D-backs Utilityman Looks Like Valuable Player Moving Forward

This rookie's 2025 season was solid.

Apr 22, 2025; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; Arizona Diamondbacks infielder Tim Tawa against the Tampa Bay Rays at Chase Field. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

The Arizona Diamondbacks' 2025 season was one that came with a massive amount of adversity. A a team with lofty preseason expectations stumbled to an 80-82 record, losing numerous key players to injury along the way.

But with some of those injuries came opportunity. Chances for young players to carve out roles on the major league roster arose. One such player was rookie utilityman Tim Tawa, who showed some potential in his debut season.

As Arizona Diamondbacks On SI continues to break down the individual seasons of every player that contributed to the 2025 D-backs roster, the below article will be updated with the proper links to every season review as they are published.

Related Content: Breaking Down Every Diamondbacks Player's 2025 Season

Arizona Diamondbacks 2025 Player Review: Tim Tawa

Arizona Diamondbacks utility Tim Tawa 2025 statistics | Alex D'Agostino

Tawa had been a name to watch prior to the 2025 season. There were some expectations he might have been able to crack the Opening Day roster, given his ability to play a variety of infield (and outfield) positions. He'd been hitting well at the Triple-A level, as well.

Tawa did not crack the OD roster, but when Ketel Marte went down with a hamstring injury early in April, Tawa was called up to make his MLB debut. Tawa didn't exactly hit for average, but brought a decent amount of pop, hitting his first four major league homers and two doubles in the month.

His bat heated up to a .289/.306/.467 slash in May, but struggled in June and early July. He was optioned to Reno, and ended up on the minor league IL that same week. He returned to the MLB roster in early September, taking on platoon first base duties in the absence of Josh Naylor.

While he was a below-average hitter on the whole, Tawa was worth +6 Defensive Runs Saved defensively, while spending some time at six positions (outfield and infield). Shortstop and catcher were the only spots he did not play, and he posted a neutral or positive DRS at each.

Tim Tawa: 2026 Outlook

While there wasn't much contact-hitting ability shown by Tawa this past season, he certainly has power in his bat, and is a mature, quality defender at nearly every position on the diamond.

He'll have to battle with the likes of Blaze Alexander and Jordan Lawlar for a roster spot in 2026, but there's certainly a world in which he carves out a decent chunk of MLB playing time this upcoming season. Arizona is a team that highly values versatility defensively, and Tawa brings a lot of that.

It would benefit him to decrease his strikeouts, however, as he struck out over 28% of the time in 2025. Still, Tawa seems like a player Arizona is invested in, for good reason.