D-backs activate Christian Walker, Lourdes Gurriel Jr. to IL

The D-backs are activating first baseman Christian Walker, and sending left fielder Lourdes Gurriel Jr. to the IL.

Arizona Diamondbacks first baseman Christian Walker (53) tosses the ball to first after fielding a sharp ground ball on July 27, 2024 at Chase Field in Phoenix. / Owen Ziliak/The Republic / USA TODAY NETWORK

The long-awaited return of Arizona Diamondbacks Gold Glove first baseman Christian Walker happens on Tuesday evening against the San Francisco Giants at Oracle Park. Walker has been out since July 29th with a left oblique strain.

Unfortunately, the corresponding move is placing Lourdes Gurriel Jr. on the 10-day injured list retroactive to September 2nd. Gurriel suffered a strained left calf running out a ground ball in Sunday's game and was immediately removed from the game.

Gurriel has been one of the hottest bats on the team. It's a gut punch for the D-backs to finally get Walker back only to lose their starting left-fielder.

With this move, it's expected that Pavin Smith and Randal Grichuk will platoon in left field, and Josh Bell will get most of the starts against left-hand pitching as the DH. The D-backs will face two left-hand starters in the three-game series against the Giants this week.

Prior to his injury, Walker was batting .254/.338/.476, .815 OPS with 23 homers and 71 RBI. He also had +7 defensive runs saved. His total contribution totaled 2.3 WAR according to Baseball Reference.

Gurriel was hitting .274/.316/.744 with 17 homers and 70 RBI. Gurriel hit .305 with three homers and 12 RBI in August. With +3 fielding runs included, he's been worth 1.7 WAR this year.

Grichuk is batting .277 with a .792 OPS this year, including six homers and 31 RBI. Smith is batting .250 with a .744 OPS, three homers and 17 RBI in 91 PA. Jorge Barrosa is on the roster to pinch hit, pinch run, and be a defensive replacement late in games.

The Arizona Diamondbacks are 77-61 and hold the second overall NL Wild Card spot despite dealing with a slew of injuries all season. The team is still without All-Star second baseman Ketel Marte and Gold Glove catcher Gabriel Moreno. Marte is expected back before Moreno, perhaps before the end of this road trip.