Diamondbacks could provide answer to Braves outfield woes

Per Nick Piecoro of The Arizona Republic, the Diamondbacks are getting a lot of calls on their surplus of outfielders.

“We’ll see,” Diamondbacks general manager Mike Hazen said, via The Arizona Republic. “I’m still skeptical that a trade is going to happen, but we’ve gotten a lot of calls. There’s not many center fielders out there is what I’m gathering.”

The Braves don’t have a need for a centerfielder with Michael Harris II under contract through the end of the decade, but they do need to address both left and right field. The guy that really catches my eye is Lourdes Gurriel Jr. With Corbin Carroll, Alek Thomas, and Jake McCarthy being the likely starting outfield if the season were to start tomorrow, Gurriel may actually be the most expendable of the bunch and would be a significant upgrade over both Jarred Kelenic and Ramon Laureano in left field.

Last season, Gurriel hit .279 with 18 homers and a .757 OPS. That was good for 2.1 WAR, a number he has reached in every season since 2021. He was an All-Star as recently as 2023 and is about as consistent as they come with the stick, owning a career 113 OPS+ (13% above league average).

With two years and $27 million left on his contract and a surplus of outfielders, the Diamondbacks might consider dangling Lourdes Gurriel Jr. out on the market to see what they can get. It shouldn’t cost too much in terms of prospects to acquire him, but it would allow the Diamondbacks to use that money to upgrade the roster elsewhere. Of course, if a better deal comes around for one of their other outfielders, keeping Gurriel around becomes a much greater priority.

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Photo: Scott Winters/Icon Sportswire