Tyler Locklear is making the kind of noise in Arizona that can sting a little in Seattle.
The former Mariners prospect, dealt to the Diamondbacks at the end of last July as part of the Eugenio Suárez trade, is starting to show why he was so easy to dream on. Seattle knew it was giving up a power bat and a strong arm, even if Locklear was viewed as the price of doing business. Now he’s giving the D-backs a real reason to keep playing him.
Locklear’s 2026 season didn’t begin smoothly. He opened on the Injured List while working back from offseason surgery to his left elbow and shoulder, after also dealing with left elbow inflammation in September last year. Once he returned in May, though, he looked sharp in Triple-A Reno, batting .313 with a .897 OPS over 54 games.
That stretch earned him a call-up from Arizona earlier this month, and he’s wasted little time making an impression. In four appearances, he’s looked like a player trying to force his way into the picture for good. His best showing came Thursday against the Cardinals, when he went 3-for-5 with three RBI and capped it with a two-run homer.
Tyler Locklear rockets the @Dbacks into the lead 🚀 pic.twitter.com/GtNwDtV5Xu
- MLB (@MLB) July 23, 2026
What made the night even more notable was that Locklear wasn’t originally supposed to be in the lineup. He entered as a last-minute replacement for Ketel Marte, another former Mariners prospect, and still delivered. Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo liked what he saw, telling Jeff Jones of MLB.com:
"Not easy to do what he did. He comes to the ballpark, he’s always preparing to play.
I know that. But the lineup goes out the night before, and there’s a couple things he’s probably going to come here and work on.
And all of the sudden transitions an hour before the ballgame starts and he’s going to be starting at first base. I think he’s got the right mindset.
He’s always ready."
Those kinds of moments are exactly what make this tough for Mariners fans to watch. Locklear had his share of strikeout issues when Seattle brought him up during the 2024 season, but 49 plate appearances was never enough time to make a final call on him.
And plenty of people in Seattle probably still wish him well. After what he did in Reno, he earned another crack at major league at-bats. Arizona also made more sense for him once the Mariners added Josh Naylor to handle first base ahead of last season’s trade deadline.
Still, the frustration is easy to understand. If Locklear were still in the Pacific Northwest, he’d likely be one of the right-handed power options Seattle could use right now. The Mariners have struggled badly at the plate this season, and while assistant hitting coach Bobby Magallanes was the one fired Thursday, he wasn’t the reason they rank third-worst in the majors in scoring.
Locklear’s rise also comes on the heels of Harry Ford’s recent promotion with the Nationals in Washington, which only adds to the odd timing. Right now, a cluster of former Mariners right-handed hitters is showing up in the majors just as Seattle is hunting for one. The Mariners could still try to solve that problem on the trade market before Aug. 3, but in the meantime, the “what if” questions are hard to ignore.
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