Why the Diamondbacks Made Decision to Bring Back Pavin Smith

Why Arizona brought back Pavin Smith.

Mar 27, 2026; Los Angeles, California, USA; Arizona Diamondbacks first baseman Pavin Smith (26) celebrates in the dugout after scoring on an RBI double by center fielder Alek Thomas (not pictured) in the fourth inning against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Dodger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

On Saturday, the Arizona Diamondbacks saw the return of one of their previously-DFA'd players, as infielder and DH Pavin Smith was selected from Triple-A Reno in a three-player roster transaction.

Smith had been designated for assignment on July 10 after a brutal start to his season, battling an injury and hitting just .141 in 28 games. Since he cleared waivers, he remained in the organization at the minor league level.

According to a Diamondbacks team official, Smith is eligible for apotential D-backs postseason roster under MLB Rule 41.

The move was — given Smith's lack of production this season — met with a general air of discontent from Diamondbacks fans on social media.

Later, ahead of Arizona's 5:10 p.m. matchup with the Texas Rangers at Chase Field, manager Torey Lovullo addressed the move, touching on why the D-backs opted to bring Smith back to the major leagues.

Why the Diamondbacks decided to bring Pavin Smith back

Jul 5, 2026; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; Arizona Diamondbacks first baseman Pavin Smith against the Milwaukee Brewers at Chase Field. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Lovullo noted Smith's succes in the minors. The left-handed hitter is slashing .301/.425/.500 with seven homers and a .925 OPS in 43 games for the Aces this year. The Diamondbacks, meanwhile, have struggled immensely against right-handed pitching, and the hope is Smith can help provide somewhat of a solution to that problem.

"Pavin's been swinging the bat really good," Lovullo said (via Alex Weiner of Arizona Sports). "There's the ability to impact some right-handed pitching, and I think that's been a little bit of a gap for us from time to time, with a lot of right-handed bats in our lineup — young right-handed bats.

"I think Pavin just gives us a quality at-bat against that quality type of right-handed pitching."

That has certainly been a problem for Arizona. The Diamondbacks rank 28th in baseball in batting average against right-handed pitching (.231), 29th in OPS (.684) and 29th in wRC+ (88).

That is a steep drop-off from their numbers against lefties; they rank first in baseball in batting average against southpaws (.273), third in OPS (.777) and fourth in wRC+ (112).

Smith may or may not be the perfect solution to that. Arizona has tried to get left-handed production out of Max Kepler, who was recently DFA'd after an unproductive tenure, as well as Adrian Del Castillo, who was sent to Reno to open a roster spot for Smith earlier.

Nothing has quite panned out, outside of Lars Nootbaar, who has a solid .783 OPS in 29 games as a Diamondback.

Regardless, Smith is in Saturday's lineup, and may get a start "here and there," most likely at DH, though potentially at first base, as well.