The Diamondbacks announced that they have selected the contract of infielder LuJames Groover. Fellow infielder José Fernández has been optioned to Triple-A Reno in a corresponding active roster move. Right-hander Taylor Rashi has been designated for assignment to open a 40-man spot.
Groover, now 24, was a second-round pick in the 2023 draft. As a hitter, Groover is known for his quality plate discipline, though there are questions about how much impact he can make when he does connect.
In 2024, he missed time due to a broken wrist and only got into 61 games. Last year, he stayed healthy enough to play 123 Double-A contests. He stepped to the plate 547 times. He walked at a 11.5% pace and only struck out 14.4% of the time, both strong figures, but he hit only 12 home runs. On the whole, his .309/.399/.434 line led to a 120 wRC+, but got some help from a .347 batting average on balls in play.
He has been in Triple-A this year, with some similarities in the output. His 14.5% walk rate and 16.8% strikeout rate are good but he has just three home runs in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League. His .322/.421/.452 line leads to a 116 wRC+ but has gotten a lot of help from a .381 BABIP.
Defensively, Groover has primarily been a corner infielder, with some very limited second base experience. Baseball America currently lists him as the #5 prospect in Arizona’s system. FanGraphs put him at #9 in the offseason.
Arizona has Nolan Arenado at the hot corner, so Groover will perhaps be used more in the first base/designated hitter mix. Pavin Smith just came off the injured list and should be getting regular playing time, though he is a left-handed hitter with notable platoon splits. Groover is a righty and could cover Smith, though perhaps the Snakes would also be comfortable with him facing righties.
While Smith was out, the Snakes used a combination of Fernández and Ildemaro Vargas to cover first, with Adrian Del Castillo getting a lot of DH time. Del Castillo is hitting just .192/.252/.325 on the year. Vargas started his season with an amazing 24-game hit streak, which was actually a 27-game streak dating back to last season, but he has hit .186/.218/.237 since then. Fernández also hit .342/.359/.500 through 78 plate appearances to start the year but just .180/.232/.225 in 99 plate appearances since.
Rashi, 30, signed a minor league deal with the Diamondbacks in the offseason. He was added to the roster in early April, though he was optioned to the minors after allowing four earned runs in 3 2/3 innings. Combined with his work from last year, he now has 20 big league innings under his belt, with a 5.40 earned run average, 29.9% strikeout rate, 10.3% walk rate and 44.2% ground ball rate.
His numbers in the minors are somewhat similar, as he gets strikeouts but also has subpar control. Dating back to the start of 2025, he has thrown 67 1/3 Triple-A innings with a 3.48 ERA. His 10.3% walk rate is a bit high but he has punched out 24.7% of batters faced and induced grounders on about half of the balls in play he’s allowed. He is able to get punchouts despite subpar velocity, as his four-seamer barely averages 90 miles per hour. He also throws a splitter, slider and curveball.
DFA limbo can last as long as a week, though the waiver process takes 48 hours. That means the Snakes could take five days to explore trade interest, though they could also put him on waivers sooner. If he were to pass through waivers unclaimed, he would stick around as non-roster depth. He doesn’t have three years of service time nor a previous career outright, so he wouldn’t have the right to elect free agency.
Photo courtesy of Mark J. Rebilas, Imagn Images
Groovy
LuJimmy Grooves
Go padres
Slow down, you move too fast
You got to make the morning last
Just kicking down the cobblestones
Looking for fun
Now that’s a name
At least he’s not a pitcher.
Jose has a lot of potential. He needs everyday ABs and work on breaking balls off the plate.
I believe the D’Back plan is for Fernandez to be the heir apparent to Nolan Arenado, spending time down in AAA is what Fernandez needs.
He’s 22. He def needs some more time in the minors. The low and away breaker killed his OPS and the sporadic playing time killed his confidence.
Not sure Groover is the answer at 1B either though.
I think Gurriel is the answer at first when he comes back. Former infielder could handle it. Keeps left open for Troy/Lawler until reinforcements arrive if we can keep treading water.. I know Gurriel and Lawler are on IL but back very soon.
I was thinking the same thing, I believe he has played some at first when he was with Toronto. The D’Backs might try him there along with everybody else so far, 5 different players in less than a half season.
Same here – Gurriel at 1B and DH. I think they’ll give Lawlar a chance to stick in LF when he comes back
Whatever happened to Tyler Locklear ?
He’s been injured all year. He should actually be back in the next 2-3 weeks.
But he was god awful last year in limited time with the Dbacks.
Best name in baseball right now. Gotta be. Holy heck!
Best name in baseball
Let’s see now Groover will make five different first baseman this season to start at first base so far and were not even halfway through the season. I believe Hazen has to make a move to acquire a first baseman at the deadline. May have to overpay to get a good one. Really have no faith in Pavin Smith as a solution. Don’t go with Santana anymore, he is really showed his age at 40 and that bus is gone.
Great name but J Garcia “Password” might be better!
If his name was truly good enough, you would’ve learned to spell it by now
Very Shagadelic
Been gettin a lot of women with my new Diamondbacks hat
This guy is going to compete for a batting title on the Detroit Tigers if youre picking up what im putting down
many Bothans died to get us this information….
Dbacks have a lot of high floor minor leaguers – plate discipline, defensive versatility, speed, etc. Good luck, LuJames.
If you asked me yesterday if LuJames Groover was a Diamondbacks prospect or a guitarist for Parliament Funkadelic, I would have chose P-Funk.
LuJames Grover or KoBryant Elmo? You decide
Might be one of the best names ever. In another life would have been a great Motown artist name