Diamondbacks notes: In what order will A.J. Puk, Jordan Lawlar and Pavin Smith return?

SAN FRANCISCO — With June starting next week, the Arizona Diamondbacks are anticipating the impending return of several players from long-term injuries, including reliever A.J. Puk, outfielder Jordan Lawlar and first baseman Pavin Smith.

General manager Mike Hazen suggested on Monday that the order of their respective returns would be Smith, followed by Lawlar and then Puk.

Lawlar and Smith’s 60 days on the injured list are coming to a close, with Smith eligible to return first. Smith went on the IL on March 30 with left elbow inflammation while Lawlar was placed on April 3 with a broken right wrist.

Smith is expected to play in the Arizona Complex League on Monday night, Hazen said, while Lawlar is not quite ready to jump into a game.

As for Puk (left elbow surgery), Hazen said he would need seven or eight rehab appearances before being activated, as Puk made his season debut in the ACL on Friday.

“Puk we’re probably talking mid-June now, is my guess,” Hazen said. “To get all of those days in, plus all the rest, we’re not going to back-to-back him and do that stuff. Those appearances are going to take place over time.”

Manager Torey Lovullo added, “I talked to Jordan. He’s just getting a bat in his hand and took on-field (batting practice) the other day. Said he felt real good, which is a very positive sign. But I don’t think he’s ready to jump into a game setting. Pavin I think is getting a little bit more aggressive with his input and output.”

When Smith returns, the expectation is that he will initially be a designated hitter.

The Diamondbacks will cross the roster crunch bridge when they get there, as Lourdes Gurriel Jr.’s recent hamstring injury was another reminder that plans can change in an instant.

“If those are the problems that we take on, we’ll deal with those happily,” Hazen said of a logjam in the outfield. “If everyone is playing that well, we’ll figure something out.”

Ryan Waldschmidt moves up in the lineup

With Tommy Troy coming up for his MLB debut on Sunday, Lovullo moved fellow prospect Ryan Waldschmidt up to sixth. That was a lineup with backup catcher Aramis Garcia spelling Gabriel Moreno and batting eighth.

On Monday, Lovullo kept Waldschmidt in the sixth spot, ahead of Moreno.

“I like the at-bat. I like the situational awareness, the high baseball IQ when he’s standing in the box,” Lovullo said. “I thought yesterday it was mostly a reflection of the lineup and who was not in the lineup that pushed him forward. But I like the way it looked and I’ll probably stay with that for a little while.”

Waldschmidt entered Monday batting .353 through 16 games.

Jonathan Loaisiga update

Reliever Jonathan Loaisiga has not pitched in a game since May 19, as Lovullo said the right-hander has been dealing with some right shoulder fatigue.

“No concern. We kind of backed off of his usage a little bit to let him just get some rest. And he’s in a good spot right now,” Lovullo said.

Loaisiga was throwing on flat ground in front of coaches hours before Monday’s game.

Ildemaro Vargas providing value after bat has cooled off

Infielder Ildemaro Vargas was the story of the Diamondbacks going into May, but he was not going to hit .400 all season.

Vargas’ offensive numbers have dipped this month, especially lately with a .143 average over his past nine games. His season OPS is down to .829 after he won National League Player of the Month for March/April.

At the same time, Vargas has been putting in work at first base, not his natural position but one he has taken to in order to carve out opportunities. Vargas entered Monday tied for fourth among MLB first baseman with three defensive runs saved, doing so with fewer innings logged than the defenders ahead of him.

There’s a trade off happening for a team that stresses defense and has benefitted from others atop the lineup heating up lately.

“He’s probably one of the best defensive first basemen in all of baseball,” Hazen said. “So we are trading off some recent offense for defense. … I think we’ll mix and match as we need to. He hasn’t been an everyday player for a large part of his career and we’ve asked a lot of him.

“He’s going through a little bit of a rough patch here. He’ll be fine. I think it’s hard to replace what he’s doing in first base defensively.”

Vargas is still fourth on the team in wins above replacement, trailing Corbin Carroll, Eduardo Rodriguez and Nolan Arenado, per Baseball Reference.

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