Lourdes Gurriel Jr.'s 2025 Season Ends with Right ACL Tear

The Diamondbacks will be without their left fielder for the rest of the season, and possibly a significant part of the 2026 season as well. The team announced that Lourdes Gurriel Jr. suffered an ACL tear in his right knee as part of Tuesday's roster moves.

Gurriel suffered the injury in the top of the sixth inning of Monday's 7-5 loss to the Rangers. On a ball hit in the gap, he was trying to get out of the way of a streaking Blaze Alexander. While Alexander made the play for the final out of the inning, Gurriel suffered a non-contact injury and had to be carted off the field.

With an ACL tear, Gurriel is almost certain to require surgery to fix the ligament and stabilize the knee. D-backs manager Torey Lovullo told the media, including Bob Nightengale of USA Today, that would be the case. That comes with a recovery time of six to nine months, meaning there's a possibility he starts next season on the injured list. With that in mind, there's no chance he opts out of the final year of his three-year, $42 million contract now.

How Gurriel's Injury Impacts the Outfield Moving Forward

With Gurriel sidelined for the foreseeable future, the first question to address is who takes his place. Jake McCarthy seems like a natural bet to get most of the starts in left field, especially against right-handed pitching. Alek Thomas will start in center field against right-handed pitching. Against a left-handed starter, the team could turn to the right-handed Alexander and the switch-hitting Jorge Barrosa to play the outfield. Barrosa, in fact, will get the first start in Gurriel's absence.

The team has some decisions to make regarding all four players, none of whom have cemented any starting spot in the outfield. McCarthy, Barrosa, and Alexander will be out of minor league options in 2026, meaning the D-backs cannot send them to the minor leagues without designating them for assignment and having them clear outright waivers first. That could lead to some tough roster decisions in the offseason. Both McCarthy and Thomas are potential non-tender candidates after the season, if the team really needs to clear roster space. Both outfielders will be hitting arbitration eligibility for the first time this offseason, and neither has proven to be a capable bat despite flashes of brilliance at times.

Another potential issue is that Gurriel might not be able to play the outfield immediately. That will affect the team's plans in both the outfield and the designated hitter role, which almost forces the team to make some kind of external move. They already have major needs to address in regards to their pitching, needing at least one starter and a back-of-the-bullpen arm to field a competitive pitching staff. It's unclear if after back-to-back seasons of missing out on the postseason will result in a tighter budget moving forward.

If they choose not to make an external addition, they'll likely carry McCarthy or Thomas as the primary starter in left field. It also opens the door for top prospect Ryan Waldschmidt, who is slashing .297/.423/.490 (143 wRC+) in Double-A Amarillo, to potentially make the club with a strong spring. Waldschmidt is almost certain to be eligible for the Prospect Promotion Incentive as a potential consensus Top 100 prospect.

What Should Be the Plan for Gurriel in 2026?

Since he's not likely to opt out now, Gurriel is a certain to be a Diamondback in 2026. With a $13 million salary, he's likely to end up getting a significant role once he's healthy again. He's coming off a strange season in which he slashed .248/.295/.418 (94 wRC+), but also hit 19 homers and drove in 80 runs. He had settled into the cleanup spot in August, hitting .264 with seven homers, 32 RBI, and a 115 wRC+.

The most likely spot for him will be as the DH. That will have a downstream effect on both Pavin Smith and Tyler Locklear. Both players are likely to have a starting role at the jump, but how they begin the season could determine who stays at first base when Gurriel returns. Considering the recovery time, we're probably looking at the 2026 All-Star break until he returns to the lineup. Before then, he's likely to begin the season on the 60-day injured list as soon as possible, so he's not taking up a 40-man spot.