The Diamondbacks and Dodgers announced a trade sending center fielder Alek Thomas to L.A. for minor league outfielder Jose Requena. The Dodgers will assume the approximate $1.4MM remaining on Thomas’ $1.9625MM arbitration salary. He’ll reportedly be optioned to Triple-A Oklahoma City, while the Dodgers designated fellow outfielder Michael Siani for assignment last night to open a 40-man roster spot.
Arizona designated Thomas for assignment last week when they called up top outfield prospect Ryan Waldschmidt. The Dodgers take a flier on the 26-year-old, a former second-round pick who was one of the better prospects in MLB when he debuted in 2022. He’s a highly-regarded center fielder who had hit at every stop in his minor league career. That hasn’t carried over against MLB pitching, as Thomas has been a well below-average hitter over his four-plus seasons in the big leagues.
Thomas is an extremely aggressive hitter, ranking in the top 15 this season in both overall swing rate and chases off the plate. He has particularly struggled against secondary stuff as a result, and the very low walk rates have consistently tamped down his on-base percentage. Thomas has a career .230/.273/.361 batting line in just shy of 1500 plate appearances. It’s the ninth-lowest OBP among hitters who have tallied at least 1000 trips since the start of the ’22 season.
While he hasn’t developed offensively, Thomas has a strong reputation with the glove. His sprint speed and defensive grades have dipped slightly since he suffered a left hamstring strain early in 2024, but he still rates as an above-average defender and baserunner.
The D-Backs have considered trades of both Thomas and Jake McCarthy for a few seasons. They’re now both gone to division rivals, as they shipped McCarthy to Colorado over the offseason. Waldschmidt and Jorge Barrosa are manning center field between Corbin Carroll and Lourdes Gurriel Jr.
Thomas still has a minor league option remaining, so he’ll begin his time in the L.A. organization in Triple-A. The Dodgers are operating without a true backup center fielder behind Andy Pages, but they can’t option Santiago Espinal or Miguel Rojas. Although fourth outfielder Alex Call is a better fit in a corner spot and has a couple options remaining, he’s hitting well in a limited role as a right-handed platoon player. The Dodgers should also get Kiké Hernández back from the injured list two weeks from now.
The Dodgers spend a couple million dollars to swap in Thomas for Siani as a fifth outfielder. In addition to the salary obligations, they’ll also pay just over $1.5MM in luxury tax commitments. That’s of little concern for the Dodgers, who can retain Thomas via arbitration for at least two more seasons. He needs to spend another 20 days on the MLB roster in 2026 to surpass four years of service time, which would keep him on track for free agency after the ’28 campaign. If he spends at least 20 days in the minors, he’ll be out of options next year.
Siani is also a speed and defense center fielder. He bounced around the league via waivers over the offseason, twice being claimed by the Dodgers. He has been on optional assignment all season, batting .225/.355/.303 without a home run while striking out 30 times in 107 plate appearances in Oklahoma City. He’s also in his final option year and will be traded or placed back on waivers within the next five days.
Requena is a 17-year-old who hasn’t played a professional game. Listed at 6’3″ and close to 230 pounds, he’s a right-handed hitter who signed as an amateur out of Venezuela in January. Ben Badler of Baseball America unsurprisingly wrote at the time that Requena is a corner outfielder whose profile is built on raw power and plus arm strength. He’ll likely make his professional debut in the Dominican Summer League.
MLBTR’s Steve Adams first reported that Thomas was being traded to the Dodgers. Fracys Romero confirmed that Requena was the return. Nick Piecoro of The Arizona Republic reported that the Dodgers were assuming Thomas’ salary, while Jack Harris of The California Post confirmed he’d be optioned to Triple-A. Image courtesy of Mark J. Rebilas, Imagn Images.
