Lawlar expected to move rehab assignment to Triple-A Reno

Jordan Lawlar’s next game reps are shaping up as the most important ones of his comeback. After opening his rehab assignment in the Arizona Complex League, the 23-year-old infielder is expected to move to Triple-A Reno later in the week, giving the Diamondbacks a far better read on whether his broken wrist can withstand the speed, timing and daily grind that come with the highest rung below the majors.

Lawlar’s first rehab game was encouraging on paper and in the box score. He started in center field, went 1-for-1 with a double, drew a walk and was hit by a pitch as he continued his return from the wrist injury he suffered on April 2, 2026. Arizona manager Torey Lovullo said Lawlar would play at least one more game in the ACL before advancing to a higher level, and that higher level is now expected to be Reno.

That is where the assignment gets far more revealing. The ACL can help a player regain rhythm, but Triple-A will show whether Lawlar’s timing holds against pitchers closer to major league velocity and sequencing, whether his wrist responds to a heavier workload, and whether his defensive range plays the same way against sharper contact. For Arizona, Reno is not just another stop. It is the last meaningful checkpoint before deciding when Lawlar can rejoin the active roster.

That decision carries extra weight because Lawlar remains one of the organization’s best young pieces. Arizona took him No. 6 overall in the 2021 MLB Draft out of Jesuit Prep in Dallas, Texas, and he made his major league debut on Sept. 7, 2023. Born July 17, 2002, in Carrollton, Texas, he entered the 2026 season as MLB’s second-youngest position player on Arizona’s 40-man roster, a reminder of how much upside is still attached to his name.

The Diamondbacks have also been managing the returns of A.J. Puk and Lourdes Gurriel Jr., part of a wider injury-recovery picture that has forced the club to move carefully. Lawlar’s path now says as much about Arizona’s patience as it does about his talent. If Reno goes well, the conversation shifts quickly from rehab assignment to when the Diamondbacks can realistically put him back in Arizona for good.