Drey Jameson makes 1st game appearance in 600 days, Corbin Carroll continues to mash

SCOTTSDALE — Arizona Diamondbacks right-hander Drey Jameson could not get his legs to stop shaking as he stood on the mound, facing another team for the first time since 2023 on Wednesday at Salt River Fields.

Jameson, who missed all of 2024 after Tommy John surgery, made his 2025 Cactus League debut against the Milwaukee Brewers, and his first pitch clocked at 97.6 mph.

He delivered a 1-2-3 inning with only 11 pitches, and one of his heaters hit 100 mph on the radar gun, per Statcast.

“My legs wouldn’t stop shaking, so I kept telling myself I’ve already got the first couple pitches over, like, stop shaking,” Jameson said.

“I was amped up, obviously, I haven’t been on that kind of a stage in a long time, so just the jitters and excitement of being able to do that again was going through my head at that time. I wasn’t really thinking baseball. It was just like, ‘I’m glad I’m out here being able to do this again.'”

Drey Jameson said his legs wouldn’t stop shaking in his first game since summer 2023.

He said he felt good after getting through his inning with 11 pitches. pic.twitter.com/5w3lLuFKOT

— Alex Weiner (@alexjweiner) February 26, 2025

Manager Torey Lovullo said he could tell Jameson was exhausted after the experience, and that it was great to see him out there competing again.

When asked, Jameson said he’d been off the mound for “like 598 days,” which is so specific it perhaps revealed he’d been counting down to this moment. His last appearance was on July 6, 2023, which was 600 days prior to Wednesday.

“Felt good,” Jameson said. “Worked on some of the stuff I’ve been working on here in the backfields, and I think I executed for the most part. Obviously, still lots to improve on. But other than that, that was good for the first one.”

“Drey was the type of guy that when we were charging toward the World Series, I’d get a text every day from him,” Lovullo said. “Last season, probably, once every two weeks, I just get this flood of texts from him. He was showing me he was engaged and paying attention because I asked him to. I said, ‘Don’t let the game get too far away from you, because you’re going to step back into this big arena one day and dominate.'”

Jameson filled roles both starting games and coming out of the bullpen for Arizona before the injury. Lovullo has said stretching him out at this point would be too fast. The team is going to remain cautious with him as he continues to prove he can recover from outings as normal.

The right-hander profiles another relief option for a team that appears to have improved its bullpen depth, someone who can enter a ballgame and unload upper-90s heat and a slider that drew a 52% whiff rate when we last saw him.

Corbin Burnes makes 2nd Diamondbacks appearance

Ace starter and coveted free agent addition Corbin Burnes made his second appearance in a Diamondbacks uniform on Wednesday against his former club.

Burnes struck out the side in his lone inning last week, and this time he threw two scoreless innings with three hits allowed and three strikeouts. He finished with 29 pitches.

“Lot of good things out of it,” Burnes said. “Filled up the zone. Made a couple mistakes on pitches over the plate with some breaking stuff, so, still got some room to work on stuff there. But then also threw really good breaking pitches. So it’s close, just making sure we’re consistent with everything. For the most part, I’m happy with it.”

It was another strong Spring Training outing for Arizona Diamondbacks starting pitcher Corbin Burnes, who struck out three batters across two scoreless innings, on Wednesday. pic.twitter.com/K7KeRK7O21

— Arizona Sports (@AZSports) February 26, 2025

Corbin Carroll, Jordan Lawlar show off the power

Outfielder Corbin Carroll is crushing the ball this spring, as he smoked a 422-foot grand slam off left-hander Josh Maciejewski. Carroll has homered in back-to-back games, and on Wednesday he finished 2-for-2 with a walk, a single and two stolen bases for a very Carroll-esque statline.

He’s feeling good with some adjustments he’s made to his starting point. His bat is pointed upwards more than in the past.

“The way I was putting it, I actually want to think about my hands being a little bit lower, and then getting higher so when I make my forward move, my hands aren’t necessarily coming with my body. I want them to stay up a little bit longer,” Carroll explained.

“I think my last at-bat today is a great example of what I think having those hands stay up does for me. Fastball at the top, was able to take a good, clean swing at it. Don’t have to work back up to it. So I was happy with that.”

Corbin Carroll – Arizona Diamondbacks (2)* pic.twitter.com/Hd7LYYaBco

— MLB HR Videos (@MLBHRVideos) February 26, 2025

Shortstop Jordan Lawlar also crushed a no-doubter off lefty Tyler Alexander.

Lawlar feels he is in a good spot after missing most of last season due to injuries. He made up reps in the Dominican Winter League and has glowing reviews of the experience.

“I had a great offseason and came in prepared to play my game,” Lawlar said. “I learned a lot from (last year), perseverance and I know my body even more now.

“Maybe initially (mentally challenging) for anybody, and then you turn the corner and you get better at what you can. Get better at going to Chase and watching the game, trying to be as close as I could. You can sit in the corner and cry, or you could do something about it.”

Jordan Lawlar 🚀

MLB's No. 11 prospect clobbers his first homer of the spring for the @Dbacks. pic.twitter.com/fBJWTgQbEW

— MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) February 26, 2025

Lovullo said he’s spoken with Lawlar about fellow shortstop Geraldo Perdomo receiving a contract extension, and Lawlar told him it doesn’t change anything.

The Diamondbacks are having Lawlar focus on playing shortstop and third base, and while there is no obvious spot in the starting lineup as it looks now, the team anticipates its top prospect being a contributor this season.

“I feel like Jordan’s time is coming,” Lovullo said. “When it comes, he’s going to let us know and he’s going to find his way in a lineup for us. … He’s a special talent, and the best part of him is from the neck up. He’s a great teammate.”

Jordan Montgomery update

Left-hander Jordan Montgomery threw a 26-pitch bullpen on Tuesday, and he will throw another one on Friday. If all goes well, he will face live hitters on the backfields before stepping on the bump in a game setting.

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