Alek Thomas has had a difficult year. Saturday night, July 25, in Sacramento, it got even worse for the ex-Diamondbacks outfielder.
A mascot driving an electric scooter slammed into Thomas, now playing for the Los Angeles Dodgers' Triple-A affiliate Oklahoma City Comets, before pregame warm-ups.
"Dinger," the Sacramento River Cats' mascot, was promoting the team's "Christmas in July" event as he drove the scooter around the field in a Santa costume.
Just as he neared the Comets bench, Thomas hopped out of the dugout, right into Dinger's path.
The mascot crashed into Thomas, and both fell to the ground, though they appeared to be fine.
The Sacramento River Cats mascot collided with Alek Thomas on Saturday. 😬 (Via: AddisonM81/Reddit) pic.twitter.com/oDTLS4cVAB
— Foul Territory (@FoulTerritoryTV) July 28, 2026
Thomas was able to avoid injury and played in the game.
It was an inauspicious start to a night that saw Thomas go 0-4 at the dish for the Comets, adding to an already frustrating year. He began this spring as the Arizona center fielder, but was designated for assignment in May after an unproductive start.
In 28 games for the Dbacks, Thomas hit .181 with a .222 on-base percentage two home runs and 10 RBIs across 94 at-bats.
He was designated for assignment once Arizona called up Ryan Waldschmidt, and was traded to the Dodgers for a prospect on May 12.
Entering play on Wednesday, July 29, Thomas was slashing .259/.329/.427 with five homers and 21 RBIs in 36 games with the Comets.
Thomas has not commented on Saturday's incident.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Mascot adds insult to injury for ex-Diamondbacks outfielder Alek Thomas
