Lourdes Gurriel Jr., once a beloved Blue Jay, has been designated for assignment by Arizona.

Infielder Jose Fernandez comes up from Triple-A Reno to fill the open 40-man spot.

This move all but closes Gurriel's four-season run with the Diamondbacks.

He arrived in Arizona alongside Gabriel Moreno as part of the December 2022 trade that sent Daulton Varsho to Toronto, a deal that became a real cornerstone of the Diamondbacks' 2023 NL pennant run.

That performance earned him a three-year, $42 million deal to stay in Arizona.

His production held steady through 2024, but dropped to a 95 wRC+ in 2025, hitting .248 over 546 plate appearances.

That season ended painfully, with a torn right ACL suffered avoiding an outfield collision with then-teammate Blaze Alexander.

Why a claim here carries real financial complications

Gurriel returned far ahead of the typical 9-to-10-month ACL recovery, back in action by April 18 this year.

That quick return looks like it came too soon. He's hit just .210 with two home runs over 210 plate appearances in 2026, adding hamstring and adductor strains that cost him nearly 2.5 months across two separate IL stints.

With Arizona in a tight NL wild-card race and Gurriel simply not producing, the club moved on entirely.

His contract includes a $14 million club option for 2027 that will almost certainly get bought out for $5 million.

Any team claiming him off waivers would need to absorb that buyout plus roughly $1 million left on his current salary, which makes a waiver claim highly unlikely.

The far more probable outcome is Gurriel clearing waivers and getting released outright, with little chance another club signs him to even a minor-league deal for what's left of this season.

Turning 33 in October, he's likely looking at a minor-league contract or a low-cost one-year guarantee this offseason.

Here's the low-risk, high-reward case for a team willing to gamble. Gurriel is further removed from his ACL surgery each month, and a left field-only bat with real 2023-2024 production could still have something left once fully healthy.

The downside is limited to a modest guarantee, while the upside includes a genuine bounce-back if his timing and health finally align again.

For a rebuilding club or a contender needing outfield depth on the cheap, that risk profile is exactly the kind worth exploring this winter.