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Thomas will stick around as emergency depth for Los Angeles after passing through waivers unclaimed. The 26-year-old defensive specialist was designated for assignment over the weekend after going 4-for-19 with three RBI during seven games with the Dodgers.

The Dodgers needed to clear a spot on their 40-man roster for the activation of Bobby Miller (shoulder) on Saturday and Thomas drew the short straw this time around. There’s a chance that with his defensive prowess he could attract interest on waivers.

Thomas had been the Dodgers’ center fielder against righties since Andy Pages went down, but it seems the team will go with Tommy Edman and Kiké Hernádez out there now. Thomas went 4-for-19 with three RBI in 10 days with the club.

Thomas is the least exciting of the Dodgers’ contingency plans to replace Andy Pages (hand), but he’s the one that makes the most sense from a short-term standpoint. The 26-year-old, who spent five seasons with the division-rival Diamondbacks to open his career, is capable of handling center field and figures to split time with both Tommy Edman and Enrique Hernández for the next couple weeks. He doesn’t offer enough realistic upside at the plate to envision a scenario where he’s an impactful fantasy contributor down the home stretch.

Thomas isn’t the most exciting option from a pure fantasy perspective, but he makes the most sense as a short-term stopgap for the Dodgers with Andy Pages set to miss 4-5 weeks with a fractured hand. The 26-year-old defensive specialist is an excellent defender in center field and is already on the 40-man roster. He’ll split time with Tommy Edman and Enrique Hernández for the next couple weeks. There’s a chance that a top prospect like Josue De Paula, Mike Sirota or James Tibbs III get a look once rosters expand, but that seems unlikely at this juncture.

Thomas was designated for assignment over the weekend so that the Diamondbacks could add top prospect Ryan Waldschmidt to the 40-man roster. Thomas was hitting .181/.222/.340 as Arizona’s center fielder against right-handers. However, he has two years of team control remaining on his contract and was once a top 100 outfield prospect, so it makes sense for the Dodgers to take a gamble. He’ll head to the minors for now. Requena is a 17-year-old outfielder who signed with the Dodgers in January for a $372,500 bonus.

It’s understandable that the D-backs were frustrated with Thomas, but they might regret jettisoning him instead of Jorge Barrosa to make room for Ryan Waldschmidt. Thomas was hitting .181/.222/.340 as Arizona’s center fielder against right-handers, but Statcast thinks he was pretty unlucky in the process. He had a lower strikeout rate (23 percent) and a higher hard-hit rate (43 percent) in the majors than Waldschmidt did in Triple-A. With a $1.962 million salary and two years of control after this one, Thomas should draw interest as a trade candidate.

Thomas knocked a base hit in the third inning, then later took Sean Burke deep for a solo homer in the fifth for his first of the season. The 25-year-old outfielder has struggled so far on the year, hitting .185/.221/.338 with seven runs scored, eight RBI, and three steals across 69 plate appearances.

Thomas opened the scoring in the contest with a run-scoring double off of Emmet Sheehan in the second inning. He then added a two-run double in the fourth that tied the game at four runs apiece. He also drew a one-out walk in the ninth inning and swiped second base to get himself into scoring position, but the Diamondbacks were unable to cash him in. As long as he’s seeing regular at-bats for the D’Backs, his dynamic skillset makes him a viable option in deeper mixed leagues.

Thomas shellacked a three-run blast off off Austin Gomber. The 25-year-old has raked in the Cactus League with a pair of homers and a .370/.452/.778 slash. He’s slated to play in left to begin the year, but while he is a former prospect of note, he hasn’t produced enoug hto trust as a fantasy option yet.

Interestingly, the Diamondbacks had Thomas in center and played Jordan Lawlar in left field for the first time today. Thomas is definitely Arizona’s safer option in center, but it has sounded like Lawlar was going get a chance to start there in the regular season. It has ramifications down the line, since the D-backs seem confident Lourdes Gurriel Jr. is going to make an earlier return from a torn ACL than originally expected. Of course, the D-backs could just use Gurriel primarily as a DH and keep playing both Lawlar and Thomas in the outfield.

Thomas stayed healthy last season, but he managed only a .249/.289/.370 line with his strikeout rate taking a big jump to 26%. He’s also already showing signs of decline on defense at age 25. This is probably a make-or-break season for him if he wants to be taken seriously as a starting outfielder. He’s looked more like a reserve of late.

Both players are arbitration-eligible, so this would be a move to free up salary cap space; however, Piecoro also notes that the Diamondbacks believe they have plenty of options to move into that vacated outfield role, including Jorge Barossa, Tim Tawa, Blaze Alexander, and even Jordan Lawlar, who has been playing center field this winter. Nothing is imminent, but this remains a story to watch because of what it could mean for Lawlar or Tawa’s playing time.