The Guardians may have a chance to fix one of their biggest offseason missteps, and the name at the center of it is Lane Thomas.
Cleveland already knows the fit. Two years ago, the Guardians dealt three prospects to the Washington Nationals to land Thomas, trying to patch the biggest hole on the roster.
At the time, it made sense: the lineup leaned left-handed, the outfield needed help, and Thomas looked like the answer. The move didn’t fully pay off, but the idea behind it was clear.
Now the same name is back in the conversation. Cleveland.com’s Terry Pluto and The Athletic’s Zack Mesiel both listed Thomas as a possible trade target for the Guardians in their recent deadline breakdowns, a sign that a reunion is very much on the table.
That might sound odd at first, especially because Thomas hit just .189 in 92 games with Cleveland, which is a big reason the team let him leave in free agency. But that version of Thomas was dealing with plantar fasciitis, and those issues appear to have eased this season. He’s looked like a productive player again.
That matters because Cleveland’s follow-up decision last offseason only made the Thomas departure look worse. The Guardians tendered Nolan Jones a $2 million contract even though he was coming off a disastrous season.
Jones was outrighted in the spring and has since been traded to the White Sox. Thomas, meanwhile, signed a one-year, $5.25 million deal with the Royals and has made it look like a bargain.
He entered the weekend with a .236/.334/.403 slashline and a .783 OPS against left-handed pitching. That’s the kind of production Cleveland thought it was getting when it gave up a haul for him in the first place.
The question now is cost. Last time, the Guardians paid heavily, sending Alex Clemmey, Rafael Ramirez Jr. and José Tena to Washington. No one in that group has taken off, but losing Clemmey has been especially noticeable this summer because of Cleveland’s lack of pitching depth.
This time around, the price should be lower because Thomas is set to become a free agent after the season. If the Royals are willing to deal him for something in the range of a fringe top-30 prospect, Cleveland should move quickly.
There is one wrinkle: Thomas plays for another AL Central team. Still, the Guardians have been willing to make inter-division deals before when they believe the move is worth it.
And this one checks a lot of boxes. Thomas is healthy, he fills a clear need, and he spoke highly of his time in Cleveland. Even after the original trade didn’t deliver the return the Guardians wanted, they have a chance to make the deadline work in their favor this time.
In Other News...
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What comes next for Moore is still to be sorted out, which is often the first real test for a young draftee trying to find his footing in pro ball. Cleveland has not yet said where he will open his professional career, leaving a little mystery around his first assignment and how quickly the Guardians want to get a look at what he can do against their own system of pitching. [Read more 🡒]
Guardians Suddenly Face A Deadline Question Fans Can't Ignore
The Guardians four-game skid has sharpened the conversation around the trade deadline, with August 3 looming as the point where a slow stretch can start to feel like a roster verdict. Cleveland has been good enough to stay in the mix, but not steady enough to ignore obvious needs, and that is why the chatter has turned toward pitching help as the club tries to avoid letting a rough week define its summer.
Tarik Skubal has naturally surfaced as the dream target, because a frontline arm like that would change the shape of the rotation in a hurry. The problem is that the Tigers are hardly in a position to help a division rival, and any pursuit would come with the kind of short-term gamble that can haunt a front office if the payoff is only temporary. [Read more 🡒]