Geraldo Perdomo will get his first day off of the 2026 season on Sunday against the Toronto Blue Jays, with rookie Jose Fernandez starting at shortstop in his place. Arizona manager Torey Lovullo said the break is about rest, not punishment, after a night that left his shortstop visibly taxed.
Perdomo went 3-for-4 in Saturday night’s win, but he was thrown out on the bases twice and was nearly thrown out a third time. He also made a critical defensive mistake that cost Arizona a run, a rough edge to a game that still ended in the Diamondbacks’ favor.
Lovullo said he had already spoken with Perdomo and that he was ready to go at any point if needed. “He needs a day off,” Lovullo said, adding that Perdomo is “playing hard” and is “a very good player, but needs rest.” He said the timing made sense with a day game after a night game and the series already decided.
The decision fits with Lovullo’s plan to be more proactive this season about giving Perdomo occasional off days. The shortstop had played every game of the 2026 season before Sunday, and Lovullo pointed to the heavier loads he has carried in recent years: 98 games in 2024 despite missing 59 games with a torn meniscus, then 161 games in 2025.
Lovullo said he considered the rest day part of keeping Perdomo healthy across the season, not a sign of any larger issue. “I thought that was an important piece of him being healthy for the entire season,” he said. He added that Perdomo is probably going to play in the high 150s, calling him one of the team’s emotional leaders and a player who “does a lot of things right.”
That is the balance Arizona is trying to strike with one of its most important everyday players: keep him on the field, but not every day, even in a stretch that has already gone the Diamondbacks’ way.
