How Tyler Locklear caught fire in the minors and found his way to DBacks
WEST SACRAMENTO, Calif. — It was early June and Tyler Locklear was trying to find something that worked. He had been hitting too many balls on the ground for Tacoma, the Seattle Mariners’ Triple-A affiliate, and his coaches wanted him to try something different.
After an almost three-hour-long session in the cage, Locklear took a new batting stance into the game that night. Nearly two months later, those changes helped turn around his season — and make him into an intriguing trade deadline acquisition for the Diamondbacks, who landed him as the headliner of the Eugenio Suarez trade earlier this week.
Locklear played in his first game with the Diamondbacks on Friday night, August 1, going 0-for-3 with a walk in a 5-1 loss to the Athletics at Sutter Health Park.
Considering the way the past couple of months went for him in Tacoma, it was a rare off night.
Back on June 6, Locklear and his hitting coach, Shawn O’Malley, went to the cage and tinkered with his stance. They wound up changing the positioning of his hands, bringing them down and closer to his body.
The change felt strange at first, but Locklear stuck with it — and soon after, caught fire. Over the 42 games he played since changing his stance, Locklear hit .366/.448/.720 with 15 homers.
“It’s just allowed me to be a little looser and free,” Locklear said. “Create more separation. It allows me to sit back, be on time to more things. Just allows my body to move more freely and not get stuck as much.”
His changes caught the attention of the Diamondbacks, who landed him, along with two pitchers, in the Suarez trade on Wednesday night, July 30.
Locklear got a pair of brief runs in the big leagues last season with the Mariners, going 6-for-30 over a two-week stretch in June 2024, then 1-for-15 during another week in the majors a month later.
He figures to get more runway in the big leagues this time with a Diamondbacks team that has seen its priorities shift over the past couple of weeks. No longer expecting to compete for a postseason spot, the Diamondbacks can turn their attention to the future — and to evaluations of players who might contribute next season.
Locklear was with the Mariners in Sacramento — they were finishing a series with the Athletics — the night the trade was made. He wound up sticking around and joining his new teammates for the first time on August 1.
“It’s a great opportunity, obviously,” Locklear said. “I’m just glad to go and meet these guys in the clubhouse. They’ve been very welcoming. It’s been cool to see and just getting ready to go win some games.”
Locklear’s first game was mostly uneventful — though he had chances to do damage in each of his first two at-bats, both of which came with a runner in scoring position. He was rung up on a generous Strike 3 call in his first at-bat against Athletics lefty Jacob Lopez and struck out swinging in his second trip to the plate. He walked and grounded out in his other plate appearances.
“So far, so good from what we see,” Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo said. “I like the approach; I like the ability to see some pitches. He just missed a couple of key opportunities.”
Defensively, Lovullo said he saw signs of the game speeding up on Locklear, which he said was to be expected for a player who was playing in his first big league game in more than a year.
“I think there was some excitement,” Lovullo said. “He forgot to hold the runner on first base. I thought there were some really nice plays. It looked like he has some really good agility over there. We’re going to keep building with him and figure out what he looks like over there.”
Over the final two months, Locklear could have a chance to show he belongs in the conversation to be the club’s first baseman of the future. As it stands, he and Pavin Smith, who is still working his way back from an oblique injury, look like the top two internal options, and a strong showing from either or both the rest of the season could convince the organization not to add to the position externally over the winter.
"He made a big adjustment in the middle of the year," Diamondbacks GM Mike Hazen said. "He’s always raked. He’s got a good approach. He has the ability to get on base — a lot of the things that we value offensively. We’re going to work really hard with him at first base, but, as a young first baseman, we feel like he has the power and the bat potential to be a good player for us."
Anthony DeSclafani sputters in 1st turn in rotation
The Diamondbacks’ first game after the trade deadline looked a lot like the week that preceded it. Granted, they did not play a mistake-riddled game on Friday night, August 1, but they lost nonetheless, falling 5-1, to the Athletics at Sutter Health Park.
The Diamondbacks have lost six in a row and nine of their past 10, falling to a season-worst eight games under .500 at 51-59.
Right-hander Anthony DeSclafani struggled in his first start since taking over for right-hander Merrill Kelly in the rotation and gave up four runs in 2 1/3 innings. He allowed five hits and walked three. He did not register a strikeout. The A's scored four times off DeSclafani in the first, making him use roughly half of the 60 pitches he was permitted to throw on the night.
The Diamondbacks collected eight hits and four walks but went hitless in five at-bats with runners in scoring position.
First baseman Tyler Locklear, the headliner in the return from Seattle for Eugenio Suarez, went hitless in three at-bats, walking once and striking out twice.
