Mariners Recall Domingo González For MLB Debut
The Mariners on Monday recalled righty Domingo González from Triple-A Tacoma, per a club announcement. Lefty Jose A. Ferrer has been placed on the paternity list in a corresponding roster move. González will be making his major league debut when he first takes the mound.
A waiver claim out of the Braves organization last August, González has rebounded from last year’s middling numbers with a big start to his 2026 season. After posting a combined 4.47 ERA, 20% strikeout rate and 11.3% walk rate between the Atlanta and Seattle organizations in 2025 (Double-A and Triple-A combined), he’s pitched 15 frames of relief and notched a tidy 1.80 ERA. González has fanned 23.7% of his opponents and cut his walk rate to an immaculate 3.4%. He’s faced 59 hitters and has the same number of walks/hits allowed (14) as strikeouts recorded. Half the batted balls against González this season have been grounders — up from 44% last year.
The 6′, 185-pound González works off a classic four-seamer/slider pairing. He’s averaged 93.1 mph on the heater this year and is sitting 85.3 mph on his slider. It’s not an overpowering profile from a velocity standpoint, but González has generated chases on balls off the plate at a 30.5% that’s about a percentage point north of the major league average and logged a 12.7% swinging-strike rate that’s nearly two percentage points north of par in MLB.
This is the second of three minor league option seasons for González. He can be freely shuttled between Seattle and Tacoma for the remainder of this year and next, although with several key injuries in the Mariner relief corps at the moment, all of Seattle’s depth arms have some opportunity to make an impression. The M’s have been without hard-throwing sinker specialist Carlos Vargas all season, and they’ve lost Matt Brash (lat inflammation) and Gabe Speier (shoulder inflammation) to the 15-day IL recently. Neither Brash nor Speier is necessarily expected to be out long term, but their absence has opened at least short-term windows for not only González but also Alex Hoppe, Nick Davila and Josh Simpson.
Rays Outright Justyn-Henry Malloy
The Rays announced Monday that outfielder Justyn-Henry Malloy cleared waivers and was assigned outright to Triple-A Durham. Tampa Bay designated him for assignment over the weekend. Malloy doesn’t have a prior outright or three years of major league service, so he doesn’t have the choice to reject the assignment and opt for free agency. He’ll remain in the organization as non-roster depth.
Malloy came to the Rays in a cash swap with the Tigers back in January. Detroit had previously designated him for assignment. The 26-year-old was a sixth-round pick by Atlanta back in 2019 and went to Detroit as the headline piece in 2022’s Joe Jimenez swap. At the time, Malloy wasn’t a nationally ranked prospect but was a clear arrow-up commodity, having slashed .289/.408/.454 between Double-A (54 games) and Triple-A (eight games) during his age-22 season. He continued to post terrific Triple-A numbers in parts of three seasons with the Tigers’ Toledo affiliate, but Malloy still hasn’t hit in the majors.
Granted, the Tigers never gave Malloy a full season of big league at-bats to figure things out, but that’s a tough order for a win-now club with a young player who’s struggling at the plate. For all his minor league success, Malloy flailed away with a .203/.291/.366 line through 71 games as a rookie in 2024. He struck out in a whopping 37% of his 230 plate appearances. Things were better in a smaller sample last year, when Malloy batted .221/.346/.308 in 127 turns at the plate and scaled his strikeout rate back to 25.2%.
That’s still below-average production, however, and any hope for a rebound following a change of scenery has been dashed with a catastrophically poor performance in Durham thus far. Malloy has stepped into the batter’s box 132 times over the course of 34 games and recorded an anemic .128/.273/.266 batting line. By measure of wRC+, that’s 55% worse than average in the Triple-A International League. Malloy has walked at a stout 15.2% clip but also gone down on strikes in 31.1% of his plate appearances. He’s not impacting the ball when he does make contact, either; his 30.4% hard-hit rate is the lowest of his career in any Triple-A or MLB season.
