Merrill Kelly Set for Rehab Start With Triple-A Reno Before Return

Merrill Kelly gave Arizona Diamondbacks fans a clear picture of where he stands with a stat line nobody wants to see in spring: 2 IP, 4 H, 5 ER, 2 BB, 1 K, 2 HR in a Cactus League exhibition loss to Cleveland. But the right-hander is undeterred, and the organization has a structured path back mapped out, ending with a Triple-A rehab assignment in Albuquerque.

Kelly will make a rehab start at Triple-A Reno before being reinstated from the 15-day injured list, per Jose M. Romero of The Arizona Republic. The specific destination is already set: he'll have a rehab start with the Triple-A Reno Aces on April 3 in Albuquerque against the Isotopes. Before that, his next outing will be on a backfield at Salt River Fields on Saturday, March 28, with the goal of getting to a fourth inning.

The injury keeping Kelly off the Opening Day roster is an intercostal nerve issue. Kelly is slated to begin the season on the 15-day injured list due to an intercostal nerve issue in his back. Kelly described his current state with measured optimism: "Body feels good, that's what really matters. Timing and, mechanically-wise, I'm still building up, so there's definitely still some work to do there. But what's most important, obviously, is that my arm feels good, my back feels good, so I'm moving in the right direction."

The exhibition outing against Cleveland was rough on paper but useful for Kelly's purposes. He gave up back-to-back homers in the first inning to Chase DeLauter and Jose Ramirez. In the third inning, he walked the first two batters faced and then gave up a sharp single to right to Ramirez, and all three runs scored, capping a final line of 2 IP, 4 H, 5 ER, 2 BB, 1 K, 2 HR. The only positive from his pitching line was that he got up to 52 pitches after throwing 36 in his last outing. The velocity readings told a more concerning story: he still has work to do in terms of timing and mechanics.

Despite the ugly numbers, Kelly kept the focus where his training staff needed it. The outing confirmed he could handle the physical workload, which is the foundation for everything that follows.

If all goes well Saturday, Kelly will pitch rehab outings for Triple-A Reno on April 3 and April 8 in preparation to rejoin the Diamondbacks for his subsequent appearance. That would put him in line to be eligible to come off the IL by April 8, or sometime during the Mets series. The broader projection from multiple outlets is that if all goes according to plan, the right-hander could be ready to make his 2026 debut at some point during Arizona's second road trip of the season, either in New York or Philadelphia.

Kelly has quietly been one of the NL's more consistent rotation arms over the past four seasons, and while he isn't shiny, he has won double-digit games in three of the past four seasons, with an ERA since 2021 better than the likes of Dylan Cease, Zac Gallen, Joe Ryan, Jameson Taillon, and Nick Pivetta over the same period. Getting him back at full strength matters for an Arizona club that needs rotation depth. The April 3 start in Albuquerque is the first real checkpoint.