The Diamondbacks could get Lourdes Gurriel Jr. back just in time for a matchup against his former team. “Don’t be surprised if you see him in our lineup this weekend,” manager Torey Lovullo told the Burns & Gambo Show. The outfielder is less than eight months removed from tearing his ACL near the end of the 2025 season. Francys Romero of BeisbolFR reports Gurriel is with the team in Arizona. The Diamondbacks kicked off a three-game set against the Blue Jays on Friday.
Gurriel’s 2025 campaign ended in the sixth inning of a matchup against the Rangers on the first day of September. While converging with Blaze Alexander on a fly ball in the left-center gap, Gurriel swerved to avoid the diving center fielder. He immediately went down with a knee injury and had to be carted off the field. ACL tears typically sideline players for 9-10 months, but Gurriel is on track to smash that timeline.
While he didn’t make it back in time for Opening Day, like he had mentioned to Lovullo in the offseason, Gurriel was back on the field Wednesday. He walked and doubled in four plate appearances with Double-A Amarillo. The 32-year-old followed it up with a three-run home run in last night’s game.
The original plan was for Gurriel to return to the Diamondbacks as the DH in an effort to ease him back into action. That might not be necessary anymore, based on his rapid recovery. “We’re going to just judge it on his volume and what he’s giving us,” Lovullo told reporters, including Alex Weiner of Arizona Sports. “So if he were to come back sooner than later, we will put him in the outfield, see what that volume looks like, see how he feels the next day and then just guide through it with him.”
The Diamondbacks have struggled to get production from their left fielders, especially since Jordan Lawlar went down. The club has the sixth-lowest OPS at the position at .553. Most of that production came from Lawlar, who went 6-for-18 with a home run before breaking his wrist a week into the season. Tim Tawa and Jorge Barrosa have handled the majority of the reps in left.
Gurriel came back to Arizona this offseason on a $13MM player option. He had the opportunity to opt out of the three-year, $42MM deal he signed heading into the 2024 season. The ACL injury made it an easy decision to stay with the Diamondbacks. Gurriel had a career-low 95 wRC+ in 2025, but did hit 19 home runs and chip in 10 steals.
Photo courtesy of Rob Schumacher of The Republic, via Imagn Images
