Diamondbacks right-hander Cristian Mena will undergo shoulder surgery, manager Torey Lovullo announced on Monday (link via Jesse Borek of MLB.com). It’ll likely end his 2026 season before it began.
Mena will go nearly two full years without making an appearance. He first landed on the injured list last June with a teres major strain that shelved him for the remainder of the ’25 season. Mena aggravated the injury over the winter and began this year on the injured list. He tried a throwing program at the end of April but apparently is still battling discomfort.
After exhausting all other options, the 23-year-old heads to surgery. Mena will spend the entire season on the 60-day injured list. Arizona will need to either reinstate him onto the 40-man roster or place him on waivers at the beginning of the offseason.
Mena was a relatively low-profile signee by the White Sox out of the Dominican Republic in 2019. He quickly worked his way up the minors and became one of the organization’s more intriguing pitching prospects. Chicago swapped him to Arizona for outfielder Dominic Fletcher going into the ’24 season. The trade hasn’t really worked for either club. Fletcher was a replacement level performer for two years and is now in the Pittsburgh system on a minor league contract. Mena started one game in 2024 and made three relief appearances last season. He has allowed five runs across 9 2/3 innings as a big leaguer.
Baseball America and FanGraphs respectively ranked Mena 11th and 10th in the Arizona farm system over the offseason. Both outlets credit him with a solid four-pitch mix headlined by his curveball with the potential for league average command. It’s a potential back-end starter profile on talent, but the durability concerns could push him to relief. Mena also missed time in 2024 with a forearm strain and will have thrown a combined 150 minor league and MLB innings between 2024-26.
