cubs. He sports a career 3.91 ERA and eight saves in 71 career relief appearances at the major league level. He pitched to a 1.84 ERA in 10 appearances with Triple-A Reno this season, although he has an ugly 12/9 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 14 2/3 innings. His velocity is down a couple of ticks compared to 2023, down to about 90-91 on the fastball and low-80s with his swing-and-miss slider.

In an update before Monday's game, D-backs manager Torey Lovullo said that Nelson was consulting with vascular surgeon Dr. Gregory Pearl. Pearl is known for performing surgery on Merrill Kelly when Kelly was dealing with thoracic outlet syndrome in 2020. Nelson was placed on the injured list on April 23rd with left shoulder inflammation.

Henry started Monday night's loss to the Dodgers, allowing two runs in four innings. With right-hander Ryne Nelson possibly returning the next turn through the starting rotation, the D-backs have decided to carry nine relievers for at least the rest of the series. Hughes gives the D-backs another left-handed option with Logan Allen out for a few days due to long relief and Andrew Saalfrank struggling against the Dodgers.