Given the big league struggles and Malloy’s calamitous start to the season, it’s not particularly surprising that he passed through waivers. He’ll try to get back on track and force his way up for a major league look with Tampa Bay, but he has a long road ahead of him if he’s to play himself back into big league consideration.
White Sox Sign Dustin Harris To Minor League Deal
The White Sox brought outfielder Dustin Harris back on a minor league deal, the team announced. He’s headed to Triple-A Charlotte. Harris was with the South Siders earlier this season but went to the Astros on waivers last month. Houston designated him for assignment last week, and Harris opted for free agency over an outright assignment upon clearing waivers.
The 26-year-old Harris has taken 102 plate appearances in the majors across parts of three seasons and turned in a .225/.307/.371 slash. He logged a career-high 52 plate appearances with the ‘Stros this year and hit .233/.333/.302 before being cut loose.
Harris was once a notable prospect in the Rangers system but hasn’t found success in the big leagues yet. He’s always had a bat-first profile with strong contact skills but power that plays closer to average. In parts of four Triple-A seasons, he’s a .276/.366/.417 hitter with a big 11.2% walk rate and a 20.4% strikeout rate that’s lower than the major league average. Harris fanned only seven times in his 52 plate appearances with Houston (13.5%).
Harris was drafted as a corner infielder but has been almost exclusively an outfielder in recent seasons. He’s played 21 innings at first base over the past three seasons and none at third base (majors and minors combined). He’s never played the infield in the big leagues but does have experience in all three outfield spots.
Bringing Harris back gives the ChiSox a left-handed bat to stash in Triple-A, but they apparently don’t feel there’s an immediate opening for him in the majors. The Sox are going with top prospect Sam Antonacci in left field, Tristan Peters in center field and former top prospect Jarred Kelenic more often that not at the moment. Veteran Andrew Benintendi remains in the left field/DH mix, and the Sox also have veterans Randal Grichuk and Derek Hill on the bench. Infielder/outfielder Luisangel Acuña can play all over but has seen his playing time dwindle as his struggles at the plate mount. Austin Hays and Everson Pereira give the Sox two more outfielders to consider in the big league mix, but both are on the 10-day IL with relatively short-term injuries at the moment.
A’s To Promote Henry Bolte
The Athletics are calling up outfield prospect Henry Bolte, as first reported by Terrel Emerson. He’s not on the 40-man roster, but the A’s have a vacancy there, so they’ll only need to make a corresponding 26-man roster move when they formally select Bolte’s contract.
A 2022 second-round pick, Bolte is the hottest-hitting prospect in baseball at the moment. He recently rattled off hits in 12 consecutive plate appearances (video link) and is sitting on a .348/.418/.658 batting line (157 wRC+) with a dozen homers, seven doubles, three triples, 17 steals (in 19 tries), a 9.6% walk rate and a 22% strikeout rate in 177 Triple-A plate appearances. He’s averaging 90.4 mph off the bat to go along with a strong 43% hard-hit rate.
The A’s young outfield has impressed in recent seasons, but both Tyler Soderstrom and Lawrence Butler have fallen short of expectations thus far. Soderstrom is hitting .207/.293/.407. Butler is at just .179/.278/.282 on the season. Both players have been plagued by BABIP marks that are about 60 points shy of league average despite quality batted-ball profiles. Soderstrom and Butler are both averaging better than 90 mph off the bat with a hard-hit rate just over 48%. They’re also both walking in at least 11% of their plate appearances. Both stand as candidates for positive regression based on the strength of their contact.
Soderstrom and Butler typically man the outfield corners. However, center fielder Denzel Clarke has been out of action for a few weeks due to a bone bruise in his left foot, which has given Butler some time in center. The A’s have also given former second baseman Zack Gelof some run in center, and he’s hit well in the new role, batting .274/.328/.484 in a small sample of 69 plate appearances. His batted-ball fortune is on the other end of the spectrum, about 50 points higher than league average, at .341. In all likelihood, his slash stats will come down a bit, but Gelof is still enjoying his most productive stretch since 2023.
