PHOENIX — The Diamondbacks announced the first of what figures to be multiple midseason reinforcements this week when first baseman Pavin Smith was reinstated from the 60-day injured list on Monday. The promotion coincides with a series of recoveries elsewhere on the roster, headlined by left-hander A.J. Puk beginning a formal rehab assignment and outfielders Jordan Lawlar and Lourdes Gurriel Jr. edging closer to game action.
Diamondbacks pitcher mid-delivery — the club says he’ll begin a rehab assignment as he works his way back from the injured list.
Manager Torey Lovullo said Puk is scheduled to throw in Triple-A Reno on Tuesday and again on Friday, marking the next step in a comeback that has kept him off a major-league mound since April 17, 2025. The left-hander has completed three appearances in the Arizona Complex League as part of his ramp-up, and general manager Mike Hazen previously indicated Puk would likely need seven or eight rehab outings before being activated. Mid-June remains the target window for his return to the big-league bullpen.
Puk’s pending activation is already creating roster and role questions for Arizona’s relief corps. Lovullo acknowledged the challenge of juggling workloads and opportunities when healthy arms return. “I’ve just been in my office for the past hour talking about that with the front office, and it’s a little bit of a challenge,” he said. “There’s moving targets all over the place here, and you want to make sure that everybody’s getting a good opportunity to show what they’re capable of doing. But when A.J. Puk’s ready to come back, he’s coming back.”
The timing of Puk’s reappearance will force some difficult choices in a bullpen that has been an asset so far this season. Lefty Brandyn Garcia entered Monday with a 0.82 ERA through 13 appearances, and the club’s bullpen posted a 2.13 ERA in May, the second-best mark in Major League Baseball behind the San Diego Padres. Brandon Pfaadt has been deployed primarily as a long reliever, a different role than several of the other arms who have logged higher-leverage innings.
Diamondbacks position player in uniform and sunglasses during pregame — manager Torey Lovullo says position players are progressing in their recoveries and could return soon.
On the position-player side, Lawlar and Gurriel are both advancing through their respective progressions. Lawlar, who has been sidelined since suffering a broken wrist on April 3, is scheduled to play in Arizona Complex League games on Monday and Tuesday and could be sent to Reno by the end of the week. He will be eligible to come off the injured list this week, and his return would add depth — and a glut of options — to a crowded outfield mix.
Gurriel, on the 10-day injured list with a hamstring issue, has been taking batting practice off the machine, doing outfield work and could be ready to appear in ACL games as soon as next week. With Corbin Carroll entrenched in right field and Ryan Waldschmidt positioned in center, Tommy Troy has handled most of the left-field duty while Lawlar has been out. Lawlar began the season as the club’s starting left fielder, but the lineup shifted when Gurriel returned from knee surgery earlier in the season, leaving Arizona with a series of roster decisions once both injured players are cleared.
Not all medical news was positive. Right-handed pitcher Cristian Mena will undergo right-shoulder surgery and is expected to be sidelined for an extended period. Mena, 23, has not thrown in a game since departing a rainy outing in Cincinnati on June 6, 2025, and has battled lingering shoulder problems since. “It’s just been a little bit of a grind for him,” Lovullo said. “He was progressing well, and then he just felt like he had something going on in his shoulder, and we’ve really examined it as thoroughly as possible. … I think this is going to set him back quite a lot.”
Other injury updates outlined Monday included veteran Carlos Santana, whose move to the 60-day injured list was retroactive to April 6 with an adductor strain. Santana has taken live batting practice and run the bases at what the manager described as a “mild” intensity level; he had been nearing a return in early May before re-aggravating the problem. Catcher James McCann, sidelined since May 19 with a quad strain, has begun machine batting practice, catching drills and light running.
With Smith reinstated, the club indicated he will serve frequently as the designated hitter against right-handed pitching, a role that has given catcher Adrian Del Castillo intermittent opportunities. Del Castillo is batting .192 this season, and Lovullo stressed the team wants to keep him active in multiple roles: “Pavin’s going to get a lot of the DH reps, that’s for sure,” Lovullo said. “I told Del today … he’s going to get some catching innings. He’s going to pinch hit. He’s going to get some DH starts. Exactly what those numbers are, I’m not sure, but I want to keep him active. He can hit. He’s a feel hitter. He’s got to get that feel. Once he gets it, he gets locked in.”
As the calendar turns toward mid-June and several of these recoveries near completion, the Diamondbacks will be tasked with balancing immediate roster needs against playing time for younger contributors and depth options at Triple-A. For now, the club is emphasizing cautious ramp-ups for each player returning from injury while preparing to make the roster moves necessary when those players are cleared to rejoin the major-league roster.