PHOENIX -- Lourdes Gurriel Jr. was diagnosed with a torn right ACL and was placed on the 10-day injured list on Tuesday. He will miss the remainder of the 2025 season and likely at least the first two months or so of 2026.
Gurriel will receive at least one additional opinion on the injury, but the club seems confident in the initial diagnosis.
Gurriel was injured during Monday night's game when he tried to avoid making contact with center fielder Blaze Alexander, who made a diving play on a ball in the left-center gap.
“I made the play and I had no idea what kind of happened behind me,” Alexander said following the D-backs' 7-5 loss to the Rangers in 10 innings. “I made the play, I was kind of looking at the crowd, and started running in. I see [shortstop Geraldo] Perdomo running towards me. I was like, what's going on? Looked back and Gurriel was down.”
Losing the veteran Gurriel is a big blow to the Diamondbacks, who find themselves barely hanging on to slim postseason hopes. Gurriel was riding a hot streak at the plate with 32 RBIs since Aug. 1, second only to Kyle Schwarber’s 33 over that span.
The list of injuries the Diamondbacks have sustained this year is massive and includes some of the players they were counting on to lead them to the postseason.
Both closers -- A.J. Puk and Justin Martinez -- have missed most of the year and undergone Tommy John surgery, as has ace Corbin Burnes, who was signed to a six-year, $210 million deal in the offseason.
“I had a few minute conversation with [Gurriel] today when I got here, and he's just trying to understand why it happened and what the next several days and months and weeks, potentially a year will look like,” D-backs manager Torey Lovullo said. “I hurt for him and I could tell he was hurting. It's a very tough time for this team right now. It's one more hit that just keeps coming our way, right?”
As for who will take over in left field, the Diamondbacks will likely use Jake McCarthy, Jorge Barrosa and possibly even Alexander, who has limited playing time in the Minors in center and none in left.
There’s also a possibility of Tim Tawa being recalled at some point after he’s back on the Triple-A Reno active roster following an injury.
As for Gurriel’s future, he has an opt out in his contract after this season, but it’s almost a certainty now that he won’t exercise it. In that case, he’ll make $13 million next year. The Diamondbacks hold a team option on Gurriel for $14 million in 2027, with a $5 million buyout.
How McCarthy, Barrosa, Alexander, Tawa and whoever else might get playing time in left look down the stretch could go a long way toward determining who gets those reps in left next year when Gurriel is out for at least the first couple of months.
This offseason, Diamondbacks GM Mike Hazen will have plenty of holes to fill on his pitching staff with Zac Gallen likely departing via free agency. Only three spots would seem to be locked for next year in the rotation with Ryne Nelson, Eduardo Rodriguez and Brandon Pfaadt.
In addition, Hazen will need to fortify a bullpen that has been the team’s undoing this year. That means the Diamondbacks will look to fill the void Gurriel will leave at the beginning of next season from guys already in the system. That includes prospects like Tommy Troy (No. 6 prospect, via MLB Pipeline) and Ryan Waldschmidt (No. 2), who could find their way into the mix at some point next season.
“We need to be able to cover left field, because the resources are going to need to be expended on pitching,” Hazen said. “Dollars or trading prospects.”
The D-backs also made a few other roster moves on Tuesday, recalling right-hander Taylor Rashi and infielder Connor Kaiser from Triple-A Reno while optioning right-hander Juan Burgos.