The Diamondbacks placed on the 15-day injured list this evening due to a shoulder strain. After tonights 14-1 drubbing of the Cardinals, manager Torey Lovullo said the Snakes expected Kelly to be out for an extended stretch. Were not looking in terms of weeks as what we had hoped for , Lovullo admitted ( ). So I think the next step up is a month, more than that. While the manager said that surgery is not under consideration, he was noncommittal when asked if Kelly would be back before the All-Star Break. Its another hit to a rotation thats already without until at least the end of May. Arizonas biggest offseason signee suffered a lat strain in Spring Training. A recent setback resulted in a move to the 60-day IL. The Lucas Raymond Jersey D-Backs subsequently signed to offset some of the impact of losing Rodriguez, yet Kellys absence adds more uncertainty to what is arguably the teams weakest area: rotation depth. , Montgomery and will hold the top three spots. opened the season in the rotation before taking a comebacker off his elbow and landing on the IL last week. and seem like the top options for the #4/5 spots until Nelson returns. Theres very little experience behind them. and are on the 40-man roster but have yet to make their MLB debuts. and have limited big league experience and are in the organization as non-roster players at Triple-A Reno. No one from that group can be expected to come particularly close to matching Kellys reliability. The veteran righty has allowed fewer than 3.40 earned runs per nine while reaching 30 starts in each of the past two seasons. Hed gotten out to another excellent April, working to a 2.19 ERA in his first 24 2/3 frames. The defending NL champs have had a pedestrian start overall, posting a 12-13 record. Theyll hope a talented lineup keeps them in the playoff mix until their rotation gets closer to full strength. Rodriguez and Kelly could be back well in advance of deadline season, but an extended absence from one or both may increase the pre sure on the front office to upgrade the starting pitching this summer. Reed Larson Jersey