Dbacks Notes

Smith hit a solo home run and walked over two plate appearances in Friday’s spring game against Cincinnati.

The Diamondbacks fielded what looked like a potential regular-season lineup Friday, but the lefty-hitting Smith did not start against a right-hander. Instead, manager Torey Lovullo had Jake McCarthy at designated hitter while Alek Thomas was in center field. To this point in spring training, it’s widely been assumed that Smith would be the lefty component at DH against right-handers, and that McCarthy and Thomas were in a battle to start in center field. That still may be the case, so no conclusions should be drawn from this one spring contest. Smith has homered in two consecutive Cactus League games and is batting .259/.375/.856 through 32 plate appearances.

Rodriguez struck out six over 3.2 hitless and scoreless innings in Friday’s spring start against the Reds.

Rodriguez set down all 11 batters over 44 pitches (29 strikes) in his second Cactus League outing. The Reds played split-squad games Friday and did not have their best nine on the field, but Rodriguez was sharp and pleased with all his offerings. “Feel like everything (worked), it’s one of those days you don’t want to come out,” Rodriguez told Alex Weiner of Arizona Sports. “Everything I was throwing was just going right where I wanted.” He should get another two spring starts before taking his first turn in the regular season.

Montgomery threw 40 pitches over two simulated innings on the backfields Thursday, Steve Gilbert of MLB.com reports.

Montgomery was hammered in his first Cactus League start last Saturday, and for a couple of reasons, including rain forecasted for Thursday evening, the Diamondbacks had him throw a backfield session in the afternoon instead of taking a turn in a game environment. The outing also was a controlled environment, where the left-hander could hit the pitch count and get in an up-and-down. All involved thought it was good session for Montgomery, who is expected throw next in a Cactus League game. He believes there’s time to ready for the regular season. That he’d be fifth in line gives him a bit more time. Due to a day off following the first series of the season — a four-game set against the Cubs — Arizona will not require a fifth starter until April 5.

Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo said Friday that Walston will undergo Tommy John surgery, Alex Weiner of ArizonaSports.com reports.

It’s not clear when Walston was injured, but he missed time last season while at Triple-A Reno with an elbow issue. Because he’s a starter and it’s a full UCL repair, the left-hander will probably be sidelined until around midseason of next year.

The Diamondbacks optioned Kessinger to Triple-A Reno on Friday, Steve Gilbert of MLB.com reports.

The 27-year-old was acquired from the Astros during the offseason after being designated for assignment, and he had a solid showing at the plate during spring training with a .294/.391/.353 slash line in 23 plate appearances. Kessinger is likely to spent most of 2025 with Reno but could receive a look in the big leagues if Arizona suffers some infield injuries.