How Injured Players are Staying Connected to D-backs

The Arizona Diamondbacks have endured a brutal bout of injury luck this season — fans need no reminder.

Pitcher after pitcher has gone down to the dreaded Tommy John Surgery, while hitters have broken bones, torn ligaments and suffered a bevy of other ailments.

Part of that is simply the reality of baseball, but it's not only tough to lose good players — the Diamondbacks have lost key members of their clubhouse, and those injured players often lose their connection to the game.

And yet, as the Diamondbacks worked on their comeback against the Los Angeles Dodgers Tuesday night, there sat Lourdes Gurriel Jr. in the dugout. He embraced his manager — crutches, newly-repaired ACL and all.

When catcher James McCann hit an RBI double (and later laid down a crucial sacrifice bunt), the presence of right-hander Corbin Burnes — who recommended the McCann signing to GM Mike Hazen — was felt once again.

And when Geraldo Perdomo completed the victory with a walk-off single, A.J. Puk and his surgically-repaired elbow helped storm the field with his teammates.

Manager Torey Lovullo spoke about those injured contributors, and the growing excitement surrounding this D-backs team.

Arizona Diamondbacks' Torey Lovullo on Injured Players

The manager said those sidelined players have been showing up around game time, taking in the wild ride that is the 2025 Diamondbacks alongside their teammates and coaches.

"I think they're excited," Lovullo said.

"It's just good to see their faces for me, but I think everybody's genuinely excited about the way we're playing baseball. Whether you feel like it's amazing or not, we're in this and it's a full organization that is energized for each day at 6:40.

"I think the guys are all excited for one another. When you see A.J. Puk come and spend seven, eight innings watching the ballgame, that kind of fires me up and I think the guys feel the same way," Lovullo said.

It's always been Lovullo's philosophy to emphasize the importance of staying as connected to the team (and the game of baseball) as possible when injured. He makes it a point to say as much to the players he loses throughout the year.

"I ask the injured guys not to let it get too far away from them, because when you know you're going to be gone for over a year, you're always looking for something to connect yourself to with your teammates, with wins and losses, and it can get fairly depressing," Lovullo said.

"We've all been injured at some point in time in our life, but all of a sudden you get the sport and the competition ripped away from you, it's a little bit frustrating. So when I see A.J. there and I see him bouncing around with the guys, I know he's connected and that's all I ask."

Lovullo's message to those suffering lost seasons was simple:

"Stay connected, don't let it get too far away from you, because your time's coming. Your time will be sooner than later and you're going to be one of the guys jumping out there because of something you did well," Lovullo said.

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