Tyler

Locklear

Locklear avoids the 60-day IL for now, but he still might wind up there, as he’s not expected back from his arm surgeries until the second half of May or June. Once healthy, he’ll get a few weeks in Triple-A before the team decides whether or not to add him to the mix at first base and DH.

It’s the first real update we have received on a timeline for the 25-year-old slugger after undergoing surgeries on his elbow and shoulder following a collision at first base in the final month of the regular season. It looks like the Diamondbacks will rely on some combination of Carlos Santana, Tim Tawa and Pavin Smith to hold down the cold corner until then.

Bob Nightengale of USA Today reports that Santana will make $2 million, and that the deal is pending a physical. Santana hit .219/.308/.325 with 11 homers and seven steals in his time with the Guardians and Cubs in 2025. The 39-year-old will see playing time assuredly, but could be part of a first base/DH platoon with Pavin Smith and Tyler Locklear.

Locklear will undergo a pair of surgical procedures after a collision at first base in the final month of the regular season resulted in a torn ligament in his left elbow and labrum damage in his shoulder. There won’t be a definitive timeline until after the surgeries, but the expectation is that he’ll miss at least some portion of next season. The 24-year-old first baseman struggled to a lackluster .175/.267/.262 triple-slash line with three homers, six RBI and three steals in 31 games after coming over from Seattle in the Eugenio Suárez deal at the trade deadline.

No word yet regarding how much time Locklear figures to miss, but with less than three weeks left in the season, he doesn’t have a ton of time to make it back to Arizona. The 24-year-old first baseman has struggled to a .175/.267/.262 triple-slash line with three homers, six RBI and three steals in 31 games since coming over in the Eugenio Suárez deal at the trade deadline.

The first baseman left Wednesday’s game with quad tightness, and while the Diamondbacks have not said how long he will be out for, he will be on the bench on Thursday. Tyler Locklear will start at first base and bat seventh against the Brewers.

Locklear opened the scoring in the ballgame with a 402-foot (100.7 mph EV) solo shot off of Nathan Eovaldi in the second inning. He also singled in the third inning. With his two-hit attack, the 24-year-old first baseman is now hitting .189/.302/.351 with two homers and two RBI in his first 43 plate appearances on the season.

Locklear took over as Arizona’s primary first baseman last week following his inclusion as the centerpiece of the Eugenio Suárez deal with Seattle at the trade deadline. The 24-year-old former top prospect went 2-for-10 in his first three games with the Diamondbacks before crushing his first home run during Monday’s series opener. His unobstructed path to playing time and ability to hit for both power and average, while also chipping in the occasional stolen base, gives him relevance in deeper mixed leagues.

Smith has been on the shelf since early July with a right oblique strain, and this is our first report of him swinging. The next step after live batting practice is usually a rehab assignment, so Smith could be looking at a mid-August return to Arizona. That would likely mean that one of Adrian Del Castillo or Tyler Locklear would lose playing time against right-handed pitching with Smith inserted as either the DH or 1B.

Locklear is the big name here. The 24-year-old is hitting .316/.401/.542 in 98 games at Triple-A Reno with 19 home runs and 18 steals. Some of that is influenced by the offensive-friendly environment of the PCL, but Locklear has a 44 percent hard hit rate and 90.2 mph average exit velocity while posting a respectable 13 percent swinging strike rate. He figures to take over the starting first base role in Arizona and could be worth a gamble in 12-team and 15-team fantasy leagues for his potential five-category upside.