On Sunday, the Arizona Diamondbacks made a handful of roster adjustments, with five players, including top prospect Jordan Lawlar, being optioned to Triple-A Reno.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!The #Dbacks have made the following roster moves:
Optioned to Triple-A Reno
RHP Justin Martinez
RHP Cristian Mena
RHP Peter Strzelecki
INF Jordan Lawlar
OF Jorge BarrosaReassigned to Minor League camp
LHP Kyle Backhus
C Adrian Del Castillo46 players remain in camp.
— Arizona Diamondbacks (@Dbacks) March 10, 2024
Before the start of spring training, General Manager Mike Hazen commented on Lawlar’s progress, stating, “I think his performance last year, he did a good job defensively for sure. I think from an at-bat standpoint, I think there’s still some growth that needs to happen. And he’s going to figure that out pretty quickly. He’s too good of a player not to be playing. He needs to play. And that might be with us, it might not be. We think he’s got a chance to be a stud in this league for a long time. We’ll see how Spring Training goes.”
Lawlar, who made his major league debut last September, had a challenging start at the plate, going 4-31. But, he did secure a spot on the postseason roster primarily as a pinch runner.
Last week, the Diamondbacks then then signed veteran shortstop Elvis Andrus to a minor league contract, making Lawlar’s chances of making the opening day roster appear even slimmer.
Now, it looks like Andrus will serve as a backup to Geraldo Perdomo.
Another notable player sent down to Triple-A Reno is hard-throwing righty Justin Martinez, who also debuted in the majors last year.
However, his stint with the Diamondbacks was brief after allowing 14 earned runs in just 10 innings out of the bullpen.
With these roster moves; the Diamondbacks now have 46 players remaining in camp.
