The Arizona Diamondbacks reinstated outfielder Alek Thomas from the bereavement list, and he is in Sunday’s starting lineup.
He takes the roster spot left vacant by the Randal Grichuk trade on Saturday in which Arizona received right-handed pitcher Andrew Hoffmann, who landed in the minors.
Thomas was placed on the bereavement list Thursday, but his last start came on July 20. He saw game action off the bench on Tuesday.
Since Thomas’ last start, Corbin Carroll has started four games at center field while Jake McCarthy started one. Jorge Barrosa was called up for depth when Thomas left the team, and he has appeared in two games, going 0-for-3 at the plate with two strikeouts.
Alek Thomas returns to Diamondbacks
Thomas has played 90 games this season, the fifth most for the Diamondbacks.
The everyday center fielder has career highs in his fourth major league season in batting average (.246) and on-base percentage (.294), and he has five home runs with 26 RBIs.
Thomas will bat eighth in Sunday’s rubber match at the Pittsburgh Pirates after each team notched a shutout win over the other to begin the series. Zac Gallen (5.58 ERA) will take the mound against Paul Skenes (1.91 ERA).
After the series finale, Arizona will face the Tigers in Detroit for its final series before the trade deadline on July 31.
First pitch on Sunday is at 10:35 a.m. MST on 98.7 or the Arizona Sports app.
