Diamondbacks' Alek Thomas: Provides insurance in win
Rotowire
Thomas entered Sunday's game as a defensive replacement and went 1-for-1 with two RBI and a stolen base in a 5-2 win over Milwaukee.
Thomas' two-run single in the bottom of the eighth inning gave the Diamondbacks insurance. He's been an effective hitter early on with 10 RBI through 11 games. Thomas' career high in RBI is 39, which he accomplished in 2022 (113 games) and 2023 (125 games).
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Diamondbacks' Alek Thomas: Out of Sunday's lineup
Rotowire
Thomas is not in Arizona's starting lineup against Milwaukee on Sunday.
Thomas is coming off a two-hit outing against the Brewers on Saturday, but he'll begin Sunday's contest in the dugout while Jake McCarthy starts in center field and bats seventh. Thomas has started the season slashing .323/.371/.516 with five runs scored, two triples and eight RBI across 35 plate appearances.
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Diamondbacks' Alek Thomas: Multiple hits in win
Rotowire
Thomas went 2-for-4 with a triple, an RBI and a run scored in Saturday's 5-4 win over Milwaukee.
Thomas was part of Arizona's five-run rally in the bottom of the ninth to steal the win from the Brewers. He got the scoring started with a one-out triple that plated Gabriel Moreno. He later came around to score on a Corbin Carroll double. This was Thomas' fourth multi-hit effort in nine starts.
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Diamondbacks' Alek Thomas: Idle vs. southpaw
Rotowire
Thomas is out of the lineup for Friday's game against the Brewers.
The Brewers will send out left-hander Jose Quintana to make his season debut Friday, so the D-backs will keep the left-handed bat of Thomas on the bench. Jake McCarthy will fill in as Arizona's center fielder and bat eighth.
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Diamondbacks' Alek Thomas: Out of Monday's lineup
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Thomas is not in the Diamondbacks' starting lineup against the Orioles on Monday, Alex Weiner of ArizonaSports.com reports.
Thomas started in the Diamondbacks' last two games and went 3-for-8 with a triple and two RBI, but he'll begin Monday's contest in the dugout. Jake McCarthy will get the start in center field and bat eighth against Orioles right-hander Zach Eflin.
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Diamondbacks' Alek Thomas: Poaching starts from McCarthy
Rotowire
Thomas will start in center field and bat seventh in Sunday's game against the Nationals.
At least for the time being, Thomas seems to have emerged as manager Torey Lovullo's preferred option in center field. Jake McCarthy has yet to record a hit through 18 at-bats on the season and is beginning to lose playing time as a result, as he'll hit the bench Sunday for the third time in four games. Thomas -- who owns a .950 OPS through five contests on the season -- has started in all three of those contests in McCarthy's stead.
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Diamondbacks' Alek Thomas: Three hits in season debut
Rotowire
Thomas went 3-for-4 with two doubles, one RBI and one run scored in Friday's 8-1 win over the Cubs.
Thomas, who was on the bench against a lefty Thursday, was in the lineup Friday against a right-hander. Jake McCarthy started in center field Thursday, but the situation will not be a strict platoon since both are lefty batters. One thing for certain is Thomas' poor track record against southpaws.
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Diamondbacks' Alek Thomas: Draws start Friday
Rotowire
Thomas is starting in center field and batting seventh in Friday's contest against the Cubs.
Thomas was on the bench in favor of Jake McCarthy for Thursday's opener versus lefty Justin Steele, but he'll get the call against right-hander Jameson Taillon on Friday as the Diamondbacks look to even the series. There will be some instances when both McCarthy and Thomas are in the lineup, with Lourdes Gurriel a candidate to shift to designated hitter those days.
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Diamondbacks' Alek Thomas: On bench against lefty
Rotowire
Thomas did not start Thursday's season opener against the Cubs.
Jake McCarthy started in center field against Chicago left-hander Justin Steele. Thomas has a history of unsatisfactory results against southpaws, so him sitting is not unexpected. It's unclear if he'll be the automatic starter against right-handers, but manager Torey Lovullo may want his elite glove in the lineup as much as possible. McCarthy was unable to hold onto Miguel Amaya's fading liner in the fifth inning, turning it into a key three-run double.
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Diamondbacks' Alek Thomas: Logs hit in spring opener
Rotowire
Thomas started in center field and went 1-for-3 with a run scored in Friday's spring game against Colorado.
Thomas singled and scored as part of a three-run third inning. He's competing for an outfield job with Jake McCarthy, who started in right field Friday. Thomas is the better defender, but the winner of the battle likely hinges on his contact this spring. Thomas smoked the single (106.4 mph) while the outs made were harmless groundballs without much exit velocity.
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Diamondbacks' Alek Thomas: Makes pre-swing adjustments
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Diamondbacks hitting coach Joe Mather said Friday that Thomas worked on his pre-swing activity during the offseason, Alex Weiner of Arizona Sports reports.
Specifically, Thomas' adjustments included a slightly lower leg kick along with being more consistent with his stride and direction. He feels the cleaner mechanics will result in hard line drives with gap-to-gap power. Thomas hit the ball with authority last season but mostly on the ground (60.8 groundball percentage). The outfielder, who is healthy entering spring training after missing significant time in 2024, begins camp as the No. 2 center fielder and will compete with Jake McCarthy for the starting job.
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Diamondbacks' Alek Thomas: Part of camp battle
Rotowire
Thomas enters spring training listed second on Arizona's depth chart in center field.
Jake McCarthy, who was in Thomas' shoes at the start of camp in 2024, is listed as the starting center fielder and deserves to be. Thomas suffered through an injury marred season and barely hit when healthy (.603 OPS). Meanwhile, McCarthy was a competent fill-in during the first half and eventually exploded in July/August (.878 OPS). The Diamondbacks don't lose much in the way of defense with McCarthy -- though Thomas is clearly the best outfield defender on the team -- and the former's bat has been an asset in addition to his work on the basepaths (74 steals from 2022 to 2024). Thomas hit the ball hard last year, but a lot of it was on the ground. If the 24-year-old shows improvement at the plate during spring training, that could force a decision for manager Torey Lovullo.
The Diamondbacks recalled Thomas from Triple-A Reno on Thursday, Alex Weiner of ArizonaSports.com reports.
Thomas was optioned to Triple-A in the middle of August, but landed on the 7-day injured list due to a right oblique strain a few days after. He was reinstated from the injured list Sept. 18 after missing a month of action. With his return to the big club, Yilber Diaz and Blake Walston were optioned to Triple-A Reno as part of a corresponding move.
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