Diamondbacks option slumping Alek Thomas to Triple-A Reno

The Diamondbacks optioned center fielder Alek Thomas to Triple-A Reno, sending the struggling rookie back to the minors with just eight games remaining in the regular season.

The move, which was made after Sunday’s home finale against the San Francisco Giants, presumably creates room for outfielder Jake McCarthy to return from the bereavement list.

After grounding out in his lone at-bat on Sunday, Thomas is hitting just .231/.275/.344 in 381 at-bats. He got off to a hot start but has since struggled to adjust, hitting right around .200 with little power since the end of June. He is 1 for 31 since September 10.

Thomas said last week he has been working on refining his pitch selection, which he said might mean taking more pitchers’ pitches rather than swinging at balls he can’t hit hard.

"He’s expanding the zone," manager Torey Lovullo said. "He’s trying to cover everything high, low, in and out. We’re encouraging him to shrink up the zone and have a better feel for having an opposite-field approach to stay on the baseball so you don’t pull off of it."

Thomas has long been regarded as one of the organization’s brightest prospects. He is an excellent defender in center field and, prior to recent weeks, had done nothing but hit throughout his professional career.

"The last conversation I had with him was cut the plate in half," Lovullo said. "Either you’re hitting away or you’re hitting in. Stop looking away and hitting in and stop looking in and hitting away. Just simplify your approach. We’ll see how that goes."

Thomas presumably will be able to get some at-bats with Reno, which has three games remaining in the regular season. Reno then will play a one-game playoff for the Pacific Coast League championship on Friday, with the winner advancing to the Triple-A championship game on Oct. 2.

On Friday, the Diamondbacks recalled outfielder Pavin Smith from Reno, and in three games Smith has proceeded to go 4 for 9 with a double with several hard-hit balls. Smith's return — he had missed more than two months with a broken hand — likely contributing to squeezing Thomas off the roster.

Reach Piecoro at (602) 444-8680 or nick.piecoro@arizonarepublic.com. Follow him on Twitter @nickpiecoro.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Diamondbacks option slumping Alek Thomas to Triple-A Reno