Diamondbacks opt to send down Ryan Waldschmidt with Lourdes Gurriel Jr. returning
With Lourdes Gurriel Jr.'s return imminent, the Diamondbacks were going to face a tough choice on how to structure the outfield.
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The Arizona Diamondbacks will get outfielder Lourdes Gurriel Jr. back from the injured list on Monday, and in turn, they made the decision to option top prospect and outfielder Ryan Waldschmidt to Triple-A Reno, the club announced.
AZCentral.com’s Nick Piecoro first reported the transactions on Sunday night.
Gurriel has been out since May 22 with a hamstring strain.
The D-backs reinstated outfielder Jordan Lawlar from the IL on Friday, and with Gurriel’s return imminent, they were going to face a tough choice on how to structure the crowded outfield.
Arizona has elected to keep fellow rookie Tommy Troy, along with Jorge Barrosa, a stout defender who has not provided much on offense. Barrosa is out of minor league options and would have had to clear waivers to return to Triple-A Reno.
Sending down the top prospect in the organization — the type of player who is expected to be called up just the one time — is a tough position. And Waldschmidt had bright moments in what was now his first cup of coffee in the big leagues.
But the 24-year-old has struggled lately. The right-handed hitter was not even in the lineup against a left-handed starter on Sunday in Cincinnati.
Waldschmidt hit .353 with an .881 OPS over his first 57 big league plate appearances, although there were numbers that suggested he was going to face some trouble, particularly his strikeouts (16).
In his 65 plate appearances since, he has hit .180 with .493 OPS and 24 strikeouts. He has struggled where many young hitters have: facing big league breaking balls (56% whiff rate).
Clearly, the club wants to see some adjustments made back in Triple-A, while entrusting Troy to continue to produce from low in the batting order. Troy has a similar OPS (.691) as Waldschmidt (.671), but he is not swinging through pitches and striking out as much while drawing more walks.
There is an argument to letting a young player fight through the struggle. For example, the New York Mets put top prospect Carson Benge on the Opening Day roster, and on May 2, he was hitting .179. They kept playing him, and he has hit .307 since then. At the same time, reps have to be a consideration, and they are becoming tougher to come by.
As far as playing time goes moving forward, that becomes a question for manager Torey Lovullo before the club’s homestand, which starts on Monday against the Los Angeles Angels.
Lawlar has started in center field in a couple games since returning and should be in the lineup more and more as he distances himself from the injury return.
Troy has only played left field since getting called up but has some center field experience in the minor leagues. He also needs to keep seeing big league pitching on a at least a semi-regular basis.
Gurriel was mostly starting in the outfield when he returned from a torn ACL in April, but did his latest leg injury change anything about how the D-backs will approach his playing time?
Perhaps more starts at designated hitter, especially while he is fresh off the IL, could be in order. The team has received very little production from that spot, no matter how it has been platooned.
More roster crunch decisions are coming with first baseman Carlos Santana playing rehab games in Reno and recent signee Max Kepler gearing up for a late June debut. Kepler is on the restricted list as he finishes an 80-game suspension for a testing positive for a banned substance. He has already started playing games for High-A Hillsboro.
The Diamondbacks will host the Angels at 6:40 p.m. MST with right-hander Ryne Nelson on the hill for Arizona against L.A. rookie righty Walbert Ureña.
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Comments
14 Comments
Paven smith and Barosa need to be DFAd. Terrible decision.
Lordes can DH most of the season. Let Troy, Lawlar and waldschmit rotate in the 2 spots in the outfield.
Hazen and Lovey really think their jobs are safe with moves like this? At some point you gotta play the rookies and let it ride. Not like the vets are producing. Your strength was always value on young players, and now you cut them loose the second an injury prone vet hitting .200 gets off the injured list. It's not a good look, it's not good management style (looking at Hazen).
I disagree with your take on Hazen.
He brought in Soroka, how has that worked out?
In 2024 he brought in Kevin Newman on a lark, and he had a very solid season.
In 2018 he brought in Clay Buchholz when everyone thought he was washed up, and he gave the dbacks a pretty damn good season.
He brought in Suarez, and he had some good numbers for us, then he moved away from him and got prospects in return for him.
How about trading Daulton Varsho for Gurriel and Gabi?
How about a few years ago when he brought in Joc Pederson, that worked out pretty well.
I could add some more, but my point is that he's done some good things over the years. Sure, some things didn't work out, but that's the nature of the beast. He doesn't have the deep pockets of the Dodgers and Yankees, but he does a pretty good job of creating a roster.
I'm pretty fine with Hazen, except for one thing. Salvatore Lovullo.
I think he's the best GM since Garagiola Jr. He just needs to find a better manager.