Diamondbacks look like they could use a shakeup, and one is coming with Lawlar’s return

Arizona Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo told reporters in Miami on Thursday to stay tuned on whether players rehabbing from injury are ready to join the team.

Arizona Sports’ John Gambadoro reported shortly after that outfielder Jordan Lawlar will be back on Friday when the club visits the Cincinnati Reds.

The D-backs have a group of players nearing IL reinstatement along with Lawlar: outfielder Lourdes Gurriel Jr., reliever A.J. Puk and first baseman Carlos Santana.

Lawlar, Santana and Puk have been playing for Triple-A Reno, while Gurriel has taken at-bats in the Arizona Complex League. Max Kepler, meanwhile, played his first game in the ACL for the D-backs on Wednesday, as he prepares to be activated later this month from the restricted list.

Are Lawlar, Gurriel, Santana and Kepler going to change everything about the Diamondbacks’ struggling lineup? At the end of the day the D-backs need their stars to drive the offense and better at-bats overall, but this unit looks like it needs a shakeup or a spark that Lawlar and Gurriel, in particular, could help with.

Can Jordan Lawlar reignite the D-backs offense in Cincinnati? https://t.co/lyt1CmaFx5 pic.twitter.com/4TSNHqPHj9

— The Burns & Gambo Show (@BurnsAndGambo) June 11, 2026

Diamondbacks in need of offensive spark

The Diamondbacks are fresh off a three-game sweep against the Marlins, having lost five of six against Miami and the Washington Nationals. Those are two young, fringe contenders with shaky pitching staffs, direct competition the D-backs needed to pile wins against.

While the starting pitching has not been perfect lately, Arizona’s offense has had an especially rough go at it. Over the past 12 games, the D-backs are batting .186 with 28 runs scored. In 14 games before that, the club scored 71 runs with a batting average of .291.

This has been a streaky season for an offense that led MLB in scoring over 2024-25. The D-backs were just shut out in consecutive games for the first time since last July.

In the past 13 games, the club is 9-for-93 with runners in scoring position, which has likely cost them multiple wins.

Lawlar started the season as a sparkplug at the bottom of the order before getting hit on the wrist with a pitch. Lawlar went 6-for-18 with a double and a home run, sharing a glimpse of the value he could provide with his speed and pop. The former top prospect and preseason breakout candidate has played left field and center field during his rehab assignment.

Gurriel is a known commodity, but while his season numbers are ugly, he hit .320 over his last seven games before suffering a strained hamstring. A streaky hitter, Gurriel has the ability to help carry a lineup for stretches when he gets hot.

Santana is less likely to add much punch, as the 40-year-old was mostly brought in for leadership and defense.

Kepler, meanwhile, at least provides power from the left side, although he is finishing an 80-game suspension for using a banned substance. He hit 18 home runs last year with a substandard .691 OPS. The D-backs are bottom three in MLB in home runs and RBIs from left-handed batters, even with Corbin Carroll primed to make the All-Star team.

Puk, on the other hand, is more additive to a bullpen that has performed well for most of the season.

What will the shakeup mean for others?

The D-backs have relied on youth to both exciting and understandably inconsistent results.

Jose Fernandez burned bright early but was eventually optioned to Triple-A. Ryan Waldschmidt and Tommy Troy hit the ground running but have fallen into a rut of late, while LuJames Groover has four hits over his first five MLB games, a tiny sample size.

Will the Diamondbacks allow their talented youngsters to find their rhythms in the major league lineup or mix up roles when pressed for at-bats? Lawlar being an outfielder has an impact on Waldschmidt and Troy getting the same number of reps.

What about rostering three catchers? Does using both Aramis Garcia and Adrian Del Castillo as backups to Gabriel Moreno make sense in a roster crunch?

Pavin Smith has added nothing since returning from the injured list (.401 OPS), so are his days numbered? Or Jorge Barrosa, a defensive wiz in the outfield with a .554 OPS?

As far as other internal options, first baseman Tyler Locklear has been tearing it up in Reno with 11 multi-hit games in his last 13, entering Thursday.

What about a lineup change?

Ketel Marte is having a tough couple weeks (.477 OPS in past 12 games) since he lit the league on fire during a 13-game hitting streak.

Does moving him out of the lead-off spot and back to second make any difference? That probably forces Geraldo Perdomo — who has hit well since moving down in the lineup — back to the lead-off spot, reverting to the top three Arizona ran out at the end of last season. Unless Carroll leads off.

Moving a struggling Nolan Arenado off the clean-up spot comes with the conundrum of who has earned the opportunity to swap with him.

Trades?

And then you have to look at external options, which is tricky in the first half of June when the trade deadline is all the way on Aug. 3.

The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal put five suggestions for Arizona in a recent column, including Luis Arraez of the San Francisco Giants (.802 OPS) and Lars Nootbaar of the overachieving St. Louis Cardinals (.707 OPS in five games). Former Diamondbacks designated hitter Joc Pederson is having a solid season for the mediocre Texas Rangers and is in a contract year (.786 OPS).

The Diamondbacks have not played well over their past four series, dropping from seven games over .500 (31-24) back to that middle ground (34-34). On paper, the D-backs are in a favorable stretch of the schedule, as their upcoming opponents, the Reds, Los Angeles Angels and Minnesota Twins, are a combined 26 games under .500.

Finding solutions to get the offense rolling again could make or break whether they take advantage of this slate and vault back into Wild Card position.

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