Lourdes Gurriel Jr. was one of the top outfield free agents this offseason. After being linked to many teams such as the Mariners, Rangers and Red Sox. According to reports from Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic, Gurriel will be returning to Arizona.

Gurriel had his first all-star campaign during the 2023 campaign. He was a big part of the Diamondbacks successful run to the World Series. Throughout the season, Lourdes Gurriel Jr. slashed .261/.309/.463 with 35 2Bs, 24 HRs and 82 RBIs. He turned that up a notch in the postseason, especially in the World Series against the Rangers where he slashed .333/.350/.500.

There’s not many offensive weapons available on the free agent market this offseason, so it was likely that Gurriel would get a lengthy deal with a big guarantee. He’s limited defensively, but he comes with consistent offensive numbers even throughout the other years of his career. He’ll look to be the clubs everyday left fielder where he’ll likely patrol the outfield with Corbin Carroll and Alek Thomas. The Diamondbacks also have Jake McCarthy and Dominic Fletcher as depth options.

The D-Backs have had a busy offseason. They’ve already acquired Eugenio Suarez in an early trade with the Seattle Mariners. They also inked Eduardo Rodriguez to a four-year deal earlier this month. It appears they may not be done either, they plan to add a power-hitting DH before the offseason comes to an end, according to Jeff Passan.

Gurriel has been a solid everyday option since the COVID-shortened season in 2020. Since then he has hit for an average of .262. He joined the DBacks alongside catcher Gabriel Moreno in the trade that sent Daulton Varsho to the Blue Jays.

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