Arizona Diamondbacks catcher Adrian Del Castillo was placed on the injured list with Triple-A Reno on Saturday due to a right shoulder strain.
Farm director Chris Slivka said the timeline for Del Castillo’s return is not yet clear, but Del Castillo is expected to miss at least a month.
Slivka said Del Castillo’s shoulder tightened up during a game on the backfields late in spring training. The initial thinking was that it was a cramp, but it turned out to be a strain, Slivka said.
Del Castillo, 25, enjoyed a monster start to his big-league career at the plate, hitting .313/.368/.525 in 80 at-bats late last season while filling in for an injured Gabriel Moreno.
However, he struggled last year to throw out attempted base stealers, who were successful on 27 of 29 attempts. Coaches and team officials said he had shown improvement in that department during spring training.
Meanwhile, the Diamondbacks retained catcher Rene Pinto, who was designated for assignment earlier in the week. He cleared waivers and was assigned to Reno.
The club also retained infielder Ildemaro Vargas, who was one of the last cuts in spring training. He had the ability to opt out of his contract if he found a big-league job with another club, but that did not materialize. He was added to the Reno roster on Saturday.
Saturday’s Diamondbacks-Cubs pitching matchup
Cubs at Diamondbacks, 5:10 p.m., Cox, Ch. 34
Diamondbacks RHP Brandon Pfaadt (11-10, 4.71)* vs. Cubs LHP Shota Imanaga (0-0, 0.00).
At Chase Field: Pfaadt emerged as the Diamondbacks' choice for the starting rotation after what was essentially a competition for one spot in spring training. Pfaadt maintained throughout spring training that starting was his clear preference and not coming out of the bullpen, and he backed it up with four solid outings out of five in camp. ... On Friday, it was announced Pfaadt and the club had agreed to a five-year contract extension, the club locking up Pfaadt for the long term as he heads into his prime. ... Imanaga was an All-Star last year as a rookie, going 15-3 with a 2.91 ERA in 29 starts. The Cubs will rely heavily on the veteran from Japan again this season, and Imanaga got 2025 off to a good start with four innings of scoreless and hitless ball in Tokyo against the Dodgers earlier this month. He walked four in that outing.
* — Stats from 2024.
Coming up
Sunday: At Chase Field, 1:10 p.m., Diamondbacks LHP Eduardo Rodriguez (3-4, 5.04)* vs. Cubs LHP Matthew Boyd (2-2, 2.72)*.
Monday: Off.
Tuesday: At New York, 4:05 p.m., Diamondbacks RHP Corbin Burnes (15-9, 2.92)* vs. Yankees RHP Will Warren (0-3, 10.32)*.
Wednesday: At New York, 4:05 p.m., Diamondbacks RHP Zac Gallen (0-1, 9.00) vs. Yankees LHP Carlos Rodon (1-0, 1.69).
* — Stats from 2024.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Diamondbacks updates: Del Castillo out with shoulder injury
