Dbacks Notes and Recaps

Burnes (elbow) tossed 15 pitches during Friday’s bullpen session, Nick Piecoro and Jose Romero of The Arizona Republic reports.

It was an encouraging sign for Barnes, with Friday’s bullpen session being his first since undergoing Tommy John surgery in June. All 15 of his pitches were fastballs or sinkers, and he reached a top velocity of 91 mph. Barnes’ current plan is to toss two bullpen sessions a week, and the 31-year-old right-hander is aiming to make his 2026 debut around the All-Star break in July.

Diamondbacks Torey Lovullo told reporters Saturday that an MRI on Moreno‘s right elbow showed inflammation and no structural damage, Nick Piecoro of The Arizona Republic reports.

Moreno was scratched from Friday’s Cactus League game against the Royals after experiencing forearm tightness. The good news for the 26-year-old backstop is that imaging did not reveal a serious injury, and Lovullo relayed that Moreno should be available for Opening Day, per Jose M. Romero of The Arizona Republic.

Kelly (back) said Friday that he expects to be on the injured list to open the regular season, Steve Gilbert of MLB.com reports.

Kelly spoke about his chances of making the Opening Day roster following his Cactus League debut Friday. “I won’t go into depth on what the tentative plan is right now, but yeah, as of right now, not very good,” the pitcher said. That’s the bad news; the good news is that Kelly’s back held up over 1.2 innings (36 pitches), which was the priority of the day. Stints on the IL can be backdated three days, which means Kelly would miss at least the first 12 days of the regular season. He would be eligible for activation in time for April 7 against the Mets.

Smith is dealing with forearm tightness and will be rested for the next couple of days, Jose M. Romero of The Arizona Republic reports.

Both Smith and catcher Gabriel Moreno are dealing with forearm tightness, though only the latter will undergo further testing. That indicates that Smith’s injury isn’t considered a long-term concern, and he could be back in Cactus League action over the coming days. Smith is looking to build off a 2025 campaign in which he slashed .258/.362/.434 with two steals, eight home runs and 28 RBI in 287 plate appearances during the regular season.

Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo told reporters that Moreno was scratched from the lineup for Friday’s Cactus League game against the Royals due to forearm tightness, Jose M. Romero of The Arizona Republic reports.

Moreno will undergo an MRI to determine the severity of the injury, so the Diamondbacks should provide an update for the 26-year-old catcher in the coming days. Adrian Del Castillo is unlikely to be ready for Opening Day while rehabbing from a calf strain, so James McCann would get the bulk of the work behind home plate if Moreno were to be sidelined for an extended amount of time.