Arizona Diamondbacks' Steven Souza Jr. out a 'couple of weeks' with strained right pectoral

Diamondbacks right fielder Steven Souza Jr. has a strained right pectoral muscle, manager Torey Lovullo said, an injury that will keep him out of the lineup for “a couple of weeks, at least.”

Souza is expected to open the season on the disabled list, Lovullo said, adding that he would be surprised if the outfielder remained sidelined until mid-May.

“We’re gong to give this injury time to define itself,” Lovullo said.

Souza suffered the injury diving for a ball in right-center field in Wednesday night’s game against the San Francisco Giants. He underwent an MRI exam on Thursday morning.

“A great jump by a right fielder that was trying to make a play and get us out of a situation,” Lovullo said after the game. “And that’s exactly who Steven Souza is. He dove, he laid out and it seemed like he was very close to the ball and closing on it quickly.

“You expect him to get up from those things, and when he doesn’t, you kind of hold your breath a little bit. You’re worried when you run out there.”

After the trainers helped him to his feet, Souza slowly walked off the field while keeping a firm hold on his right shoulder.

“It was a no-brainer for me to get him off the field," Lovullo said. "By the time I got out there, I think there was a lot of discomfort and I could see that.”

Souza said he has never before experienced an injury that affected his throwing arm, so the diagnosis came as good news. He said at times he had been thinking the worst last night.

"After last night, I was obviously in a little bit of pain," Souza said. "You never know what to think in those situations. But after this morning, I got some good news that I won’t be down too long."

The outfielder said he was told the injury was largely a Grade 1 strain of the right pectoral, "with a little bit of Grade 2 in there," he said.

A Grade 1 strain is generally defined as a mild strain to a given ligament, while Grade 2 is reserved for something closer to a tear.

Souza was acquired in a three-team trade on Feb. 20 that brought the outfielder to Arizona in exchange for Brandon Drury (to the Yankees) and Anthony Banda (to the Rays). The Diamondbacks also acquired Taylor Widener in the deal.

The outfielder said he didn't have great mobility in his arm last night, and that he was trying not to push it while he didn't know the extent of the injury.

Once he got the good news, however, the mobility miraculously appeared.

"I feel like when I hear the news that my rotator cuff wasn’t tore, I automatically gained mobility back," Souza said. "I think anytime you don’t know what’s going on, you don’t want to test how far you can go in case something is wrong."

Souza hit 30 home runs with the Tampa Bay Rays last season and figured to be the Diamondbacks' No. 5 hitter for the upcoming season. Now, Arizona will have to rethink the lineup plans.

"It's been a topic that we've all been discussing for the last four or five hours," Lovullo said of how the team will replace Souza. "We still haven't finalized that. What I want to say is a little bit of what I got into last night, and that is we're built for this.

"We're built for moments like this and it's going to create opportunities for guys to step in to maybe a little bit different of a role and cover for Steven while he's gone. And that's what a team does."

Lovullo said that Souza came into his office and apologized that he wouldn't be ready for Opening Day. The manager appreciated the sentiment but did not think the situation warranted an apology.

"That was the tough part of the conversation I had today with Steven," Lovullo said. "True to his form, he came in and apologized to me. It kind of floored me because, here’s one of our best athletes, one of our best players, saying he was sorry for going hard.

"I told him, ‘Don’t ever do that again. You were doing what you know, you were doing what you do best. It’s the reason why you came here, why we were trying to get you here. That’s all you know, and we love that. So please don’t apologize to me.’"

Souza just said he felt badly that he would not be able to suit up on March 29.

"Just sorry that I wasn’t going to be available and sorry that we’re in this situation," Souza said of his message to Lovullo. "We’ve just talked about a goal that we had in mind, and to put up a road block this early sucks. He reassured me, and obviously I know this to be a fact, this team is deep. It’s not just one player that makes us go.

"That’s the beautiful thing about this team. We’re going to be just fine with or without me."

The newly acquired outfielder said the most moving part of the ordeal has been the support from his teammates.

Souza, who has played 11 seasons in professional baseball, was surprised that his teammates went out of their way to wish him well.

"I’ve been here for about a month now or so," Souza said. "And I think every single guy in that locker room came up to me and asked me how I was doing and to keep my head up. It sounds like remedial stuff. Those guys don’t know me that well – well, I do know some guys in there –but for everybody to take the time to come over and ask me how I was doing, they didn’t just say, I hope you’re OK, they stopped to talk to me.

"It meant a lot to me and it just shows how special this team is. They all just said, ‘Keep your head up and we’ve got you and we’re ready for when you come back.’"

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