Arizona Diamondbacks DH and infielder Pavin Smith has made his return to the D-backs lineup after he was scratched on Thursday due to left elbow soreness.
Smith underwent an MRI on Friday, but imaging revealed no structural damage, according to manager Torey Lovullo. It was up to how Smith felt in BP to determine whether or not he would return to Arizona’s lineup against the Los Angeles Dodgers.
That BP session certainly appears to have gone well. According to MLB.com’s Steve Gilbert, Smith will slot back into the lineup, replacing utilityman Tim Tawa, who took Smith’s place in Thursday’s game at DH. Tawa went 1-for-3 with an infield single in Smith’s stead.
Diamondbacks’ Pavin Smith Returns to Lineup
Arizona’s lineup looks similar to Thursday’s, but with Smith slotting into the fifth spot in the order at DH against a right-hander in Dodgers starter Emmett Sheehan.
The lineup is as follows:
2B – Ketel Marte
RF – Corbin Carroll
SS – Geraldo Perdomo
C – Gabriel Moreno
DH – Pavin Smith
3B – Nolan Arenado
1B – Carlos Santana
CF – Alek Thomas
LF – Jordan Lawlar
Smith, regardless of how fans may feel about his offensive prowess, is an important member of this lineup. The D-backs do not have much in the way of left-handed hitting outside the obvious top three of Marte, Perdomo and Carroll.
Even at the Triple-A level, Arizona lacks left-hand slug. Adrian Del Castillo, who was the D-backs’ left-handed DH option as 2025 wound down, is dealing with a calf strain on the 10-day Injured List and is not ready to return to play.