Diamondbacks looking for Alek Thomas to find a rhythm in Triple-A

PHOENIX — In the aftermath of euphoria that comes with a walk-off win, Arizona Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo had a difficult conversation with outfielder Alek Thomas on Tuesday.

Arizona was in need of infield depth as Ketel Marte was considered day-to-day with an ankle sprain, and the club boasted an outfield surplus. That paired with Jake McCarthy clearly outplaying Thomas led the organization to option Thomas back to Triple-A Reno after Tuesday’s game. Blaze Alexander came up for infield coverage.

“I hate to say that guys are out-playing one another, but really that’s ultimately what it was, and he needed to go down and just get into a rhythm offensively and defensively,” Lovullo said. “I also explained to him, ‘We’re a little thin on the infield … and we want to get you back up here as soon as possible, but there’s work to do.’

“He’s frustrated, to be expected. Those are always hard conversations, and I shared that with him. I told him this has been an agonizing conversation for me. We love Alek Thomas. He’s going to be a very good player for this organization for a long time.”

McCarthy is on a heater, hitting .460 over his last 17 games, but he has also been a consistent producer all year. Thomas, looking to build off a productive postseason, injured his hamstring in the first week of the season and missed three months.

He has been squaring the ball up, however, mostly on the ground to the pull side.

Thomas has an average exit velocity of 91.4 mph (league average is 88.5 mph). Thomas also has a career-high ground ball rate of 60.3%, way above MLB average of 44.5%. It’s a reason he’s hit into a career-high seven double plays despite the limited playing time.

“We don’t want to hit fly balls, we’re not looking for fly balls to the pull side,” Lovullo said. “We want to stay hard up the middle. I just think when you’re not getting consistent playing time, you can show a little hustle in your swing, a little hurry with your hand path that would result in the ground ball. Him staying back and using the entire entire field is something we feel very strongly about as an organization and what Alek Thomas needs to do.”

With McCarthy earning an everyday role and Corbin Carroll’s continued improvements — along with Lourdes Gurriel Jr. and Randal Grichuk providing stability — the path for at-bats became less clear for Thomas. Now, he gets a shot to play every day. Last year, the D-backs optioned Thomas after a slow start, and he heated up when he returned to the big leagues.

The D-backs will have an extra spot for a bat for September call-ups, although they also need to get Christian Walker and Gabriel Moreno back from injury.

“Jake needs to be in the lineup every day, and that’s a tough one because you don’t just want Alek to sit on the bench and and not play,” assistant general manager Amiel Sawdaye told Arizona Sports’ Wolf & Luke.

“I’m sure he’s frustrated with his performance and knows he wants to be back up here and be part of this team. And he will be, I think he’s going to gain confidence.”

Lovullo said it is difficult for a player to leave a “rich baseball environment” that the D-backs have as MLB’s best team since the start of July. But the manager will check in with Thomas regularly.

Blaze Alexander ready in waiting

Alexander got back to the Valley around noon on Tuesday but was told to hang out at his hotel. Marte underwent an MRI around 2:15 p.m., which showed a low-grade sprain that would keep him off the injured list for now.

Alexander got the call around 11 p.m. that he was getting called up.

“Next man up. There’s really no replacing (Marte), but, just come here and do my job,” Alexander said.

“As soon as I got optioned, it wasn’t easy, like, mentally and stuff. But I kind of found my why again. Went back to work, I got with the hitting coach down there kind of came up with a plan. Things started to click. Confidence is going up every day. I feel ready to ride.”

Alexander was hitting .324 and slugging .541 in August for the Aces. He’s bounced around the infield, getting reps at second and third base along with shortstop. And his energy in the clubhouse was just like he never left.

“It almost feels like my debut again, in a way,” Alexander said.

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