The Diamondbacks are back to shuffling their roster, and this time the move sends Lourdes Gurriel Jr. to the 10-day injured list with a strained right adductor.
Arizona replaced him on the active roster by recalling catcher Adrian Del Castillo. The club also used the open spot on its 40-man roster to select the contract of Gerardo Carrillo before optioning the right-hander to Triple-A.
For Gurriel, it’s already his third injury-related absence of the season. He opened the year on the 10-day IL while working his way back from the torn ACL he suffered last September.
He returned to make his season debut by April 18, but a left hamstring strain knocked him out again from May 23 until mid-June. Now he’s headed back to the injured list, with the latest issue likely surfacing in Friday’s 5-4 loss to the Cardinals, when he went 0-for-3 with a sac fly.
The numbers have been just as rough as the injury luck. Gurriel has struggled to provide much at the plate, posting a .207/.254/.387 line with a 48 wRC+ in 189 plate appearances.
Across 47 games, that has translated to -0.9 fWAR. For a veteran who has already spent so much time on the shelf, it’s been a frustrating stretch all around.
His absence also leaves Arizona even thinner in the outfield. Corbin Carroll has been the one steady presence, but the rest of the group has been hit hard by injuries.
Jordan Lawlar has appeared in only 12 games because of a broken wrist and a hamstring strain, while Tommy Troy was also placed on the injured list over the All-Star break. That leaves the Diamondbacks leaning on some mix of Max Kepler, Ryan Waldschmidt, Jorge Barrosa, and utilityman Tim Tawa in left and center field.
With that kind of depth chart, Arizona looks even more likely to chase outfield help if it decides to buy at the deadline.
Carrillo’s move to the 40-man roster appears tied to an out clause in his minor league deal, and he’ll remain in the organization while continuing at Triple-A Reno. The 27-year-old has spent eight seasons in the minors, with stops in the Dodgers, Nationals, and Rangers systems before signing with the Diamondbacks last offseason. He’s still waiting for his first major league call, but he has put together a 4.25 ERA with a 30.3% strikeout rate and a 14.6% walk rate in 42 1/3 relief innings for Reno this season.
In Other News...
Diamondbacks Fans Are Bracing For A Corbin Carroll Injury Update
Corbin Carrolls night ended early against the Cardinals, and for a Diamondbacks lineup that leans so heavily on his speed and production at the top, any pause in his availability is going to draw immediate attention. Arizona managed to keep moving without him, rallying through the rest of the game and eventually pulling out an extra-inning win, but the bigger concern for the club and its fans is what comes next for one of its most important young players.
The late-game substitution added another layer to an already uneasy evening, with Jorge Barrosa stepping in after Carroll left. Carroll had just started to find a little rhythm again after a rough stretch, which only made the timing of the injury feel more frustrating for Arizona, especially with the team trying to build on a win that came despite his absence. [Read more 🡒]
D-Backs May Finally Be Seeing A Different Version Of This Arm
After a rough stretch, Zac Pfaadt gave the Diamondbacks a much-needed lift in their rebound win over the Cardinals, looking more like the pitcher Arizona has been waiting to see. St. Louis had a front-row view of the right-handers progress, and even Nolan Arenado came away impressed by the way Pfaadt attacked the game and carried himself on the mound.
Pfaadt also said the rising pitch count is part of the process as he builds back up, which helps explain why the later innings have been a little tougher as he works toward full strength. For Arizona, the encouraging part is less about one outing than the possibility that this is becoming a more reliable version of a starter who can steady the rotation when the club needs it most. [Read more 🡒]
Eduardo Rodriguez Faces A Real Test Against Cardinals Lineup
Eduardo Rodriguez has given the Diamondbacks exactly what they needed over his last six starts, working deep enough to keep the game from tilting early and holding opponents to two runs or fewer each time. The left-hander has posted a 1.78 ERA in that stretch, giving Arizona a steadier look at the front of its rotation as it tries to stack wins in a crowded stretch of the schedule.
The Cardinals offer a different kind of test, though, because their lineup does not live off the long ball the way some clubs do. Rodriguezs recent misses have mostly shown up in the form of home runs, so Arizona will be watching to see whether St. Louis can force him into the kind of damage that has been rare for the Cardinals overall, even with Jordan Walker in the mix. [Read more 🡒]