PHOENIX — The Arizona Diamondbacks reinstated left fielder Lourdes Gurriel Jr. from the 10-day injured list on Saturday after his astonishingly rapid return from a torn right ACL suffered last season.
Gurriel was carted off the diamond at Chase Field on Sept. 1, less than eight months ago, and with his return to the lineup on Sunday, he will have missed less than two months of game action despite the devastating injury.
“He sat in my office, walking in on crutches post-surgery and promised me that he’d make this as quick a turnaround as possible,” manager Torey Lovullo said on Friday. “So he got after it, and the time that I spent talking to him this offseason when he was in Miami, he was doing a great job of committing to that.”
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The Diamondbacks designated first baseman Luken Baker for assignment to make room on the roster for Gurriel.
Gurriel spent much of spring training in the backfields taking live at-bats from major league and minor league pitchers alike. He did not play in a Cactus League game but got in some action after the club broke camp.
The final boxes he checked was playing in back-to-back rehab assignment games for Double-A Amarillo on Tuesday and Wednesday, as he started both days in left field and finished 2-for-8 with a double and a home run.
There has to be a level of caution taken with Gurriel’s return-to-play progress, which would have been the case had he not made a quicker-than-typical recovery.
According to UCHealth, athletes typically take at least eight to nine months to recover from a torn ACL, with 10 months or longer associated with a decreased risk of re-injuring the knee. Even toward the end of spring training, Lovullo mentioned late April as the earliest he expected to see Gurriel.
Gurriel has been a productive run producer for the Diamondbacks through his three-year tenure, not a star but a streaky hitter who can carry the offensive load for stretches when he heats up.
He hit 42 home runs with a .765 OPS over his first two seasons, including his first All-Star selection. Last year was more of a grind (.713 OPS), but he was trending upward before the injury with seven home runs and 32 RBIs in August.
The Diamondbacks could use his power potential in the middle of the lineup to lengthen the batting order.
For Gurriel, this is an important season, as Arizona has a $14 million club option for next season to retain him with a $5 million buyout.
In spring training, Lovullo had said the plan was for Gurriel to return as a designated hitter primarily, but it appears they will see how he handles left field off the IL. With Jordan Lawlar out until June with a broken wrist, left field has been platooned by Jorge Barrosa and Tim Tawa before Gurriel’s return.
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