It’s not fully clear how the outfield mix will be tweaked to accommodate Bolte. He’s played primarily center field. The A’s aren’t calling him up to sit on the bench in a backup role, so it seems like Bolte will handle center field regularly. Soderstrom and Butler could play full-time corner roles, with Gelof perhaps mixing in across all three spots in addition to work at second base and third base. It might be natural to think he could platoon in right field with the lefty-swinging Butler, who’s just a career .221/.262/.378 hitter versus lefties, but the righty-swinging Gelof has been even worse against lefties in his own career: .157/.238/.252. The A’s do have some infield injuries at the moment, with Max Muncy on the IL and Jacob Wilson possibly joining him there.
However it shakes out, Bolte is likely going to play every day. He’s ranked fifth among A’s prospects at MLB.com, seventh at Baseball America and tenth at FanGraphs. Bolte topped the latest Prospect Hot Sheet at Baseball America, where J.J. Cooper noted that he’s still a bit too prone to getting beaten in the zone but has developing power and can absolutely punish in-zone mistakes.
There’s not enough time left in the season for Bolte to accrue a full year of major league service, so even if he sticks from here on out, he’ll be controllable six more years beyond the current season. The May timing of his promotion means he’ll qualify as a Super Two player if he stays up for good, making him eligible for arbitration four times rather than the standard three. Then again, if Bolte hits the ground running, the A’s could always look to render that Super Two trajectory moot by signing him long term, as they’ve done with Soderstrom, Butler, shortstop Jacob Wilson and designated hitter Brent Rooker over the past couple years.
Braves Activate Ha-Seong Kim For Season Debut
The Braves announced this morning that shortstop Ha-Seong Kim has been activated from the injured list. He’s been out all season thus far after suffering a torn tendon in his hand when he fell on some ice in the offseason. Atlanta is off today, but Kim will make his 2026 debut in tomorrow’s game. Outfielder Eli White has been placed on the 7-day concussion list in a corresponding move. White made an outstanding catch to rob the Dodgers’ Max Muncy of a bases-clearing double yesterday but crashed face-first into the right field wall upon making the grab (video link).
The 30-year-old Kim is in his first full season with Atlanta. He finished the 2025 season in a Braves uniform after coming over via an August waiver claim out of the Rays organization. Kim hit .253/.316/.368 in 98 plate appearances down the stretch and did enough to convince the club’s front office to reinvest in a one-year, $20MM deal as a free agent this winter. Kim signed that deal in mid-December, reportedly spurning a four-year, $48MM offer from the A’s in order to bet on himself. He suffered the hand injury a month later.
Kim originally jumped from the Korea Baseball Organization to MLB on a four-year, $28MM deal with the Padres, spanning the 2021-24 seasons. He played all over the infield during his time in San Diego but was primarily a shortstop. Kim has plus speed, a strong glove and a roughly league-average bat. He slashed .242/.326/.380 in 540 games as a Padre (101 wRC+).
Kim’s high floor and solid-if-unspectacular performance in the batter’s box might have netted him a long-term deal in his first trip through free agency were it not for a late shoulder injury in 2024 that required surgery. He signed for two years and $29MM with the Rays but had an opt-out after year one. The Rays waived him in August in hopes of saving some cash, and Atlanta obliged, picking up the remaining $2MM or so on last year’s salary. They’d also have been on the hook for his 2026 salary had Kim forgone the opt-out. Instead, he triggered that clause, returned to free agency, and came out ahead with regard to that option. Clearly, based on the reported A’s offer, he had a good bit more earning power. However, if he has a strong five months to close out the year, he should be able to comfortably top that $28MM he left on the table.
