D-backs' Zach Davies leaves Saturday's game with strained oblique

Zach Davies left the Diamondbacks game against the Dodgers with a strained left oblique, the team announced. Davies pitched 4 1/3 innings (86 pitches), giving up four earned runs on five hits and four walks. 

While it’s too early to know the severity of the strain, obliques are always reason for concern and often require multiple weeks, and even months, on the sideline.

This was Davies’ second start of the year after re-signing on a one-year, $5M deal with the Diamondbacks. In his first, he threw five innings of one run ball, giving up four hits and recording four strikeouts. Last year, Davies tossed 134 1/3 innings of 4.09 ERA ball over 27 starts for the Snakes.

The former Brewer, Padres and Cub has had a solid career in the bigs, providing useful back-of-the-rotation innings. All told, he owns a 4.12 ERA over 183 big league starts. His best year came in the shortened 2020 season with San Diego, when Davies worked to a 2.73 ERA across 12 starts.

This could open the door for the Diamondbacks to hand top pitching prospect Brandon Pfaadt a big league debut. Pfaadt is off to a rough start at Triple-A, giving up five earned runs in 3 2/3 innings in his only start, but he worked to a 2.63 ERA in 10 starts there last year. 

The 24-year-old ranked fourth on Keith Law’s prospect rankings in The Athletic (38th in all of baseball), with Law describing him as “at least a mid-rotation starter”.

Tommy Henry is also at Triple-A and made nine starts for the Diamondbacks last season, and despite those starts going for a 5.36 ERA he could be an option if the team thinks Pfaadt needs more time to develop. 

They could also turn to former first round picks Blake Walston and Slade Cecconi as options to get their first taste of the big leagues.