GM Mike Hazen addresses team after deals
General manager Mike Hazen addressed his team on the day after the trade deadline, apologizing for what he felt he had to do — sell — but stressing that the caliber of play the Diamondbacks have exhibited in recent days is not up to standards.
“It’s frustrating for all of us, but I just said the next two months really matter for a lot of people in this room, for the team, to play good baseball,” Hazen said. “Even if you may feel a certain way about where you are, this stuff matters to your teammates. There’s a teammate of yours that this matters a lot to. I said, ‘The standard of baseball that we expect from being a Diamondback player is not going to change. I’m not letting it change for the manager, the coaches, and it’s not going to change for the players.’”
Hazen had made no secret about his desire to add to his team before the deadline, but he felt after the club was swept by the Houston Astros at Chase Field last week, that he had to “take something off the table” and get value for his impending free agents. He wound up dealing six players, five of them off his current team.
In the meeting, Hazen said he acknowledged the difficulty of having things “ripped out from underneath” for the players — and recognized the losses of several productive veterans whom he said played leadership roles in the clubhouse — but noted that the way the team has played, particularly over the past 10 days, needs to improve.
The Diamondbacks have lost eight of their past nine games. They have been plagued by an offense that has gone ice cold and a defense that has been prone to untimely lapses.
“We’re still going to go out and play Diamondback baseball, understanding that not having Geno (Eugenio Suarez) and Merrill (Kelly), changes things a little bit, but it doesn’t have to change the quality of play,” Hazen said. “I just said, ‘I don’t think any us can look at what’s happened over the last 10 days and feel like that’s been the quality of baseball we should expect to play.’”
It is not unusual for Hazen to address his team after selling at the deadline. He did it in 2019, as well, the year the Diamondbacks stripped right-hander Zack Greinke off the team.
Roster moves fill gaps from trades
The Diamondbacks made a series of roster moves ahead of their series opener against the Athletics, some of which were additions filling holes created by trade deadline departures.
Joining the club were first baseman Tyler Locklear, infielder Connor Kaiser, left-hander Kyle Nelson and lefty Jalen Beeks.
The Diamondbacks optioned left-hander Brandyn Garcia and infielder Tristin English to Triple-A Reno. The other two roster spots were created with the trades of third baseman Eugenio Suarez and right-hander Merrill Kelly.
Locklear, acquired in the Suarez deal with Seattle, is in the lineup, batting fifth and playing first base.
Kaiser and Nelson had been in Reno while Beeks is coming off the injured list following a nearly month-long stay with a back issue.
Diamondbacks at Athletics, 7:05 p.m., Cox, Ch. 34
Diamondbacks RHP Anthony DeSclafani (1-1, 3.86) vs. Athletics LHP Jacob Lopez (3-6, 4.29).
At Sutter Health Park: With right-hander Merrill Kelly traded to the Texas Rangers shortly before the MLB trade deadline on July 31, the Diamondbacks had yet to officially announce a starter for the series opener in Sacramento. But it appears it will be DeSclafani, a veteran who has started one game this season and has pitched as many as four innings in that start and in long relief. DeSclafani has never faced the Athletics in his career, but he has 170 career major league starts in the regular season. ... Lopez is in line to pitch on Aug. 1 for the Athletics. He has pitched a maximum of five innings twice in his last five starts. He'll be making his 15th career major-league start and 13th this season, but has never faced the Diamondbacks in his short career to date.
Coming up
Aug. 2: At Athletics, 7:05 p.m., Diamondbacks RHP Zac Gallen (7-12, 5.60) vs. Athletics RHP J.T. Ginn (2-2, 3.89)
Aug. 3: At Athletics, 1:05 p.m., Diamondbacks LHP Eduardo Rodriguez (3-7, 5.63) vs. Athletics TBA.
Aug. 4: At Chase Field, 6:40 p.m., Diamondbacks RHP Brandon Pfaadt (10-7, 5.11) vs. Padres RHP Ryan Bergert (1-0, 2.78).
What to know about the Athletics
Formerly the Oakland A's, the Athletics' temporary home is Sutter Health Park in West Sacramento, California. They will share the facility with the Triple-A Sacramento River Cats (Giants' minor league club) until their new permanent home is built in Las Vegas, where construction is underway. The Athletics have some young and rising talent in infielders Nick Kurtz and GCU product Jacob Wilson (injured), plus outfielder Lawrence Butler. Slugger Brent Rooker has 92 home runs in less than three seasons with the Athletics. The team traded away two of its top pitchers in starter J.P. Sears and hard-throwing closer Mason Miller, both to the Padres on July 31, which won't help the Athletics get out of last place in the American League West.
—Jose M. Romero