Diamondbacks' Lourdes Gurriel: Continues push for Opening Day

Gurriel (knee) took live batting practice Tuesday and ran the bases, indicating his return is ahead of schedule, Steve Gilbert of MLB.com reports.

Gurriel's stated goal is to be ready for Opening Day -- it's the first thing he mentioned to manager Torey Lovullo upon his arrival in camp -- but the manager's comments suggest more caution. Lovullo stated he was blown away by how Gurriel has looked early on, but then added, "I will say, right now, we're going to take it as slowly as we possibly need to, and then plug in where we can." It appears the Diamondbacks are preparing for Gurriel to miss time early in the regular season. Alek Thomas has taken reps in left field -- Gurriel's normal position -- instead of right field. It was initially thought Thomas could fill in for injured right fielder Corbin Carroll (hand), but the club is optimistic Carroll can return in time for the opener.