Lourdes Gurriel Jr.'s Return Timeline Pushed Out by D-backs

The left fielder's calf strain is taking longer to heal than initially hoped

Arizona Diamondbacks outfielder Lourdes Gurriel Jr. (12) lays his bat down after hitting a solo home run at Chase Field on Aug. 31, 2024, in Phoenix. / Owen Ziliak/The Republic / USA TODAY NETWORK

Lourdes Gurriel Jr. went on the injured list retroactive to September 2 with a strained left calf. At the time Arizona Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo expressed the hope and belief that Gurriel would only need the minimum 10 days to recover.

Had that been the case he would have been coming off the injured list this coming Friday against the Milwaukee Brewers.

Speaking to the media today, Lovullo revised that sentiment. He first gave an update to the work the left fielder has been doing.

"Gurriel has had a couple of good days in a row, he's coming to Chase Field tomorrow to hit off the Trajekt machine and initiate some running on Thursday."

That update begged the question as to whether Gurriel would in fact be out longer than 10 days.

"Yes, probably. I know we said we were hopeful for the 11th day. It's going to happen sooner than later, but I don't think it's going to be on the 11th day as we originally had hoped."

The longer Gurriel is out, the longer it will take to get him back in the lineup. Presumably he'll need to play in a couple of continuation camp games, much like Christian Walker and Ketel Marte have. Gabriel Moreno is scheduled to play in a continuation camp game this coming weekend. This appears to be the preferred method of rehab for inujured Diamondbacks at the moment.

Gurriel was hitting .270 with 17 homers, 70 RBI, and .744 OPS when he went down. The D-backs have gotten plenty of offense from the left field position in his absence however.

Right-hand batter Randal Grichuk has gone 4-for-14 with two homers and three RBI while playing left field. Pavin Smith is 5-for-11 with four homers while in the lineup as the left fielder. Three of those homers came on ESPN Sunday Night Baseball.

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The Arizona Diamondbacks lead all of MLB with 5.39 runs scored per game. They've hardly skipped a beat offensively, even after players like Christian Walker and Ketel Marte went down.

When the story of this team is written at the end of the year, the "Next Man Up" philosophy and attitude will surely be the central theme, as it has been all season.