Diamondbacks recall Jose Cabrera to start Thursday

With Corbin Burnes (shoulder) landing on the injured list on Friday, Cabrera will rejoin the Diamondbacks for the final weekend of the season. If he’s not needed out of the bullpen before Sunday, he could get the ball in place of Burnes for the regular season finale against the Padres in San Diego.

Cabrera winds up losing his spot on Arizona’s active roster with former ace Corbin Burnes returning from a nearly two-year absence. The 24-year-old tossed three scoreless frames in relief against the Royals on Monday and has allowed just wo runs over 9 1/3 innings across three appearances since returning to the majors back on August 27.

Cabrera notched only one strikeout, but managed to limit Kansas City to just five baserunners over three frames after opener Derek Law tossed two scoreless innings to get things underway. The 24-year-old rookie lacks the strikeout upside to be a useful fantasy contributor, but he’s done a nice job for Arizona in a multi-inning role, allowing just two runs over 9 1/3 innings across three appearances since returning to the majors on August 27. He’s probably going to continue pitching in relief with Corbin Burnes, Zac Gallen and Michael Soroka close to making it back from the injured list.

This looked like it might be a very short outing from Cabrera after he got a visit from the pitching coach in the first, but he did at least manage to get 13 outs. It took him 30 pitches to get the first three and then only 40 more for the remaining 10. If Cabrera sticks around after this, he’ll likely face the Phillies next Wednesday. The D-backs hope to get Michael Soroka back after that.

Cabrera last started for Arizona back on July 8. He’ll get the ball in place of Kohl Drake. The 24-year-old rookie right-hander allowed 11 runs on 20 hits with a 12/7 K/BB ratio across 17 2/3 innings over four starts for the Diamondbacks earlier this season. He doesn’t miss enough bats to be a streaming consideration for fantasy managers.

As anticipated, Cabrera heads back to Reno with Michael Soroka expected to be ready to return to take his place in the Diamondbacks’ rotation coming out of the All-Star break. Phillip Abner was recalled from Triple-A Reno to add a fresh arm to the team’s bullpen for the final four games before the break.

Since throwing five scoreless innings in his major league debut against the Twins last month, Cabrera has given up 11 runs and walked nine in 12 2/3 innings over three starts. It seems likely that he’ll head back to Triple-A now, as the D-backs could have Michael Soroka ready to go after the break.

The 24-year-old right-hander also allowed three walks in the contest while striking out three. He was tagged for a two-run blast by Garrett Mitchell in the second inning, then the Brewers scratched out an additional run on an RBI single by Jake Bauers in the third. Cabrera generated four whiffs on 63 pitches on the night, posting a CSW of 24 percent. He’ll look to improve upon his 4.73 ERA, 1.58 WHIP and 10/5 K/BB ratio (13 1/3 innings) when he squares off against the Padres in San Diego on Wednesday.

Cabrera served up a solo homer to Junior Caminero in the first inning. Jonathan Aranda later took him deep for a two-run blast in the fifth. Cabrera would start the sixth, giving up two hits with no outs, before leaving the game at 80 pitches. One inherited runner would come in to score. The 24-year-old right-hander has allowed four runs over ten innings through two starts with a 7/2 K/BB ratio. He’ll take on the Brewers in Arizona on Friday.

Cabrera gave up five hard-hit balls, including a 392-foot bomb from Luke Keaschall, but they all turned into outs. He also walked none, and while he settled for three strikeouts, he was able to generate 11 whiffs on 35 swings. He’ll almost certainly get a chance to stick around after this, and he should face the Rays on Friday.