3:18PM: The D’Backs have officially announced the move. Ahmed’s IL placement is retroactive to March 31.
11:27AM: The Diamondbacks are preparing to promote shortstop Geraldo Perdomo to make his Major League debut, per ESPN’s Jeff Passan (via Twitter). It’s certainly early in the season for this type of promotion, but Nick Ahmed’s continued knee pain may be forcing the issue. It’s looking like Ahmed will soon head to the injured list.
That said, neither the injury nor the promotion are expected to spark long-term change, notes Passan. Perdomo is the Diamondbacks top infield prospect, ranked third overall in their system by Baseball America, fourth overall by Fangraphs. For the time being, however, the job belongs to Ahmed. Ahmed is signed reasonably through 2023, so Arizona can take their time in developing Perdomo.
The 21-year-old has just 26 games at High-A, so his promotion does come as somewhat of a surprise. With the minor league season yet to get underway, however, there’s certainly some sense to getting Perdomo some game action in a short-term fill-in capacity. Thus far in his professional career, Perdomo has shown a tremendous approach at the plate with well-above-average bat-to-ball skills. He has not yet displayed much power, but between his approach at the plate, speed, and defensive skill-set, the Diamondbacks expect Perdomo to eventually take over as their starting shortstop.