Braves shortstops rank 21st in MLB with a .266/.305/.378 batting line and 92 wRC+ on the season. Nearly all that production has come from Jorge Mateo, but his .309/.345/.455 slash comes in spite of a 32.8% strikeout rate and has been propped up by a colossal .441 average on balls in play that he can’t sustain over a larger sample. Mauricio Dubón has slashed a sharp .271/.331/.410, but he’s struggled while playing shortstop and been more productive when he’s in the lineup as an outfielder. That likely comes down to pure happenstance, however.
Kim’s return will cut into the playing time for both Mateo and Dubón — the former in particular. Mateo hasn’t played anywhere on the field besides shortstop this season. Dubón has logged 134 innings in the outfield (64 in left, 70 in center), 205 at short and another six at the hot corner.
Cubs Outright Corbin Martin
May 11: Martin cleared waivers and has been assigned outright to Triple-A Iowa, per the MiLB.com transaction log. He’s been outrighted before, so he’ll have the right to elect free agency if he chooses.
May 7: The Cubs announced Thursday that righty Corbin Martin has been designated for assignment. His roster spot will go to fellow right-handed reliever Gavin Hollowell, who has been recalled from Triple-A Iowa.
Martin signed a minor league deal with Chicago back in January. His contract was selected to the major league roster in mid-April, and he’s appeared in seven games with sub-par results. The 2017 second-rounder (Astros) started out nicely, with four shutout innings, but he’s allowed runs in three consecutive appearances and only completed one inning in that time. Over those three outings, Martin has faced 11 batters and yielded four hits (two of them homers) and four walks en route to six earned runs.
Now 30 years old, Martin was a highly regarded prospect, going from Houston to Arizona as part of the 2019 Zack Greinke blockbuster. Injuries have consistently hampered him, however. He’s pitched in parts of five major league seasons between Houston, Arizona, Baltimore and now Chicago, totaling 80 2/3 innings with a 6.81 earned run average. Since being drafted, he’s undergone Tommy John surgery and surgery to repair a ruptured tendon in his lat. The first procedure wiped out his entire 2020 season and a good portion of the 2021 campaign. The second cost him all of the 2023 season.
The Cubs will have five days to trade Martin, place him on outright waivers or release him. Outright waivers are a 48-hour process, meaning his DFA will be resolved within the next week.
White Sox Outright Osvaldo Bido
May 9th: Bido has been sent outright to Triple-A Charlotte, per Brooke Fletcher of Chicago Sports Network.
May 8th: The White Sox have designated right-hander Osvaldo Bido for assignment, per a club announcement. His spot on the roster will go to southpaw Tyler Schweitzer, who’s being recalled from Triple-A Charlotte.
Incredibly, this is the sixth DFA for Bido since mid-December — to say nothing of a seventh time he was placed on waivers in early December and went from the A’s to the Braves. In essence, that’s seven DFAs in a span of five months.
That may make Bido seem like an unwanted player, but the fact that he continues to land on major league rosters despite being out of minor league options is a clear indicator that big league evaluators think there’s another level to be unlocked in the wiry right-hander. Since Dec. 5, he’s gone from the A’s to the Braves, to the Rays, to the Marlins, to the Angels, to the Yankees, back to the Braves and finally to the White Sox. Despite hitting waivers seven times — soon to be eight, unless he’s traded first — he’s never once passed through waivers unclaimed.
Bido, 30, has pitched 18 2/3 innings between Atlanta and Chicago this season. In that time, he’s been tagged for 13 runs (6.27 ERA) on 15 hits and 10 walks with 11 strikeouts. He’s also plunked four batters and tossed four wild pitches. It’s the second straight season of unsightly results; Bido served up a 5.87 ERA in 79 2/3 innings as a swingman with the A’s in 2025 as well.
