A fan favorite and team leader struggled to gain much traction and had his season ended in the worst way possible.
Overview
- Rating: 6.55
- 2025 Stats: .248/.295/.418, 95 OPS+, 0.5 bWAR
- Date of Birth: October 10, 1993
- 2025 Earnings: $14,000,000
- 2026 Status: Player exercised option with club option for 2027
2025 Review
The ability to be goofy has to be one of my favorite dynamics in baseball. It differentiates the sport from so many others where player personalities are limited to postgame interviews, offseason media appearances, and the player’s private social media. For the D-Backs, Lourdes Gurriel Jr has been the unquestioned team goofball for the past three years since he was traded over as the other half of the package that brought Gabriel Moreno to the desert in a rare example of a trade that worked out well for both teams. Whether it’s the “Piña Power” brand and movement for he and his brother, his ostentatious rotating hairstyles, or the various hijinks he’s pulled over the years including building sandcastles during a blowout and sipping on a smoothie while studying tape, he has properly earned the silly reputation. But he’s also brought plenty of production to the field alongside his goofiness as he earned an All-Star selection in his inaugural season with the team and followed it up with an equally solid season after signing back up with the D-Backs.
Unfortunately, the good vibes from the previous two years hit a bit of a speed bump this season as Gurriel started off the season on a cold spell, posting a .181/.204/.343 through the first month-plus of the year. He turned it around with an incredible May and cashed in an impressive 32 RBI in August before tragically tearing his ACL on an awkward diving play near the warning track at the onset of September. Even before that awful ending, Gurriel failed to recapture the same kind of output he generated previously, posting a below-average OPS+ for the first time in his career. He was particularly weak against offspeed pitches with a 36% whiff percentage on them and posting a miserly .190 BAA against them, allowing opposing pitchers to attack him with a particular pitch that he failed to adjust to throughout the season. Additionally, since his calling card has always been his work at the dish rather than his roaming around the outfield grass, even a relatively minor decrease in the quality of his batting work can absolutely tank his overall value as he was just over replacement-level on the year.
2026 Outlook
Generally, ACL tears require a six to nine month recovery depending on the severity of the tear and the specifics of the treatment. That kind of timeline means that Gurriel wouldn’t be available for a theoretical rehab assignment until the late spring or early summer and couldn’t realistically rejoin the club until sometime around the All Star Break. His presence would undoubtedly be a joy for the fans and could provide a boost to his teammates’ morale, but it’s fair to ask what kind of role he’ll be able to play when he does rejoin the major league team. He is starting to show some age with his hard hit rate, arm strength, and fielding range (already below-average for most of his career) all taking steps back over the past three seasons with the snakes. If you combine those trendlines with the inherent question marks around a serious injury recovery like an ACL tear, it paints a bleak picture that might necessitate a position move to DH or even first base – a position he isn’t entirely unfamiliar with as he’s accumulated around 100 innings at the major league level there. That kind of position change would also allow the team to give some of their upper-level outfield prospects an opportunity to develop further or even make their debut. Regardless of his role, the fan experience and dugout will undoubtedly be less fun while he recovers and I for one will be anxiously waiting for his return.
Category: General Sports
