Diamondbacks OF David Peralta's shoulder injury not a major concern

Atreya Verma | The Republic | azcentral.com

When David Peralta was unexpectedly taken out of Sunday’s game in the sixth inning, social media caught fire with speculation that the Diamondbacks’ fan favorite might be on the move so close to the trade deadline.

However, it was revealed later that Peralta exited with right shoulder tightness.

He was not listed in the starting lineup for Monday's game against the Rangers, but said he’d be ready to pinch-hit if asked.

“We just decided that we don’t want to risk anything,” Peralta said.

He started to feel the tightness during his first plate appearance against the Padres on Sunday, and the Diamondbacks decided to replace him in the sixth to remove any chance of causing a more serious injury.

“The players always give you something on the high side,” manager Torey Lovullo said before Monday’s game. “They feel like they’re ready to go and I love that. I love that part about our group. They want to go out and perform but medically we have to sign off on that.”

Peralta said he wasn’t sure why his shoulder tightened up, joking that maybe he had thrown his nearly one-year-old daughter, Sofia, up in the air a few too many times.

He woke up feeling better on Monday morning, went into the facility to get the shoulder tested and determined it wasn’t a pulled muscle.

“Today it felt a little better. We did a lot of tissue (work) with the trainer,” Peralta said. “They did all the tests (on) the shoulder, rotator (cuff) and stuff (and it's) strong so I’m not worried about anything.”

Towers to be honored with patch

The Diamondbacks will wear a “KT” patch on Thursday to honor former General Manager Kevin Towers, who died in January at 56 after a prolonged fight with cancer.

Towers, who worked for the Diamondbacks from 2010-14, helped guide Arizona to the 2011 NLDS.

He also made the decision to call up a rookie named Paul Goldschmidt in 2011, a decision for which the Diamondbacks first baseman is still extremely grateful.

“I was just trying not to get sent down when we’re in a playoff race,” Goldschmidt said about that season. “Talk about the trust, he could’ve traded for a veteran first baseman and instead he called me up from Double-A.”

Goldschmidt acknowledged the move was especially surprising for someone commonly known as the “Gunslinger.”

“As a GM you can always trade your prospects,” Goldschmidt added. “He wasn’t scared to go make trades at the deadline.

“He believed in a lot of guys that others didn’t believe in … like in a team in 2011 that a lot of people didn’t believe in and ended up winning the division.”

Towers also drafted Archie Bradley in 2011. Bradley has turned into a very effective arm out of the bullpen for the Diamondbacks the past two seasons.

Bradley joked that his relationship with Towers started out on a sour note because of initial contract negotiations following his draft selection.

“I was trying to get money and they were trying to give me the least money possible,” he said.

But, Bradley said, the two men got along just fine going forward.

“When you’re a young guy … you don’t look at what they’ve done for the game,” he said. “To be a little more mature (now) and to look at what Kevin brought to the game (you understand) the legacy and he definitely left one.”

Lamb seeking outside opinions

Third baseman Jake Lamb reinjured his shoulder in Chicago last week and said on Monday that he isn’t aware of a timetable for his return.

He injured his left shoulder – the same one he hurt in April earlier this season – while making a play in the outfield. Lamb said the injury is similar to the first one (where he hurt his AC joint) but, “it’s a lot better than the first time it happened. That’s a positive for sure, it’s just a little tight.”

Lovullo said Lamb will get two outside opinions to ensure there isn’t any further risk before they start the rehab process. Dr. James Andrews will review his MRI and Dr. Neal ElAttrache (an orthopedic surgeon) will examine Lamb in person.

“He’s very encouraged that the news he will get will be the same as he got from our doctors here but we want to get as much information as we can get before we start to push him forward," Lovullo said.

In other injury news, Jarrod Dyson did work on a treadmill a few days ago and will repeat that process on Monday. He has also done some agility work but not at full speed, Lovullo said.

Deven Marrero is working in the Arizona League and will continue to serve as a designated hitter.

“We’re ramping him up pretty quickly and he’s passing all those tests,” Lovullo said.

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