Back in 2024, the 6’3″, 175-pound righty logged 63 1/3 innings with a 3.41 ERA for the A’s in their final season in Oakland. He set down 24.3% of his opponents on strikes, issued walks at a 10% clip and did an outstanding job avoiding hard contact (85.6 mph average exit velocity, 27% hard-hit rate).
Bido spent seven seasons in the Pirates system before making his MLB debut as a 27-year-old in 2023. In 212 1/3 major league innings, he’s posted a 5.17 ERA (4.67 SIERA, 4.81 FIP). He’s an extreme fly-ball pitcher who’s shown passable but not great command and missed bats at a slightly below-average level. Bido averages 94.7 mph on his four-seamer and sinker alike, coupling those heaters with an 86 mph slider and a lesser-used, upper-80s changeup.
The White Sox have five days to trade Bido, place him on outright waivers (a 48-hour process) or release him. If they can finally be the team to pass him through waivers, he’ll head to Triple-A Charlotte, as Bido lacks the prior outright or three years of service time needed to reject a minor league assignment in favor of free agency.
The Mariners’ Latest Pitching Success Story
For years, the Mariners' largely homegrown rotation has been one of the envies of teams around the league. Logan Gilbert, George Kirby and Bryan Woo have all made an All-Star team in the past couple years. All three have a career ERA of 3.61 or better with better-than-average strikeout and walk rates alike. Bryce Miller hasn't had as much success relative to his teammates, but he posted a 3.52 ERA with quality strikeout and walk rates in his first 56 MLB starts before an injury-ruined 2025 season (90 1/3 innings, 5.68 ERA, two IL stints for elbow inflammation).
Veteran righty Luis Castillo wasn't signed and developed by the Mariners, but Seattle pried him from Cincinnati in a 2022 trade for a package headlined by infield prospects Noelvi Marte and Edwin Arroyo. The M's quickly extended Castillo on a five-year, $108MM deal. In parts of five seasons with Seattle, his 3.61 ERA is right in line with the previously mentioned group (and a near-identical match to his 3.62 mark in six seasons with the Reds).
No organization in baseball has had more continuity in its major league rotation than the Mariners since this wave of pitchers arrived on the scene at T-Mobile Park. They've been consistent, productive and, with the exception of Miller's recent injury issues, largely durable. That's been key for the Mariners, because one less-talked-about aspect of their strong rotation is that the depth behind the group hasn't been great.
From 2022-25, the quintet of Gilbert, Kirby, Woo, Miller and Castillo started 75% of the Mariners' games. (Castillo wasn't even acquired until July 29 of the 2022 season.) The Mariners had rotation cameos from Robbie Ray (signed to a five-year deal, missed the second season due to Tommy John surgery, then traded to the Giants), Chris Flexen (26 starts on the back end of his low-cost contract) and Marco Gonzales (a holdover from the prior rotation group who was eventually traded while injured). But for the most part, it's been the same group of five, which has helped to mask the fact that the bulk of their top prospects in recent years have all been position players.
One hopeful addition to the group, for years, was right-hander Emerson Hancock. The No. 6 overall pick in 2020, Hancock was never touted as a future ace. He was an advanced college arm with above-average stuff and good command, one whom Baseball America tabbed as a potential No. 3 starter -- "and perhaps better if he refines his breaking pitches."
Instead, Hancock's development went the other direction. His command worsened. He lost some life on his fastball as he battled shoulder troubles and a lat strain. In general, he became more hittable. Hancock's strikeout rate plummeted when he reached Triple-A in 2024, though he still posted a mid-3.00s ERA. He was north of 5.00 in 2025.
Between some infrequent and inconsistent big league stints from 2023-25, Hancock totaled 162 2/3 innings with a 4.81 ERA, one of the lowest strikeout rates in baseball (15.6%) among pitchers with that many innings and a good-not-great walk rate (7.8%). He looked like a fifth or sixth starter -- the type of arm who oscillates in and out of a rotation before possibly settling into a bullpen role or beginning to bounce around the league as a swingman.
