Diamondbacks Notes: Gurriel, Kelly, Gallen

The D-backs may have lost one of their regulars last night. Outfielder Lourdes Gurriel Jr. was carted off the field after a non-contact injury in left-center. Both he and Blaze Alexander — who was making his first career appearance in center field — were tracking a drive to the left-center gap off the bat of Rowdy Tellez. Alexander laid out to make an exceptional diving grab, but Gurriel only pulled up and pivoted in the final second or so before a potential collision. Though the two avoided impact, Gurriel dropped after pivoting and had to be helped to a cart (video link).

The team didn’t have an initial diagnosis on Gurriel last night. Manager Torey Lovullo told reporters after the game that they’d scheduled an MRI for today and would know more after the fact (link via Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic). Presumably, he’ll have an update before tonight’s game against the Rangers — assuming there’s a confirmed diagnosis after one wave of imaging, anyhow. We should know more about Gurriel’s status before too long, but there aren’t many instances where a player has to be carted off the field but returns to the lineup in short order.

With the D-backs 6.5 games out of a Wild Card spot and 11 back in the division, it’s likely they’ll proceed with caution if there’s an injury of even modest note. Arizona’s playoff odds are down around 1% at this point, and if Gurriel was fortunate enough to avoid any major damage, there’s little sense rushing back and risking something more severe by playing at less than 100%.

The 31-year-old Gurriel has had perhaps the least-productive season of his lengthy MLB tenure. He was well on his way to his fourth career 20-homer season, with 19 big flies under his belt already, but Gurriel’s .248/.295/.418 slash is about 6% worse than league average, by measure of wRC+. If last night’s incident led to an injury that cuts his season short, that would be the first below-average season of his career at the plate. Gurriel entered the season as a .279/.324/.461 hitter in 3009 big league plate appearances.

There are contractual aspects to consider as well. Gurriel is playing on a three-year, $42MM contract but has the right to opt out of his deal at the end of the current season. Given the slightly below-average rate stats, it seems unlikely he’d have walked away from the remaining year and $18MM ($13MM salary in 2026, plus a $5MM buyout on a $14MM club option for 2027).

However, Gurriel had been hitting quite well of late, with a .273/.315/.530 slash over the past three weeks. If he’d kept mashing like that in the final four weeks, he’d have pulled his season-long batting line back above average. That’s plausible, given his track record, and in that scenario he might’ve been tempted to return to the market and see what free agency had to offer ahead of his age-32 season.

Speaking of the D-backs and free agency, Arizona fans will be encouraged to hear now-former D-backs starter Merrill Kelly express a strong openness to re-signing in the offseason. Arizona traded Kelly to the Rangers prior to the trade deadline, netting three pitching prospects in return (Mitch Bratt, Kohl Drake, David Hagaman). With the Rangers visiting the D-backs at the moment, Kelly told Jake Garcia of 12 News that a return in free agency is something he’d absolutely consider (video link).

“I’ve voiced my love for this place,” Kelly said. “I’ve talked to the front office tirelessly about being a D-back for life. That was really my plan. That was real. That was genuine. … So it’s never off the table. Coming home is very attractive, not only for me but also for the family aspect of it. But at the same time, I’ve put myself in a position to have what I hope to be a decent market, so I’m going to have to make a hard decision, business-wise, but coming back and being a D-back is never off the table.”

Arizona is going to need arms for the upcoming season, so a return would make sense for both parties. Corbin Burnes will miss most or all of next year recovering from Tommy John surgery. Zac Gallen is a free agent. Left-handers Blake Walston (March) and Tommy Henry (June) also had Tommy John surgery this year. Prospects Yilber Diaz and Cristian Mena have both struggled and/or been injured. Next year’s rotation currently projects to include Eduardo Rodriguez, Brandon Pfaadt and Ryne Nelson, with little else in the way of certainty.

Bringing Kelly back would obviously go a long way toward stabilizing the group, and it could very likely be done without making a long-term commitment. He’ll turn 37 in October, so anything beyond two years would register as a surprise. As shown in MLBTR’s Contract Tracker, Max Scherzer (three years, $130MM in 2021) and Rich Hill (three years, $48MM in 2016) are the only free agent starting pitchers in the past decade to command a deal greater than two years at 37 or older.

As for Kelly’s longtime rotation-mate, Gallen, it remains to be seen how seriously the Snakes will pursue a reunion. However, Gallen is doing his best to flip the script on a disappointing season in the run-up to free agency. It’s too little, too late to salvage the team’s season in all likelihood, but Gallen fired six shutout innings with eight punchouts against the Dodgers in L.A. on Aug. 29 and, in doing so, dipped his ERA back under 5.00. A 4.94 earned run average still isn’t going to stand out, but Gallen has been pitching well for two months now.

Dating back to July 1, the former All-Star touts a 3.74 ERA, 22.9% strikeout rate and 5.3% walk rate in 65 innings. He was particularly sharp in August, with a 2.57 ERA in 35 innings. Gallen started six games last month and delivered five quality starts.

Once the Diamondbacks opted not to trade Gallen, it seemed likely that they would make him a qualifying offer at season’s end — struggles notwithstanding. However, a prolonged stretch of quality results on the mound should only make that decision easier for the team. A big September performance will also make it easier for Gallen, who from 2019-24 logged a combined 3.29 ERA in 815 1/3 innings, to turn down a one-year offer in the $22MM range. His recent hot streak makes his results in the season’s final four weeks worth monitoring extra closely; Gallen will take the mound tomorrow against the Rangers and look for his eighth quality start in his last 12 trips to the mound.