Diamondbacks option Tommy Henry to Reno, select contract of Brandon Hughes

The Arizona Diamondbacks optioned starting lefty Tommy Henry to Triple-A Reno on Tuesday after his sixth start of the year went sideways a night prio in a loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers.

The D-backs also on Tuesday selected the contract of left-hander Brandon Hughes and also transferred lefty reliever Kyle Nelson to the 60-day injured list with left shoulder inflammation.

Nelson will have surgery to address thoracic outlet syndrome with Dr. Gregory Pearl, per manager Torey Lovullo.

Henry on Monday allowed five hits and two runs in 4.0 innings. He walked two and did not record a strikeout in the 8-4 loss that saw Arizona’s pitching staff fail to record a strikeout.

Over six starts, Henry holds a 5.40 ERA with 24 strikeouts and 11 walks. He’s allowed four home runs over 28.1 innings. He was optioned on April 17 but recalled on April 23.

“The past couple of outings, I’ve been very pleased with what Tommy’s done,” Lovullo said. “It’s been good fastball command. That was one of the challenges we sent him down with the last time even though he didn’t get a start in Triple-A. He heard that and we just appreciate the trust he has in us to go down there and continue to work on the things we want him to. He’s going to pitch back up here again with us at some point in time.”

Henry’s option opens a spot in the rotation, and Lovullo said, “we’re gonna stay right in line. So you could probably figure it out from there.”

He referred to Ryne Nelson returning from the 15-day IL (elbow contusion). Nelson threw 70 pitches through five innings in a simulated game Monday and will rejoin the rotation soon after the minimum 15 days are up.

Henry going down also signaled Slade Cecconi has performed well enough to continue getting looks in the major leagues.

“It’s nice to see Slade capitalize on it,” Lovullo said. “He’s gonna go out and continue to pitch for us and we’ll expect good things from him.”

Hughes has pitched 10 games for Triple-A Reno this season and has some experience in MLB the past two years with the Chicago Cubs.

Hughes pitched out of the bullpen in 74 games from 2022-23, posting a 3.91 ERA and 1.19 WHIP.

This year in the minors for the Aces, batters are hitting just .196 off him in 14.2 innings. He’s struck out 12, allowed 10 hits and walked nine with three earned runs allowed.

“We wanted an extra reliever for the time being, so we make these shuffles and we do this type of stuff because it makes sense, gets a little bit of flexibility in the bullpen,” Lovullo said.

“Brandon Hughes has been throwing the ball really well. He’s had some good runs at the big league level, was a little bit banged up and injured up until this year and we feel like we’re getting the best version of him again.”

Kyle Nelson was placed on the 15-day injured list last Tuesday but had been battling discomfort before then.

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