Cron back with D-backs as Swihart goes on IL

PHOENIX -- Told Thursday night that he was being optioned to Triple-A Reno, D-backs first base prospect Kevin Cron was set to fly from Phoenix to Albuquerque on Saturday morning.

Instead he was told to stay put, as he was recalled by the D-backs to replace outfielder Blake Swihart, who was placed on the 10-day injured list with a strained right oblique.

Cron made his big league debut May 24 in San Francisco and during his week in the Majors, he went 3-for-13 with three doubles and a pair of RBIs.

“He’s going to be an impact bat off the bench for right now and he’ll get an occasional start as well,” D-backs manager Torey Lovullo said of Cron.

Swihart has struggled since being acquired from the Red Sox last month. In 64 at-bats with the D-backs, he is hitting .141.

“He just experienced some discomfort [in his oblique] reaching for some balls during some defensive work and it was magnified the past couple of days through each at-bat,” Lovullo said. “He took his at-bat [Friday] and just felt like it was a little bit too much to take so he wanted to get it looked at. He had an MRI today and it revealed a little strain in there.”

Peralta close

Outfielder David Peralta, who has been on the IL with inflammation in the AC joint of his right shoulder, took eight at-bats in an extended spring game Saturday and Lovullo suggested his return could come soon and without needing a Minor League rehab stint.

“I think David will be just fine,” Lovullo said. “It hasn’t been a tremendous amount of time where he’s stepped out. I think the at-bats that he could get here would be sufficient for me.”

Third baseman Jake Lamb, who has been out since the first week of the season with a strained left quadriceps muscle, also batted in that extended spring game, but he did not run the bases. While not as close to a return as Peralta, Lamb could start a Minor League rehab assignment sometime in the next week.