The Diamondbacks have been suggesting for a while that Madison Bumgarner has been pointing toward a return from the injured list during this current spin through the starting rotation.
Instead, manager Torey Lovullo said this week that Bumgarner will miss at least another start, a decision Lovullo said stemmed from a desire to make sure his left-hander is more than ready to compete at the highest level.
“His comfort level, his endurance, and then, obviously, the stress level that he was getting ready to ask his body to be put under,” Lovullo said, citing considerations.
“As much as we need him, I had to pull back and say we might sacrifice a little bit early, and instead of the force play here, the force mentality here where he plays a little bit of catch-up and might be a little fatigued throughout the entire outing, I thought waiting one more spin would give him a chance to come in and compete at a very high level for a very long period of time.