There weren't many tangible signs of a breakout last year. Hancock's average fastball climbed to a career-high 94.9 mph, although that was at least moderately skewed by a move to the 'pen later in the season. He sat 94.6 mph as a starter in 2025 -- still up from his previous career-best 93.4 mph -- and 97.2 mph as a reliever. But even with the velo increase, Hancock's swinging-strike rate fell. His opponents' contact rate climbed. His 8.1% walk rate was a career-worst mark. Hancock had the look of a depth starter and was entering his final option year in 2026. The long-term outlook wasn't great.
And then spring training rolled around.
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Braves Re-Sign Carlos Carrasco To Minor League Deal
Carlos Carrasco‘s latest trip to free agency was predictably brief. He’s back with the Braves on a new minor league deal and has been assigned to Triple-A Gwinnett, per the team’s MLB.com transaction log. Carrasco was designated for assignment this week and elected free agency yesterday after clearing waivers.
The 39-year-old veteran has pitched well with Atlanta this season, both in the majors and in Triple-A. The two parties are clearly showing an openness to Carrasco operating as something of a 41st man on the roster — being summoned to the majors when a need for some length in the bullpen or a spot start arises and then running through waivers and re-signing in near-immediate fashion. Carrasco could always simply accept an outright assignment, but hammering out a new minor league deal could include slightly more favorable terms, new opt-out dates that weren’t present in the prior deal, and other perks.
The end result is the same. Carrasco’s back with Atlanta and figures to be one of the first names called if and when they need a fresh arm. If he continues to pitch as well as he has, there’s a chance he’ll be claimed by another club one of these times, but that’d be just as favorable an outcome for him, as he’d then remain on a big league roster and continue to collect a big league salary. So long as Carrasco is on board with the DFA carousel gambit — and it’s clear he is, or he wouldn’t keep immediately re-signing there — then the setup is a win-win for both team and player.
Carrasco has pitched 2 1/3 shutout frames in a pair of big league appearances this year. He’s also made four starts for Gwinnett and pitched to a 1.71 ERA with an 18-to-5 K/BB ratio (20.7 K%, 5.7 BB%) in 21 innings. The Braves originally connected with Carrasco last July after he was designated for assignment by the Yankees and traded to Atlanta for cash. He cleared waivers with Atlanta last August and re-signed, then re-signed again in the offseason. He’s now re-signed under similar circumstances twice this season, bringing him to a total of four minor league deals with the Braves since last August.
Diamondbacks Designate Alek Thomas For Assignment, Promote Ryan Waldschmidt
The D-backs are cutting ties with one former top outfield prospect in order to turn the page toward a new one. Arizona announced Friday that Alek Thomas has been designated for assignment, while top prospect Ryan Waldschmidt‘s contract has been selected to the majors. Waldschmidt, currently the game’s No. 41 prospect on Baseball America’s recent top-100 update, figures to get regular work in the outfield moving forward. The Snakes also activated first baseman Tyler Locklear from the injured list and optioned him to Triple-A Reno.
Now 26 years old, Thomas was a second-round pick out of high school back in 2018 and quickly became not only one of the game’s top-ranked outfield prospects but its top-ranked prospects overall. From 2020-22, Thomas was a consensus top prospect on lists at Baseball America, MLB.com and several other outlets. He climbed as high as No. 32 on BA’s rankings in 2022 and all the way up to No. 18 over at MLB.com.
While Thomas didn’t exactly hit the ground running in 2022, he showed decent bat-to-ball skills, good speed and a quality glove in his first taste of big league action. After slashing .322/.397/.539 (125 wRC+) in Triple-A Reno to earn his big league promotion that year, he hit .231/.275/.344 with eight homers in 411 plate appearances during his first taste of the majors.
