Auburn native Tim Locastro has been called up by the Arizona Diamondbacks from Triple-A Reno.
Auburn native Tim Locastro made his regular season debut with the Arizona Diamondbacks Sunday.
Locastro was recalled by the Diamondbacks from Triple-A Reno after the club placed catcher Alex Avila on the injured list with a strained quadriceps.
Torey Lovullo, Arizona's manager, told MLB.com that the team wanted to add outfield depth instead of calling up another catcher. There are two other catchers on the Diamondbacks' active roster.
"We just felt like for the time being we wanted the extra outfielder, maybe start to rotate some days off for those guys that have been grinding and going full speed ahead," he said.
Locastro made his first appearance with the Diamondbacks in Sunday's game against the Boston Red Sox. He entered the game as a pinch runner after outfielder David Peralta doubled in the ninth. The next batter, Adam Jones, grounded out to end the game.
Locastro spent most of spring training with Arizona until he was optioned to Triple-A Reno in March. In three games with the Reno Aces, he has one hit — a home run — and two runs in 12 at-bats.
Before joining the Diamondbacks, Locastro spent parts of four seasons with the Los Angeles Dodgers. He had success in the minor leagues and earned his first major league promotion in 2017.
In 2018, he appeared in 18 games with the Dodgers. He had two hits in 11 at-bats, stole four bases and scored six runs.
After the season, the Dodgers traded Locastro to the New York Yankees. However, he was designated for assignment and the Yankees traded him to the Diamondbacks in January.
HIT: To Kerry Goessling and Steven Pfleiderer, for their gift of a CuddleCot to Auburn Community Hospital.