PHOENIX -- The Triple-A Reno Aces were in Sacramento on Thursday night when Diamondbacks top prospect Ryan Waldschmidt was summoned into manager Jeff Gardner's office. As he started toward the office, he was told he needed to put a shirt on.
"At that point, I kind of knew something was up," said Waldschmidt.
As it turned out, he was actually heading up -- as in headed to the big leagues, where he joined the Diamondbacks on Friday night for the first game of their weekend series with the Mets. He collected his first career hit with a pinch-hit single in the eighth.
In a corresponding move, outfielder Alek Thomas was designated for assignment.
Waldschmidt, 23, is Arizona's No. 1 prospect per MLB Pipeline and comes to the bigs after batting .289 with an .877 OPS for Reno. In 34 games in Triple-A this season, the righty swinger had a .400 on-base percentage -- fueled in large part by 19 walks -- and 22 RBIs.
The Diamondbacks are hoping to get their offense jump-started, but both general manager Mike Hazen and manager Torey Lovullo made a couple of things clear: That while Thomas was struggling -- hitting .181 with a .562 OPS in 28 games -- he wasn't the sole issue with the offense.
And while Waldschmidt has hit at every level since being selected 31st overall in 2024, he is not looked at as an offensive savior.
"I feel like, from an offensive standpoint, we just haven't clicked yet," Hazen said. "No, one person isn't going to change that, but felt like we had to at least start making some changes to the complexion profile of what we're doing offensively here, and Ryan's done a good job up to this point. Starting to integrate him into the lineup, I think, will have a positive impact on what we're trying to do. He played really well in Triple-A, and we were looking for a spot for him to come up here and try to make an impact, so we'll see."
Waldschmidt was selected with the Player Performance Incentive Pick the Diamondbacks received for Corbin Carroll winning the 2023 NL Rookie of the Year award, and he was Arizona's 2025 Minor League Player of the Year after hitting .289 with 18 homers, 78 RBIs and 29 stolen bases in 134 games between High-A Hillsboro and Double-A Amarillo. For his Minor League career, Waldschmidt has hit .288 with an .884 OPS.
Thomas, 26, was a second-round selection by the Diamondbacks in 2018 and he will always hold a spot in franchise lore thanks to his performance in the Diamondbacks’ run to the World Series in 2023. Thomas' two-run game-tying home run off Phillies reliever Craig Kimbrel in Game 4 of the NLCS paved the way for Arizona's comeback win on its way to a seven-game triumph.
In parts of five seasons with Arizona, Thomas hit .230 with 31 homers and a .634 OPS.
While Gardner had the pleasure of letting Thomas know he was headed to the big leagues in 2022, Hazen was left to deliver the news to Thomas over the phone Thursday night.
Lovullo, who attended Thomas' wedding in the offseason, had an emotional talk with Thomas over the phone Friday morning.
"It's part of the game, and I think Alek understands that, but it's hard to say goodbye to him and his wife, Kailey," Lovullo said. "They're great people. We've known them. We've watched them grow up. We watch them get engaged and get married, and when you have to say goodbye to them that's painful. So I told him it hurt as much for me as it did, probably, for him."
Waldschmidt’s parents Suzan and Jeff were able to get to Phoenix in time for Friday's game, as was Waldschmidt's brother Logan, who plays collegiately for the University of New Orleans. Logan's coach allowed him to have a few days away from the team to see his brother.
Waldschmidt was not in the starting lineup Friday, another sign that the team doesn't want to put too much focus and pressure on him initially, but he figures to get the majority of the playing time in center field.
"I’m here for a reason," Waldschmidt said. "I got called up because they believe I’m ready. And just continue to do the same thing. I don’t have to come out here and do anything more, just continue to be the same player I am, continue to be Ryan Waldschmidt on the field. That’s all I need to do."