That was nearly 30% worse than league-average production, per wRC+, but Thomas showed 95th percentile sprint speed and logged positive marks in both Defensive Runs Saved (7) and Outs Above Average (7). It’s easy enough to overlook a shaky offensive showing for a 22-year-old in his MLB debut when the other tools are present, and Thomas had a nice speed-and-defense floor with an 18% strikeout rate that sat well shy of league average.
Unfortunately, Thomas’ bat has yet to come around. He’s now played in parts of four major league seasons. He’s never topped nine homers or an 81 wRC+. He’s a career .230/.273/.361 hitter in 1485 plate appearances and has seen his strikeout rate climb since that rookie showing. Thomas struck out at an alarming 26% clip last season (in a career-high 469 plate appearances) and is at 23% this season while batting .181/.222/.340. He’s out of minor league options, and a D-backs club that ranks 19th in runs scored and 22nd in home runs clearly feels it can no longer wait for an offensive breakout that may simply never manifest.
Waldschmidt, 23, entered the season as a top-tier prospect and has done nothing to change that outlook. The former No. 31 overall draft pick has taken 156 plate appearances in Reno and delivered a .289/.400/.477 batting line with three homers, nine doubles, three triples, six steals, a huge 12.2% walk rate and a 24.4% strikeout rate. He’s a 6′, 205-pound outfielder who bats from the right side and has plus raw power that has yet to fully be displayed in game settings just yet. Last year’s 18 homers are a career-high, but he’s a potential 20- to 30-homer bat with a good idea of the strike zone, above-average speed and experience in all three outfield spots.
Most scouting reports think Waldschmidt will settle in as a corner outfielder, but he’s played primarily center this season and could take over for Thomas in that regard. The primary alternative in center would be Corbin Carroll, but he’s a plus right field defender in his own right, and Arizona may not want to rankle things by flipping two outfielders to positions they haven’t been playing this season.
While some top prospects get the call without a path to a clear everyday role — typically when they’re filling in for an injured player — that’s not the case with Waldschmidt. Thomas’ removal from the 40-man roster and the lack of any clear everyday outfield alternatives gives him an immediate everyday opportunity and a chance to cement himself as a long-term piece in the outfield mix right out of the gate.
Though Waldschmidt is a consensus top-100 prospect, he won’t be eligible to net the Diamondbacks any compensatory draft picks via MLB’s prospect promotion incentives. Too much time has past for him to qualify. Enough time has also elapsed that Waldschmidt cannot organically accrue a full year of major league service. His only path to doing so would be a top-two finish in this season’s NL Rookie of the Year balloting. Given his pedigree and prospect status, there’s a chance for him to do so, but players like Nolan McLean, Sal Stewart and JJ Wetherholt have a large head-start on him.
In all likelihood, Waldschmidt will finish the season shy of one year of big league service. That’d make him controllable for six years beyond the current campaign, all the way through 2032. The timing of his call to the big leagues does set him up nicely to reach Super Two designation, which would make him arbitration-eligible four times rather than the standard three, so long as he’s not optioned back to the minors. If that’s the case, the first of those four trips through arbitration would come in the 2028-29 offseason.
Turning back to Thomas, the D-backs will have five days to trade him or place him on outright waivers. (They could also release him, but they surely won’t go that route.) Given his speed, defensive chops and former prospect pedigree, Thomas will likely appeal to some outfield-needy clubs who hope to strike big on a change-of-scenery candidate. Teams like the Astros, White Sox, Nationals, Rockies, Royals, Tigers and Cardinals are either rebuilding or facing various outfield injuries that could make Thomas hold some appeal, even as a short-term stopgap.
A contender with a deeper outfield mix but thin bench could also look to add him in a reserve capacity. Thomas is earning a modest $1.926MM this season, so he certainly isn’t going to break the bank. He’s also controllable for two more years beyond the current season, so if another team can get him to even produce slightly below-average offense with some degree of consistency, they could get multiple years of value from the once-touted outfielder.