Justin

Martinez

Martinez is set to undergo season-ending Tommy John surgery after being diagnosed last week with a UCL sprain in his right elbow. The procedural move frees up a spot on Arizona’s 40-man roster.

We already knew that the 23-year-old right-hander was dealing with a UCL sprain and likely heading under the knife, but now it has been confirmed. He’ll miss the remainder of the 2025 season and most of the 2026 campaign as well while recovering from the procedure.

Martinez was diagnosed with his sprain Tuesday, and while the 23-year-old is awaiting a second opinion, the Diamondbacks still have ruled out the right-hander for the rest of this season and a large portion of 2026, as well. The question will be whether or not Martinez will undergo surgery and what type of operation it would be, but he won’t be a high-leverage option for Arizona for a while, at best.

Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo told reporters they’re waiting for a second opinion on his MRI results before deciding on his future. The hard-throwing 23-year-old closer was lifted from Monday’s relief outing against the Mariners with elbow tightness and is facing a lengthy absence, even if he elects to proceed with a rest and rehabilitation route instead of surgery. Given their closing experience, veterans Shelby Miller and Jalen Beeks are the logical immediate successors to Arizona’s closer role, at least until lefty A.J. Puk (elbow) returns later this year. They’re worthy of speculative roster spots in deeper fantasy leagues.

Tightness doesn’t sound bad, but that’s pretty much always the initial diagnosis these days, and we’re assuming there’s a good chance Martinez, who was on the IL last month with shoulder inflammation, will land back on the injured list. Shelby Miller will be the clear favorite for saves in the Arizona pen while Martinez is sidelined, and he’s worth picking up in most leagues.

Martinez certainly made this one interesting. He came into this game with one out and two on in the eighth inning and got two strikeouts sandwiched around an intentional walk to Ronald Acuña Jr. to get out of it. Then, he returned for the ninth, loaded the bases with two walks and a hit batsmen, walked in a run, and finally struck out Michael Harris II to end the game a whopping 37 pitches later. This was the second time in four outings since coming off the injured list where he’s allowed a run.

Martinez looked like a dominant force in this one, getting Keibert Ruiz on a pop out to first base to start the inning before striking out Jose Tena and Daylen Lile in succession to end it. He needed just 13 pitches (nine strikes) to get the job done in this one. On the season, Martinez now sports a 3.46 ERA, 1.08 WHIP and a 16/7 K/BB ratio over 13 innings on the season while securing four saves in his first five opportunities.

Martinez was thrown right into a high-pressure situation in his first appearance since coming off the IL, but he gave up a walk, a double and a single to turn a one-run lead into a deficit. Even if he had done well, it seems likely that Shelby Miller would have closed today. Martinez will probably have to wait a little longer for a ninth-inning save chance.

Martinez is back after missing the majority of May with right shoulder inflammation. The right-hander has a chance to be the closer for the D-Backs, but Arizona may ease him back into the role before using him in the ninth inning. His ability to miss bats does give him some fantasy relevancy, but fantasy managers may want to see how the D-Backs use Martinez before adding him to the roster.

Martinez looked good in his rehab outing at Triple-A, consistently hitting triple digits with his fastball. The MRI showed no structural damage in his shoulder, so perhaps this was just a dead arm period due to overuse. However, that also means the Diamondbacks may be cautious about how they deploy him once he’s back. We wouldn’t cut Shelby Miller right away until we see how the team plans to manage the end of games with all of their relievers healthy.