PHOENIX -- Dressed in full uniform, Arizona right-hander Luke Weaver threw a 21-pitch simulated game Monday morning at Chase Field before the D-backs¡¯ game against the Padres.

¡°It felt great,¡± Weaver said. ¡°As a competitor, I think you want to see a perfect 20-pitch dotted everywhere, and things were working good, but it was a first tester. I think the adrenaline was pumping, there was a lot of excitement, some anxiousness. But as far as the arm and the body and the way it came out, I couldn¡¯t be happier.¡±

Weaver, who has been out since May with a mild right flexor pronator strain and a mild right UCL sprain, could return to action soon. The D-backs¡¯ Triple-A Reno team wrapped up its season Monday, but Double-A Jackson is in the Southern League playoffs if the team wants to give Weaver a game-action rehab appearance.

D-backs manager Torey Lovullo watched Weaver¡¯s session from behind a screen set up behind home plate and liked what he saw.

¡°The ball had life,¡± Lovullo said. ¡°He felt very good. It¡¯s extremely encouraging news. We¡¯ll see how he feels coming out of that to determine what the next steps are.¡±

Weaver would like to start games when he returns but would not pitch deep into a game, so there would need to be another pitcher who would piggyback into the game.

Sherfy returns

Right-hander Jimmie Sherfy was recalled from Reno on Monday to provide some depth in the bullpen. This will be his fourth stint with the D-backs this year.

Dating back to last season, 10 of Sherfy¡¯s last 11 Major League outings have been scoreless.

Sherfy¡¯s promotion comes on the heels of the D-backs promoting six players from Reno on Sunday, the first day of roster expansion.

For a team like the D-backs, who are battling for a postseason spot, it¡¯s a balancing act between having enough players to help down the stretch without having too many, which can disrupt the balance in the clubhouse.

¡°I want to make sure the guys that are here are going to play,¡± Lovullo said. ¡°I want to make sure there¡¯s a need for each body and that we¡¯re not wasting time. That¡¯s the part of it that I walk through with the front office. I explain what some of the needs were, some of the things that I might do. The pitching, you always need to be fortified.¡±