Arizona Diamondbacks catcher Gabriel Moreno is headed to the 10-day injured list after leaving Monday’s game with a left groin injury. Moreno exited the series opener against the Cleveland Guardians after straining his left groin while running out an infield single. He limped off the field alongside the Diamondbacks training staff and was subsequently replaced by backup catcher José Herrera.
Despite a short stint on the injured list earlier this year, the 24-year-old catcher has been having an excellent season. slashing .262/.344/.385 this season, Moreno homered in his first at-bat against the Guardians before he injured his groin. Moreno has been particularly hot lately, slashing .327/.393/.449 in his last 15 games, while slugging .550 in his last seven. While it’s unclear how long Moreno will be sidelined, Arizona is expected to call up Adrian Del Castillo from Triple-A Reno.
Gabby Moreno is headed to the IL with a groin injury, likely start on the 10-day. As has been reported by Torey Lovullo, Adrian Del Castillo is being called up from Triple-A Reno to join the team.
— John Gambadoro (@Gambo987) August 6, 2024
Diamondbacks Placing Catcher Gabriel Moreno on the Injured List
Moreno’s absence comes at an inopportune time for Arizona, who is in a three-way tie for the NL Wild Card. Since acquiring Moreno in 2022, the Diamondbacks have somewhat struggled without him. When he’s out, they are 40-38 while batting .248 as a team. More importantly, the Diamondbacks pitching staff has a 4.61 ERA without their Gold Glove catcher behind the plate.
Del Castillo is not as strong of a defender as Moreno, but the 24-year-old rookie is strong at the plate. In 100 games with Triple-A Reno, he is batting .319/.403/.608 with 24 homers. If he can replicate that production in the majors, it will help offset the impact of Moreno’s absence.
Despite his weak offense, Herrera will likely handle most of the catching duties for the Diamondbacks with Moreno out. The 27-year-old backup backstop is batting .229/.308/.594 this year, but owns a .991 fielding percentage behind the plate.
Arizona (61-52) will wrap up their six-game road trip on Wednesday before returning home to begin a four-game series against Philadelphia for the second time since defeating the Phillies in the 2023 NLCS.
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