Tyler Locklear’s Breakout Is Good News for the Diamondbacks, Not Bad News for the Mariners

It only took five games for us to notice Tyler Locklear in Arizona this season. The former Mariners prospect has been on fire since rejoining the Diamondbacks. Some people may be warming up their trade calculations.

We can shut them back down. Locklear’s 2026 start deserves attention. But it doesn’t require regret. The 25-year-old earned this opportunity the hard way. His 2025 season ended after an errant throw pulled him into a bang-bang play down first-base line and caused a collision. He injured the UCL in his left elbow and the labrum in his left shoulder that required two surgeries.

He began 2026 on the IL and didn’t join Triple-A Reno until May. Once he found his footing, he really took off. Locklear slashed .313/.394/.502 with an .896 OPS for the Aces and then demolished PCL pitching in July, going 19-for-43 with five home runs in 11 games.

Tyler Locklear Is Finally Getting His Opportunity in Arizona

Arizona recalled him on July 17, and less than a week later, he went 3-for-5 with a double, an RBI single and a two-run homer in a 10-6 victory over the Cardinals.

Tyler Locklear rockets the @Dbacks into the lead 🚀 pic.twitter.com/GtNwDtV5Xu
— MLB (@MLB) July 23, 2026

Locklear has been a terrific comeback story. It’s also the kind of development the Mariners should be comfortable watching from a distance.

He didn’t have a clear future with the Mariners. Even though many fans wanted him to get a legitimate opportunity, that officially went off the table when Seattle acquired Josh Naylor one week before trading him in 2025. The Mariners then removed any lingering uncertainty by signing Naylor to a five-year, $92.5 million contract through 2030.

Locklear needed regular major-league at-bats, and it’s not like Seattle couldn’t offer them. They opted to keep him in Tacoma as expensive insurance. Good teams turn blocked prospects into immediate major-league value. That’s exactly what the Mariners did.

Seattle sent Locklear, Juan Burgos and Hunter Cranton to Arizona for Eugenio Suárez at the 2025 trade deadline. Locklear was slashing .316/.401/.543, with 19 home runs and 18 stolen bases at Tacoma when the deal was completed. He was a valuable player used to acquire the most coveted bat on that summer’s market.

Despite the flawed second half, the Mariners still received the October impact they were chasing. Suárez homered in the ALDS and then delivered one of the biggest swings in franchise history during Game 5 of the ALCS. A grand slam in the franchise’s first ALCS trip in 24 years is real value. And we don’t get to erase it because a prospect later strings together five productive games.

Arizona can still come away thrilled. The Diamondbacks entered the second half searching for answers at first base after moving on from Pavin Smith and Carlos Santana. Locklear has the playing time he could never have received behind Naylor in Seattle.

The early numbers also offer more substance than a lucky collection of singles. Locklear struck out in 40.8 percent of his plate appearances during his brief Seattle debut in 2024 and 37.1 percent with Arizona last season. Through his first 19 plate appearances this year, that rate has fallen to 15.8. His walk rate is also 15.8, and three of his first 13 batted balls qualified as barrels.

Nineteen plate appearances doesn’t establish a new baseline, but it can show some progress. Locklear looks more composed than the hitter who spent his first two major-league auditions chasing his way back to the dugout. Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo has pointed to a better load and a more forceful move forward in his swing. Now, Locklear is reaching pitches he missed last season.

A player cannot haunt a team at a position where it already has Josh Naylor signed through 2030. Locklear succeeding would give Arizona a first baseman, reward a player who endured a brutal rehab and validate some of Seattle’s development work.

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