The Arizona Diamondbacks are calling up infielder and No. 1 prospect Jordan Lawlar from Triple-A Reno as part of a four-player roster move on Friday, the team announced.
In addition, Arizona has called up left-hander Brandyn Garcia from Triple-A, optioned Thursday’s hero Taylor Rashi after a heavy workload, and placed first baseman Pavin Smith on the 10-day IL with a strained left quad.
Lawlar was likely to be a September 1 call-up when rosters expanded. But the injury to Smith opened up an infield spot.
Lawlar himself has dealt with injury in 2025, spending nearly two months on the minor league IL with a significant hamstring injury.
Since his return, however, he’s hit at his usual hot rate. His season slash for the Aces is .313/.403/.564 with 11 homers and a .967 OPS. Even for the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League, he’s been an above average Triple-A hitter.
Lawlar has not made much of his two major league opportunities thus far, but he also hasn’t been afforded much opportunity. The time is now for that opportunity to arise. He’ll join a younger, hungrier group of D-backs infielders, hoping to prove himself in the final month of the season.
The lefty reliever was part of the return in the trade that sent first baseman Josh Naylor to the Seattle Mariners.
Garcia struggled to a 10.80 ERA in his first 3.1 innings with the D-backs’ major league club, but has settled into a 3.27 ERA with the Aces.
Garcia does have a walk problem, with eight free passes in 11 innings with the Triple-A Reno Aces, but he’s also struck out 13 in that span. He also had five walks in 8.1 AAA innings for the Mariners, and in two stints in the majors he’s walked four in 3.1 innings. His command is a work in progress, to say the least.
This is not a punishment for Rashi’s heroic debut. The 29-year-old righty delivered an immense three-inning save in his first major league appearance, helping the D-backs take down the Brewers.
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But after three innings and 62 pitches thrown, he’ll have to stay down for multiple days. The option allows for Arizona to get a fresh arm in their bullpen after needing nearly 18 innings of relief work over their last four games.
Rashi has a 3.48 ERA in Reno this season, and may very well be recalled again once rested.
Smith exited Wednesday night’s game after tweaking his quad. He was immediately removed in favor of Tyler Locklear, and now he’ll go on the 10-day Injured List with a left quad strain.
Smith had just begun to produce again, with back-to-back two-hit games after a lengthy IL stint with an Oblique injury. The lefty first baseman suffers another tough blow.