NEW YORK (AP) - The Arizona Diamondbacks will wait until Monday before deciding whether outfielder Steven Souza Jr. will go back on the disabled list.
Souza reinjured his right pectoral muscle on a throw from right field Friday night. He originally hurt the muscle during spring training and didn’t start his big league season until May 3.
An MRI on Saturday determined he sustained a strain and had inflammation. The images will be sent to Arizona’s medical staff to determine whether it occurred in the same spot.
“Obviously a little more sore than I’d like,” he said.
Souza thinks he can avoid returning to the DL and said the injury is “nothing like it was obviously back in March.”
In his first season with Arizona, the 29-year-old is hitting .167 (7 for 42) with one RBI.
“When I decided to come off the DL, I said I was to play. And so when I say I’m ready to play, I’m not going to use this pec as a crutch for anything,” he said.
Souza won’t play the outfield for the remainder of the series at the New York Mets but hoped to be available as a pinch-hitter.
Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo initially described the injury as inflammation; after being told Souza called it a strain, Lovullo confirmed the diagnosis. Lovullo said Souza slipped chasing a ball down the line earlier in the week, starting to cause the tightness.
“I assured the front office that if we have to, we could play one man down for the next two days,” Lovullo said.
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