D-Backs Lose Lourdes Gurriel Jr. to Calf Injury Amidst Stretch Run
Despite being in the middle of the NL wild-card race, the Arizona Diamondbacks’ playoff hopes will have to survive in the short term without outfielder Lourdes Gurriel Jr.
The 30-year-old slugger landed on the 10-day IL due to a left calf strain, retroactive to September 2nd, prior to Tuesday’s contest at Oracle Park against the San Francisco Giants. He suffered the injury while running the bases at home Sunday versus the Los Angeles Dodgers.
On a more positive note, two-time Gold Glove winner Christian Walker was reinstated off the IL as the corresponding move for Gurriel. The All-Star-calibre first baseman played his first game since July 29th, going 1-for-5 with an RBI single in his return.
The D-backs said they sent Gurriel for imaging on his left calf in San Francisco earlier this week, which didn’t reveal a major strain. As such, they don’t expect he’ll have to endure an extended layoff.
With the 2023 All-Star’s injury stint backdated, the earliest he could return to the lineup is September 12th. But with a pair of off days next week, he’d only be forced to miss seven games between now and then.
“We’re hoping to get him back on the 11th day,” manager Torey Lovullo told reporters Tuesday, including MLB.com’s Sonja Chen. “We just felt like it was something that was going to linger for him, and if he continued to play, it might be a little bit of a challenge for him.”
Arizona acquired Gurriel and Gold Glove catcher Gabriel Moreno – currently on the IL with a strained groin – in a blockbuster trade from the Toronto Blue Jays two off-seasons ago. That deal sent defensive wizard Daulton Varsho the other way, a player who’s now amongst the top defenders in baseball.
However, Year 1 of the trade heavily favoured the D-backs, especially given Gurriel’s performance.
The right-handed-hitting outfielder posted a career-high 24 home runs while driving in 82 runs and slashing .261/.309/.463 over 145 games during his first season in the desert, worth 2.0 fWAR – the highest rating of his career. He was also a menace on their run to the World Series, posting three bombs with 11 RBIs and a .455 SLG.
This season hasn’t been as explosive, but Gurriel still has 17 round-trippers and 70 RBIs across 125 contests, boasting a modest hitting clip of .274/.316/.428. His bat had been heating up of late, though, with six of his last 10 hits falling for extra bases since Aug. 21.
“We don’t choose when these moments happen,” Gurriel said through interpreter Rolando Valles. “I’ve got to stay mentally strong, and I just want to keep the momentum going.”
In Gurriel’s absence, teammate Randal Grichuk – another former Blue Jay – provided a massive surge at the plate a night ago, blasting a pair of bombs against the Giants for his first multi-home-run performance since September 6th, 2022 – almost exactly two years to the day.
The veteran outfielder will likely help fill the void in left field moving forward, with Pavin Smith and Jorge Barrosa expected to join him.
Arizona continues to trend toward a second consecutive postseason berth despite being without multiple key pieces such as Ketel Marte, Moreno and now Gurriel. Though they dropped three of four to the NL West-leading Dodgers over the weekend, they still hold the second wild-card seed with a 78-61 record.
That puts the D-backs just a half-game back of the San Diego Padres for top spot in the wild-card standings entering Wednesday’s slate.
-Thomas Hall
Twitter: @Hall_Thomas_
Photo: Cygnusloop99. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license.
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