Diamondbacks prospect Druw Jones to undergo shoulder surgery
CLEVELAND — Diamondbacks prospect Druw Jones will need shoulder surgery, a procedure that could push back the start of his 2023 season.
Jones is scheduled to undergo an arthroscopic posterior labral repair with Dr. Neal ElAttrache on Wednesday in Los Angeles, Diamondbacks farm director Josh Barfield said.
The procedure is similar to the one that shortstop prospect Jordan Lawlar underwent a year ago this month.
The club said Jones is expected to miss eight to nine months.
Jones, the No. 2 overall pick in last month’s draft, suffered the injury just three days after finalizing a deal that included an $8.19 million signing bonus. Barfield said Jones suffered the injury on a swing during batting practice. It was Jones’ first official day working out at a mini-camp for recent draftees at Salt River Fields.
The injury is not expected to change anything about Jones’ long-term potential. The son of former All-Star center fielder Andruw Jones, Druw is viewed by the Diamondbacks as a potential star-caliber player who can hit, hit for power and play elite defense in center field.
Jones’ injury extends a bizarre string of shoulder issues for the Diamondbacks’ best prospects. In addition to Lawlar, who got hurt just two games into his professional career, top prospect Corbin Carroll also needed shoulder surgery in 2021. Both Lawlar and Carroll have returned to form this year and are considered among the best prospects in baseball.
Quiet day
The Diamondbacks, who traded David Peralta on Saturday and Luke Weaver on Monday, did not make any additional moves prior to Tuesday afternoon’s trade deadline.
A team source said the club determined that it would rather keep its veterans — even those on expiring deals, such as reliever Ian Kennedy and starter Zach Davies — than take a flyer on a longshot prospect.
The two deals the club made brought back two players: 19-year-old catching prospect Christian Cerda, who came from the Tampa Bay Rays in exchange for Peralta, and infielder Emmanuel Rivera, whom the club received from the Kansas City Royals for Weaver.
Rivera arrived in Cleveland and was added to the roster prior to Tuesday night’s game. He replaced infielder Buddy Kennedy, who was optioned to Reno but remained with the team on the taxi squad.
Short hop
Left-hander Caleb Smith, who punched something in frustration after his outing on Saturday in Atlanta and ended up with a fracture, underwent surgery on Tuesday on his right pinky finger, manager Torey Lovullo said. Lovullo did not offer a timetable for Smith’s return, though it seems likely he will miss most if not all of the rest of the season.
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Reach Piecoro at (602) 444-8680 or nick.piecoro@arizonarepublic.com. Follow him on Twitter @nickpiecoro.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Arizona Diamondbacks prospect Druw Jones to undergo shoulder surgery
