Dodgers Trade for Alek Thomas, Full Details on Deal with NL West-Rival D-Backs

The Los Angeles Dodgers are adding Alek Thomas to their crowded outfield mix in an intradivision trade with the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Arizona announced on Tuesday that it has acquired outfield prospect Jose Requena from the Dodgers in exchange for Thomas.

The move comes four days after the D-Backs announced Thomas had been designated for assignment, giving them seven days to trade or place him on waivers.

This trade at least gives Thomas a second chance after losing his starting job in Arizona.

A second-round pick in the 2018 draft, Thomas made his MLB debut in 2022 after being ranked as the team's No. 1 prospect. He was initially valuable as a rookie primarily because his defense in center field, ranking fifth among all qualified players at the position in defensive runs saved and outs above average.

Since that debut season, though, Thomas' defense hasn't been as strong and his bat never improved. He had negative-eight defensive runs saved in 2024 and '25 combined.

Thomas hit .230/.273/.361 in 448 games over five seasons in Arizona. The Dodgers are acquiring him on the cheap, both in prospect capital and money they will owe since he has two full years of arbitration remaining before hitting free agency.

Thomas will likely be used in a bench role for the Dodgers, though he could fill a platoon spot if Teoscar Hernández continues to struggle.

Hernández, who is hitting .248/.329/.380 this season, has been better against left-handed pitching throughout his career. Thomas' career OPS against righties (.668) is 162 points higher than it is against lefties (.506).

The Diamondbacks get a flier on Requena, who is 17 and signed with Los Angeles as an international free agent in January. He has not played in an official MILB game yet.

Requena didn't rank among the top 52 Dodgers' prospects entering this season on FanGraphs.

In addition to Requena, the other benefit of this move for the D-Backs is the roughly $1.5 million remaining on Thomas' salary for this season.