PHOENIX — The Arizona Diamondbacks did not have to designate outfielder Alek Thomas for assignment to fit top prospect Ryan Waldschmidt on the 40-man roster on Friday.
Thomas had a minor league option left, and the D-backs had 40-man roster space available.
Instead, the Diamondbacks made the more drastic move than simply optioning him to Triple-A Reno again, exposing him to a trade, the waiver wire or a potential outright back to the organization.
With this move, the D-backs are clearly OK with losing Thomas, but they will take him back with a new perspective if he clears waivers.
“He’s been here for a long time,” general manager Mike Hazen said on Friday. “He has no prior outright. So if we end up outrighting him, if we don’t trade or clear his waivers, then I feel like we’ll get a better version of him when he is down there. I feel like if we just optioned him, feeling like he’s buried sitting down there biding his time until he gets another opportunity, I wasn’t sure that we were going to get the best version.
“This is the opportunity we’ll have to get the best version of him if he’s still here. Obviously, we will see what kind of trade activity exists out there for him.”
Hazen said he has already received trade inquiries from other teams.
Thomas was a top-end prospect before making his debut in 2022. He was a Gold Glove finalist in center field in 2022 and 2023.
During the 2023 postseason, Thomas clubbed one of the most impactful home runs in Diamondbacks history, a game-tying, two-run shot off Philadelphia Phillies reliever Craig Kimbrel in the eighth inning of Game 4 at Chase Field.
The D-backs tied the series that night and went on to win it in seven games. The moment Thomas took “the ride of his life” will live on forever in Diamondbacks lore.
ARE YOU KIDDING!?! pic.twitter.com/Q1zWqIj7Li
— Arizona Diamondbacks (@Dbacks) October 21, 2023
Since then, Thomas has a .636 OPS in 210 games.
He hit .181 this season before getting DFA’d despite making a series of mechanical changes over the offseason and blistering the baseball during spring training. Chasing pitches out of the strike zone continued to be an issue.
“He is a tremendously talented player and he’s a great kid and he works his butt off,” Hazen said. “It just didn’t click for us for extended periods of time here. I think he understands what we were trying to get done. I think he made changes this offseason fundamentally to target some of those things. I know he worked at all those things. It hasn’t translated.”
Hazen let Thomas know over the phone on Thursday night, and manager Torey Lovullo had a lengthy conversation with the 26-year-old on Friday morning.
The Diamondbacks as a team have been chasing too many pitches and failing to work enough quality at-bats for the organization’s liking. Hazen said one move won’t fix the offense, and there could be more changes moving forward.
“One person doesn’t change one through nine, right?” Hazen said. “But yes, we have to start somewhere.”
Waldschmidt’s strengths as a hitter include working walks, swinging at strikes and grinding out quality at-bats, and the Diamondbacks are hoping he can flip the batting order from the bottom third.
Hence then, the article about why did the diamondbacks dfa alek thomas was published today ( ) and is available on Arizona sports ( Middle East ) The editorial team at PressBee has edited and verified it, and it may have been modified, fully republished, or quoted. You can read and follow the updates of this news or article from its original source.
Read More Details
Finally We wish PressBee provided you with enough information of ( Why did the Diamondbacks DFA Alek Thomas? )
Also on site :
- Live stream link to watch Inter Miami vs Toronto match in the 2026 MLS season
- BGMI 4.4 Update To Bring A19 Royale Pass, Check Rewards
- “This Company Is Dead”, “Idiotic Slop” – Fans Bash WWE Creative After Controversial Gingerbread Man Segment On SmackDown