Ryan

Thompson

With Justin Martinez joining A.J. Puk on the IL, the D-backs used Ryan Thompson in the seventh, Kevin Ginkel in the eighth and Miller to close today. Miller got to face the bottom three hitters in the Mets order and retired them on just eight pitches. Ginkel struggled against better hitters in his frame, and he was allowed to throw 34 pitches despite having just made his season debut Wednesday after spending the first month on the IL. Miller has allowed only one unearned run in 13 2/3 innings for the Diamondbacks, and he might be the team’s favorite for saves for now. Health is always a question here, though. His closest thing to a full season in the last nine years was last year, when he had a 4.53 ERA in 55 2/3 innings before the Tigers cut him with a week left in the season. The save today was just the fourth of his career.

Thompson came into a chaotic situation after Justin Martinez allowed a solo home run and walked back-to-back batters before being pulled without recording an out. He threw just five of his 14 pitches for strikes and his average fastball velocity was down from 100 mph to 96 mph. While that’s all very troubling, Thompson got the call to nail down the save and got some clutch outs. Kevin Ginkel, Shelby Miller and Thompson would be in the mix for save chances if something is wrong with Martinez.

Lovullo added that Martinez is undergoing further evaluation after his velocity was down significantly during Wednesday’s relief appearance against the Mets. The hard-throwing 23-year-old was pulled in the ninth inning after giving up a solo homer to Tyrone Taylor and issuing consecutive walks to Francisco Lindor and Juan Soto. It was Ryan Thompson who came on to escape the jam and pick up the save. It certainly sounds like the Diamondbacks are considering giving him some time off to rest and focus on getting back to his previous form.

Martinez hasn’t pitched since last Thursday due to shoulder fatigue, but there’s no indication he’ll wind up requiring a trip to the injured list. It would likely be some combination of Shelby Miller, Ryan Thompson and Drey Jameson handling a save chance on Wednesday night if Martinez isn’t able to go.

Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo said late Tuesday that Martinez is possibly dealing with a “dead arm” phase, but believes he’s “very close” to 100 percent. The hard-throwing 23-year-old righty hasn’t pitched since last Thursday, but there’s been no indication that the Diamondbacks are considering sending him to the injured list. He’s expected to serve as Arizona’s primary closer with A.J. Puk (elbow) on the injured list. Some combination of Shelby Miller, Ryan Thompson and Drey Jameson are in the mix to close if Martinez is unable to answer the bell.

The widely-held assumption is that hard-throwing righty Justin Martinez, who has struck out nine over six innings of work this spring, will get the first crack at the ninth-inning role for the Diamondbacks. However, fantasy managers should expect southpaw A.J. Puk, and possibly even other high-leverage arms like Kevin Ginkel or Ryan Thompson, coming on to vulture the occasional save opportunity in the desert. Barring an unexpected development, Martinez projects as a borderline top-20 closer for fantasy purposes in remaining drafts.

The 32-year-old right-hander had been projected by MLBTradeRumors.com to earn $2.9 million via arbitration. Thompson was terrific out of the Diamondbacks’ bullpen in 2024, posting a 3.26 ERA, 1.19 WHIP and a 52/15 K/BB ratio across 66 1/3 innings in his 67 appearances. He’ll function in a middle relief role once again in 2025 and is highly unlikely to have any fantasy value outside of leagues that count holds.

Martinez got the call to protect a narrow one-run margin in the 10th inning after Ryan Thompson was saddled with a blown save the previous inning when he surrendered a game-tying sacrifice fly that sent the contest to extra innings. He intentionally walked José Ramírez to put runners on the corners before striking out Josh Naylor and David Fry to preserve the victory. The hard-throwing 23-year-old righty should continue to factor into Arizona’s closing mix alongside Thompson and newly-acquired A.J. Puk moving forward, which makes him an interesting addition in deeper mixed leagues where every potential save is extremely valuable.

Lovullo didn’t rule out the possibility of Sewald regaining the role eventually, but the Diamondbacks are going to turn to some of their alternatives moving forward. It was Ryan Thompson who was summoned to protect a two-run lead on Friday night in Pittsburgh, but we’re assuming Justin Martinez, Kevin Ginkel and newly-acquired A.J. Puk will be in the mix for save chances moving forward.

Diamondbacks’ manager Torey Lovullo publicly removed Paul Sewald from the closer role before this game without naming a replacement. Then, he went to AJ Puk, Dylan Floro, and Justin Martinez in high leverage situations before the ninth inning, leaving Thompson as the de facto closer. This looks like it will be a revolving door to see who gets save opportunities nightly.