The Diamondbacks announced that outfielder Alek Thomas has been placed on the 10-day injured list due to a strained left hamstring. Outfielder Jorge Barrosa was recalled in a corresponding move and will be making his major-league debut as soon as he gets into a game.
Thomas, who turns 24 later this month, left last night’s game with some hamstring tightness and it seems the injury is serious enough that he’ll have to miss some time. Per Alex Weiner of AZ Sports, manager Torey Lovullo described it as “high Grade 1” since it’s between Grade 1 and Grade 2.
The young outfielder isn’t much of a hitter, having slashed .230/.273/.362 in his career thus far, but he is a strong defender in center. In 1,857 1/3 innings of big league work thus far, he has produced 11 Defensive Runs Saved and 11 Outs Above Average. Corbin Carroll has slid over from right field to center tonight and may stay there for as long as Thomas is out, with Lourdes Gurriel Jr. and Jake McCarthy likely to get regular work in the corners.
The injury to Thomas has allowed the 23-year-old Barrosa to get called up to the big leagues for the first time in his career and he’ll jump into the mix for outfield playing time. An international signing out of Venezuela, the switch hitter split his 2022 between High-A and Double-A. He hit 13 home runs in 123 games while walking in 12.1 percent of his trips to the plate and striking out at just a 15.4 percent clip. His combined batting line of .278/.372/.439 translated to a wRC+ of 112 and he stole 26 bases on the year.
The Snakes added him to their roster in November of that year to keep him out of the Rule 5 draft. He spent all of 2023 in Triple-A, pairing a 15.9% walk rate with a 16.3% strikeout rate. He added another 13 home runs and swiped another 15 bags. His .274/.394/.456 line led to a wRC+ of 110. Baseball America ranked him the club’s #23 prospect coming into this year while FanGraphs had him at #10 as of June of last year.
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