PHOENIX (AP) — The struggling Arizona Diamondbacks shook up their roster Friday, promoting their top prospect, outfielder Ryan Waldschmidt, from Triple-A and designating veteran outfielder Alek Thomas for assignment.
The 23-year-old Waldschmidt — who nearly made the team out of spring training — was batting .289 with three homers, 22 RBIs and an .877 OPS at Triple-A Reno. He was the 31st pick in the 2024 amateur draft out of Kentucky.
Waldschmidt was not in the starting lineup Friday night against the New York Mets, but he had a pinch-hit single in the eighth inning of a 3-1 loss. Both of his parents, his brother and some friends were at Chase Field to watch.
“That's one of the things you're looking to do — get your first hit,” Waldschmidt said. “For it to come in the first at-bat is really cool and definitely relieves some of the pressure that you put on yourself.”
The Diamondbacks have lost 12 of 16, falling to 17-20 this season.
The 26-year-old Thomas was hitting .181 with two homers in 100 plate appearances. The speedy center fielder has been a good defensive player throughout his five-year tenure with the club, but often struggled at the plate.
He has a .230 career batting average and a .273 on-base percentage. Arizona manager Torey Lovullo praised Thomas' ability and work ethic, but said the D-backs needed better at-bats at the bottom of the order.
“This is a game of production, this is a game of being able to go out there and do your job,” Lovullo said. “When things are grinding, and there's somebody as talented and ready as Ryan Waldschmidt is, these are the things that can potentially happen.”
Thomas had his share of big moments with the Diamondbacks, particularly during the team's run to the World Series in 2023. He hit four homers during the postseason, including a tying, two-run shot against the Phillies in Game 4 of the NLCS.
D-backs general manager Mike Hazen has seven days to trade or release Thomas before he's put on waivers. If he's not picked up by one of the other 29 teams, he could theoretically be sent back to Triple-A Reno.
“He is a tremendously talented player and a great kid and he works his butt off,” Hazen said. “It just didn't click for us for extended periods of time here.”
AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/MLB
Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
Please purchase a Premium Subscription to continue reading.
To continue, please log in, or sign up for a new account.
We offer one free story view per month. If you register for an account, you will get two additional story views. After those three total views, we ask that you support us with a subscription.
A subscription to our digital content is so much more than just access to our valuable content. It means you’re helping to support a local community institution that has, from its very start, supported the betterment of our society. Thank you very much!
Only subscribers can view and post comments on articles.
Already a subscriber? Login Here
Our Lady of Angels school presents Chitty Chitty Bang Bang Jr! Read moreOur Lady of Angels School Presents Chitty Chitty Bang Bang
Join us for an evening of piano artistry with Sofya Gulyak 🎹, presented by Gradus ad Parnas… Read moreSofya Gulyak piano recital
CA Is Burning said:
CA Is Burning said:
I think all districts should be white Caucasian districts so white folks can have full control . Oh wait, that would be considered racist.
CA Is Burning said:
CA Is Burning said:
CA Is Burning said:
Success! An email has been sent to with a link to confirm list signup.
Error! There was an error processing your request.
Sorry, an error occurred.
Already Subscribed!
Cancel anytime
Thank you .
Your account has been registered, and you are now logged in.
Check your email for details.
Submitting this form below will send a message to your email with a link to change your password.
An email message containing instructions on how to reset your password has been sent to the email address listed on your account.
No promotional rates found.
Secure & Encrypted
Thank you.
Your gift purchase was successful! Your purchase was successful, and you are now logged in.
| Rate: | |
| Begins: | |
| Transaction ID: |
A receipt was sent to your email.
(0) comments
Welcome to the discussion.
Log In
Keep the discussion civilized. Absolutely NO personal attacks or insults directed toward writers, nor others who make comments.
Keep it clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
Don't threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
Be truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
Be proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
Anyone violating these rules will be issued a warning. After the warning, comment privileges can be revoked.