Arizona Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo confirmed on Monday that right-handed pitching prospect Cristian Mena will undergo season-ending shoulder surgery, with the specific date yet to be determined. The decision follows a persistent shoulder issue that interrupted Mena’s progress after he earned a call-up during the 2025 season. Lovullo described the situation as “a little bit of a grind” and said the club thoroughly examined the right-hander before concluding that the problem needs to be addressed surgically.
Cristian Mena throws during spring training at Salt River Fields in Scottsdale on Feb. 13, 2026; the promising Diamondbacks pitcher is slated for season‑ending shoulder surgery, the team announced.
“It's just been a little bit of a grind for him,” Lovullo said. “He was progressing well, and then he just felt like he had something going on in his shoulder, and we've really examined it as thoroughly as possible. But there's a problem, that just needs to be looked at and cleaned up a little bit.” The manager’s remarks came as part of the usual injury update he delivers following a road trip, ahead of a four-game series against the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Mena, 23, first drew notice in 2025 when he was summoned to the major-league club in the middle of the season and used primarily in long-relief situations. He appeared in three big-league games that year, including a standout 3.2-inning outing against the Dodgers in which he retired the side without allowing a hit or a run. His final appearance of the season, however, came in Cincinnati in wet conditions; he struggled with his grip in that rain-affected outing, and the shoulder trouble that has sidelined him since is believed to have stemmed from that period.
The right-hander was shut down early in spring training this year as the team monitored his shoulder. In recent weeks he had resumed throwing off flat ground, but that step forward did not resolve the underlying issue. With the club opting for surgery, the plan is for Mena to spend the remainder of the season rehabilitating so that he can be ready for the start of 2027 camp. The club has not set a surgery date, and the team will provide further updates as they become available.
Lovullo used the same media session to offer progress reports on several players who have been working their way back from injury. Infielder Jordan Lawlar, who suffered a right wrist fracture, is scheduled to appear in Arizona Complex League games on Monday and Tuesday and is expected to join Triple-A Reno in Las Vegas by the end of the week. The club views these minor-league rehab appearances as the next step in Lawlar’s return to full activity.
Right-hander A.J. Puk, coming off Tommy John surgery, traveled with the Reno club on Monday and is lined up to pitch in Las Vegas on Tuesday and again on Friday. Puk has already made three appearances at the Arizona Complex League level, totaling three scoreless innings, and his double appearance in Reno signals a deliberate ramp-up as the organization monitors his workload and effectiveness coming off the lengthy elbow recovery.
Outfielder Lourdes Gurriel Jr., who has been sidelined with a left hamstring strain, has seen his timeline adjusted. Though he technically becomes eligible to come off the injured list on June 2, Lovullo said that won’t happen; Gurriel’s rehab has advanced to machine batting practice, running curves and some outfield work, and there’s a possibility he’ll begin a series of Arizona Complex League rehab games next week. That schedule means he will miss the remainder of the current week and will not travel with the club to Miami next week. Based on the manager’s update, the earliest reasonable return for Gurriel now appears to be in Cincinnati on June 12.
A corresponding roster move tied to these roster shuffles saw veteran first baseman Carlos Santana transferred to the 60-day injured list after being diagnosed with an adductor strain. That move cleared a 40-man roster spot when Pavin Smith was activated from the 60-day IL, but the club did not provide a timeline for Santana’s return. Lovullo’s full suite of updates painted a picture of a club juggling a number of recoveries at different stages — from on-field rehab assignments in the Arizona Complex League to a season-ending operation for one of the organization’s young pitchers — as it prepares for the next stretch of the schedule.
The Diamondbacks will provide additional information on Mena’s surgery and the status of the other injured players as the medical evaluations and rehab progress continue to unfold. For now, Mena will focus on the surgical correction and subsequent rehabilitation with the aim of being available for major-league spring training in 2027.