Dbacks recap and notes

Marte was scratched from the lineup for Friday’s game against the Mets due to an illness, Steve Gilbert of MLB.com reports.

Ildemaro Vargas will shift to second base with Marte out of the lineup, and Jose Fernandez will enter the starting nine to fill the opening at first.

Waldschmidt was out of the lineup for Friday’s game against the Mets. but did later came up to the plate as a pinch hitter delivered a hit to left field as the Dbacks fell to the Mets 3-1 in 11 innings.

Though Arizona officially called up the 23-year-old earlier Friday after he posted a .877 OPS with three home runs and six steals in 34 games at Triple-A Reno, he’ll be spared from a tough matchup with Mets righty Nolan McLean. With Arizona designating Alek Thomas for assignment, the expectation is that Waldschmidt will eventually settle in as the team’s new primary center fielder, but Jorge Barrosa will occupy the position for the series opener.

The Diamondbacks activated Locklear (shoulder/elbow) from the 10-day injured list Friday and optioned him to Triple-A Reno.

Locklear has completed the rehab from his elbow and shoulder operations and homered in his first rehab game at Reno. However, with the emergence of Ildemaro Vargas at first base and Carlos Santana (thigh) also due back soon, Locklear will remain at Reno for now.

The Diamondbacks designated Thomas for assignment Friday.

Thomas is a gifted defensive center fielder, but the bat hasn’t come around, as he sports a career .230/.273/.361 slash line over nearly 1,500 plate appearances at the major-league level. He just turned 26 and is under team control through 2028, so Thomas should draw interest via waivers from teams in need of center field help.