The Diamondbacks announced that outfielder Lourdes Gurriel Jr. has been reinstated from the 10-day injured list and left-hander Blake Walston from the 60-day IL. Those will be the club’s two additions as active rosters expand from 26 to 28 today. To open a 40-man spot for Walston, right-hander Ryan Thompson has been transferred to the 60-day IL.
Walston, 25, debuted with the Snakes in 2024. He made seven appearances that year, allowing nine earned runs in 18 1/3 innings. He hasn’t been able to build on that, unfortunately, as he required Tommy John surgery in March of 2025. He spent all of last year on the IL and the majority of this season as well.
The lefty was largely a starter throughout his minor league career but should be added to the bullpen now. He has been on a rehab assignment for almost a month now but has only been making appearances of one to two innings. Perhaps the Snakes will look into stretching him out again in the future. For now, he’ll give the bullpen another lefty alongside Brandyn Garcia and put some innings on his arm after a lengthy layoff.
As for Thompson, he hit the 15-day IL on August 5 due to a strained lower back. His current status is unclear but this move means he is ineligible to return until early October. It seems his season is done, barring a deep postseason run by the Snakes.
That’s unfortunate for Thompson, as he is an impending free agent. He will be heading to the open market after a bit of a down year and on the heels of a notable injury. From 2020 to 2025, he tossed 241 1/3 innings in the big leagues with a 3.54 ERA, 20.9% strikeout rate, 6.4% walk rate and 55.5% ground ball rate. This year, in 40 2/3 innings, he had a 4.43 ERA, 15.6% strikeout rate, 7.6% walk rate and 50.7% ground ball rate.
Photo courtesy of Matt Kartozian, Imagn Images
