Jordan Lawlar Returns as Diamondbacks Begin 2026 Infield Shakeup

Top prospect Jordan Lawlar is back in the big leagues. The Diamondbacks recalled the 23-year-old infielder along with left-hander Brandyn Garcia on Friday, placing Pavin Smith on the injured list with a strained left quad and optioning reliever Taylor Rashi after his 62-pitch save on Thursday.

With 2026 promising to include a significant change on the infield, it was paramount for their top prospect to get a thorough evaluation before the end of the season. While I initially had him as a September call-up, when rosters expand to 28 players, this move comes three days in advance.

"We felt like it was time," said Lovullo in his weekly appearance on Burns & Gambo on Arizona Sports. "The front office reaches out to the player development group, who ultimately reaches out to the Triple-A manager [Jeff Gardner] to find out who the recommendations are. It came up on Jordan. He's been healthy, he's been performing, he's been doing a really good job."

This is Lawlar’s clearest runway yet, as he has 20-25 games to prove he belongs at third base. Between the draft and salary, the organization has invested around $7 million in the hopes he'll start on the infield. Injuries and a lack of opportunities have stalled out his development, but now there's an opening that he can fill.

Over the final 27 games, the goal for the D-backs will be to figure out their starting infield for 2026. Barring any offseason trades, you can pencil in Ketel Marte and Geraldo Perdomo as the starting middle infielders. The two positions left to evaluate are at the two corner infield spots. Tyler Locklear, despite his struggles at the plate, should get most of the reps at first base while Smith is down.

Blaze Alexander vs. Jordan Lawlar

The big question comes at third base. Manager Torey Lovullo will have to find a way to juggle playing time for both Lawlar and Blaze Alexander. The player who gets the majority of the reps there may ultimately reveal who they plan to start at the hot corner next season.

Alexander has hit well in August, slashing .250/.355/.500 with six home runs and a 138 wRC+. While his recent production at the plate looks great at first glance, some underlying concerns suggest his performance is not sustainable. He's sporting a 30.8% strikeout rate for the month, and a 31.1% rate for the season.

While he has increased his quality of contact, with a 47.5% hard-hit rate and a 7.5% barrel rate, the strikeouts have handicapped his offensive impact. Using expected stats, which seek to minimize the impact of the opposing defense and focus solely on exit velocity, launch angle, and sprint speed data, Alexander has a .225 xBA, .392 xSLG, and a .320 xwOBA for August. At face value, a .320 xwOBA is solid, if not spectacular, since it's close to the league average (.316).

The high strikeout rate isn't necessarily a reflection of poor swing decisions. Alexander boasts a 23.3% chase rate on the season, meaning he's not chasing out of the zone very frequently. However, he's sporting a whiff rate of 33.0% and a zone contact rate of just 72.9%; there is a contact issue that threatens to take him out of the running for the third base job.

That brings the question of what Lawlar brings to the table. Lawlar has been overmatched in his brief MLB looks, but this is the first time the D-backs have cleared space for him to prove otherwise. He's a career .080 hitter in 56 plate appearances, including a rough 22 PA stretch where he went hitless with nine strikeouts and three walks this season. Teams have exploited his weakness against breaking balls, which is something he should expect to see again at the major league level.

For Lawlar to fight off Alexander at third base, he will have to show he's capable of making more offensive impact at the plate. That means being able to check off breaking pitches, which he has a 52.2% whiff rate against this season in MLB, and put himself in counts to hunt fastballs, his number one strength as a hitter. I'll likely be monitoring his metrics on chase rate, whiff rate, zone contact rate, and all the other things to see if Lawlar is doing enough offensively.

The Plan for Both Lawlar and Alexander

With both Lawlar and Alexander earning the right to more playing time, the question falls on Lovullo and the front office to make it happen. Ultimately, they came up with a solution.

Lovullo said on Burns & Gambo that Lawlar will play mostly on the left side of the infield. So he'll primarily play third and then slide over to shortstop when Perdomo needs a day off. For Alexander, they'll move him around the infield and some looks in center field.

It makes sense to see if Alexander can handle playing on the grass. He's not necessarily a long-term starter at any particular position on the infield, but could find his way into the lineup more. Alek Thomas and Jake McCarthy haven't exactly proven to be reliable in center field over the years, and are both left-handed hitters.

"We're very left-handed in the outfield, and we just want as many options as possible on that given day we're facing a tough lefty."

Alexander is a right-handed hitter who gives them more coverage offensively. If this move works out, he could become one of the better utility players in the league as his bat continues to develop.