After a stunning run to the World Collection final October, the Diamondbacks as soon as once more discover themselves inching in direction of the playoffs with a 1.5-game lead over the Braves and Mets within the AL Wild Card race. Arizona is within the second of three spots, leaving Atlanta and New York in a tie for the third spot. Whereas there’s nonetheless room for issues to vary, Fangraphs offers the Snakes a powerful 86.4% likelihood of creating the postseason for the second consecutive yr when all is alleged and executed. Even with these strong odds, the membership will certainly need all the assistance it may well get to safe its positioning and head into the playoffs robust.
Thankfully, reinforcements are on the way in which as supervisor Torey Lovullo informed reporters (together with Alex Weiner of AZSports) that each catcher Gabriel Moreno and outfielder Lourdes Gurriel Jr. are “very shut” to being activated from the injured checklist. The duo have been scheduled to play in a sport on the membership’s Spring Coaching complicated immediately the place Moreno was set to each hit and catch whereas Gurriel would hit with out taking part in the sphere. That leaves Moreno, who has been out for six weeks as a consequence of a groin pressure, a bit nearer to taking part in within the majors than Gurriel, who’s been out two weeks now with a strained calf.
Moreno, 24, is in his second season with the Diamondbacks after being acquired from the Blue Jays alongside Gurriel within the Daulton Varsho commerce previous to the 2023 marketing campaign. Moreno has established himself effectively as a strong two-way catcher and has posted a .262/.344/.385 slash line with a 105 wRC+ whereas taking part in wonderful protection behind the plate. That two-way expertise has left the Snakes lacking Moreno dearly, as they’ve utilized a mix of the light-hitting however defensively gifted Jose Herrera alongside teenager Adrian Del Castillo, who sports activities a 138 wRC+ however questionable protection behind the plate.
As for Gurriel, the 30-year-old has hit .274/.316/.428 with a 105 wRC+ that’s equivalent to not solely Moreno’s personal determine from this yr but in addition the manufacturing Gurriel posted in his first season with Arizona final yr. Thankfully for Arizona, nevertheless, Gurriel’s absence hasn’t been felt as a lot as could have been initially anticipated as a consequence of an offensive explosion on the a part of Pavin Smith, who has slashed an unimaginable .286/.385/.905 with 4 house runs in 9 video games since taking up for Gurriel in left discipline alongside Randal Grichuk. Whereas Smith’s 72-homer tempo is clearly not sustainable long-term, his sizzling streak has allowed the membership to submit MLB’s finest offense by wRC+ (138) in September regardless of shedding a key cog of their lineup for whom they didn’t have an apparent substitute on the prepared.
Gurriel and Moreno aren’t the one two gamers who may very well be known as upon to assist the Diamondbacks headed into the postseason, nevertheless. In keeping with a dialog between GM Mike Hazen and MLB.com’s Steve Gilbert, outfielder Alek Thomas and high infield prospect Jordan Lawlar are each thought to be “potential” contributors down the stretch and into the postseason. Thomas was optioned to the minors again in August and subsequently suffered an indirect pressure at Triple-A however, per Gilbert, is sort of able to return to motion. Thomas has had one other disappointing season offensively with a .191/.248/.362 slash line in 32 video games on the huge league degree, however he presents wonderful protection in all three outfield spots that might make him an asset in a bench position.
Lawlar, in the meantime, made it into simply 13 video games earlier than the calendar flipped to September this yr between thumb surgical procedure and a hamstring pressure however lastly made it again into Triple-A earlier this week. Per Gilbert, Lawlar is predicted to play winter ball this offseason to make up for the reps he misplaced to harm this yr, but it surely’s not arduous to think about the membership preferring the 22-year-old to their different bench infield choices like Luis Guillorme and Kevin Newman headed into the postseason. Lawlar was equally included on the membership’s postseason roster final yr, when he appeared in three video games and went 0-for-1 with a stroll and a run scored.
