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By Jon Paul Hoornstra
Contributing Sports Writer
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Tim Locastro stole 39 bases in six major league seasons while being caught only five times — and that was before Major League Baseball made rules to limit the number of times a pitcher could throw over to first base.
In 2023, in what proved to be his final season at the MLB level, Locastro went 6 for 6 in stolen base attempts for the New York Mets. The native of upstate New York signed a minor league contract with the San Diego Padres in February 2024, and spent the last two seasons playing for the Padres' Triple-A affiliate.
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Locastro never formally announced his retirement before or after becoming a free agent at the end of the 2025 season. But he'll remain in close proximity to the Padres' minor leaguers, teaching them what he knows best.
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Wednesday, the Padres announced Locastro as their baserunning and outfield coordinator, effectively ending his seven-year playing career.
Locastro, 33, played 290 major league games for the Los Angeles Dodgers, Arizona Diamondbacks, New York Yankees and Mets from 2017-23. He'll finish his career with a .228/.327/.337 slash line, and an impressive 45 stolen bases despite limited playing time. He was also hit by 43 pitches — 22 in one season alone, in 2019 with the Diamondbacks.
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Over the last two years, Locastro played 137 games for the El Paso Chihuahuas. He batted .284 and went 40-for-47 in stolen base attempts for the Padres' top farm team.
Although he can't teach the raw speed that made him elite — his 30.5 ft./second sprint speed makes him the fastest player in MLB this decade, per Statcast — Locastro can certainly impart plenty of base-stealing skill to a farm system that ranks dead last in MLB according to FanGraphs.
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Locastro had a commendable .800 OPS in 2025 at El Paso. His last month of the season was one of his best; he hit .308 in 15 September games for the Chihuahuas, with only nine strikeouts in 52 at-bats. But Locastro never got a call to the big leagues over his final two seasons in the Padres' system.
Now he'll ride off into the sunset of his baseball career — or, more likely, sprint.
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