The closing pitcher role for the Arizona Diamondbacks has become one of the biggest talking points so far during this 2025 season.
In Tuesday night’s matchup, the Arizona Diamondbacks gave up a 3-1 lead in the tenth inning. Shelby Miller was brought in to close the game, and although he has been decent on the season, he walked two and gave up two earned runs to lose the game for Arizona.
Bullpen issues have been more than a problem for this ball club. On Monday night, Shelby Miller had to make an appearance after Ryan Thompson lost all of his command and gave up two earned runs on three hits with a walk, and couldn’t finish the ninth inning.
Head Coach Torey Lovullo spoke to the media yesterday and mentioned that Justin Martinez was on his way to Triple-A Reno to throw one inning around 25 pitches, and will react to his outing shortly after. A.J. Puk has recently begun his throwing program and has been saying how he is feeling better as the days go by. Even if A.J. Puk comes back fully healthy and Justin Martinez lights it up in Reno, are they the answer going forward for this ball club as the closing pitcher?
The answer for this Diamondbacks ball club at closer for the rest of the season might not be on the roster currently in Arizona. General Manager Mike Hazen has to be exploring a couple of options, and making some calls around the league to make sure they can find a bonafide star closer so mishaps like Tuesday night don’t continue to occur. That could be the missing piece this Arizona team needs to contend with these star-studded franchises and make a deep playoff run.
