Diamondbacks Have Incentive to Put Jordan Lawlar on Opening Day Roster

Earlier this week I wrote an article projecting the Arizona Diamondbacks opening day roster. In that article I listed Jordan Lawlar among the long shots to make the roster. The basis for this evaluation comes primarily out of comments made by General Manager Mike Hazen, emphasizing the need for Lawlar to play every day and continue to develop his offensive game.

There are plenty of good reasons for that. A littany of injuries have limited Lawlar to just 282 professional games, with just 232 of them coming in affiliated minor leagues. He played in 14 games in MLB in 2023, getting just 34 plate appearances. He was on the postseason roster that year too, appearing in three more games with two PA.

What was clear from those limited reps was that while Lawlar's glove is already major league caliber, the bat still needed a lot more work. But injuries limited him to 104 minor league plate appearances last year and 108 more in the Dominican Winter League.

Despite all that, there is a strong incentive for the D-backs to push for Lawlar to make the opening day roster. The Prospect Promotion Incentive program instituted via the collective bargaining agreement of 2022 could be a factor that pushes the D-backs to give him a shot come opening day.

Under this program, if a top 100 prospect according to MLB Pipeline accrues a full year of service time, and factors in a major award, his team will receive a draft pick after the first round. Lawlar is ranked number 11.

The Diamondbacks received just such a draft pick in the 2024 draft thanks to Corbin Carroll winning the NL Rookie of the Year in 2023. As a result the D-backs were able to use the 31st overall pick to select top outfield prospect Ryan Waldschmidt.

The first time the pick was awarded was to the Mariners in 2023, due to Julio Rodriguez taking home ROY honors the year prior. The Orioles also received a pick in 2024 as a result of Gunnar Henderson's sensational rookie season. And the Royals will garner a pick in the 2025 thanks to Bobby Witt Jr. finishing in the top three of the AL MVP award last year while still being in his arbitration years.

Putting Lawlar on the major league roster to start the year is not actually a high risk proposition. It's very conceivable that he could receive at least three starts per week. When the team faces a lefty they could utilize Ketel Marte at DH as a way to keep his legs fresh, thus opening up some second base reps for Lawlar.

On top of that Lawlar can spell Geraldo Perdomo one game a week at shortstop, and perhaps even Eugenio Suarez can take some more frequent days off to keep his 33 year old legs fresh. Add to that a few pinch hit opportunities, and it's easy to see Lawlar getting at least 15-20 plate appearances per week.

And then of course you have the inevitable injuries that crop up that could open additional playing time for Lawlar. As the primary super utility player he could garner close to 400 plate appearances. If he plays that much, he might just blossom as a hitter and take over a full time role.

Whether that would be enough for him to be in the running for the rookie of the year award, or an MVP award down the line remains to be seen. Perhaps the team will determine it's not worth the risk to his development, and stick with the plan to start him in Triple-A Reno and make him hit his way on to the major league roster.

The Diamondbacks have signaled by some of their offseason signings, such as Grae Kessinger and Garrett Hampson, that they probably prefer a more veteran player for the utility role. And Blaze Alexander is still there as an option for the very same super utility role as well.

At the end of the day it comes down to how well Lawlar is hitting. But if he has a very strong spring training, don't be surprised if they roll the dice, giving themselves a shot at another top draft pick.

Diamondbacks Have Incentive to Put Jordan Lawlar on Opening Day Roster

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