After a stunning run to the World Collection final October, the Diamondbacks as soon as once more discover themselves inching in the 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 robust 86.4% probability of constructing the postseason for the second consecutive 12 months when all is claimed and completed. Even with these strong odds, the membership will certainly need all the assistance it may possibly get to safe its positioning and head into the playoffs sturdy.
Thankfully, reinforcements are on the best way 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 record. The duo had been scheduled to play in a sport on the membership’s Spring Coaching complicated at the moment the place Moreno was set to each hit and catch whereas Gurriel would hit with out taking part in the sector. That leaves Moreno, who has been out for six weeks because 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 glorious protection behind the plate. That two-way expertise has left the Snakes lacking Moreno dearly, as they’ve utilized a mixture of the light-hitting however defensively gifted Jose Herrera alongside teen 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 12 months but additionally the manufacturing Gurriel posted in his first season with Arizona final 12 months. Thankfully for Arizona, nonetheless, Gurriel’s absence hasn’t been felt as a lot as could have been initially anticipated because 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 scorching streak has allowed the membership to put up MLB’s finest offense by wRC+ (138) in September regardless of dropping 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 referred to as upon to assist the Diamondbacks headed into the postseason, nonetheless. In response to a dialog between GM Mike Hazen and MLB.com’s Steve Gilbert, outfielder Alek Thomas and prime infield prospect Jordan Lawlar are each thought to be “attainable” 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 massive league stage, however he gives glorious protection in all three outfield spots that would make him an asset in a bench function.
Lawlar, in the meantime, made it into simply 13 video games earlier than the calendar flipped to September this 12 months 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 damage this 12 months, but it surely’s not laborious 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 12 months, when he appeared in three video games and went 0-for-1 with a stroll and a run scored.