With the return of outfielder Lourdes Gurriel Jr. to the Arizona Diamondbacks’ lineup after a stint on the 10-day Injured List, rookie outfielder Ryan Waldschmidt is heading back down to Triple-A Reno.

The Diamondbacks announced the move before their 4-3 win over the Los Angeles Angels on Monday. Gurriel made his return to the lineup after recovering from a hamstring injury and logged an RBI single in the bottom of the fourth inning. 

After the game, Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo addressed Arizona Sports and the rest of the media about the decision to send Waldschmidt to Reno.

"We sent out Waldie postgame yesterday, and he's in a good spot," Lovullo said. "When you talk about his career, the trajectory of his career, he's exactly where he needs to be. He came here, he had some impactful moments. He learned, I call them sight lines. 

"He got a new version of what it's gonna take, or he saw the version of what it's gonna take for him to come back here and be successful," Lovullo added.

"Without doing that, you never know. He dreamed of this opportunity, he got it, he held his own. But I think there's more to him than just holding his own. I told him to come back here and have an All-Star mentality, 'cuz he has that capability."

Waldschmidt, 23, has appeared in 33 games for the Diamondbacks this season and has produced a .259 average, a .314 on-base percentage, a .357 slugging percentage and a .671 OPS. He also has nine doubles, a triple, and eight RBIs, but he has struck out 40 times.

According to Lovullo, Waldschmidt has to work on some things, and that includes his flaws at the plate.

"But he's gotta figure out parts of his game, controlling counts, not going up there trying to do too much damage on pitches that he can't necessarily do damage on, and that's just a learning experience for a young hitter," Lovullo said.

"And he's gonna go back down there and find his way back into this lineup at some point this year, I firmly believe that."

Waldschmidt was selected by the Diamondbacks with the 31st pick in the Prospect Promotion Incentive Round of the 2024 MLB Draft out of Kentucky. He worked his way through Arizona’s minor league system quickly, and after slashing .309/.423/.498 with a .921 OPS in 66 games with Double-A Amarillo in 2025, Waldschmidt made his way to Triple-A Reno to begin the 2026 season.

In 34 games with Reno, Waldschmidt has a .289 batting average with an .877 OPS.

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