As the July 30 MLB trade deadline approached, the Cleveland Guardians identified critical needs for starting pitching and an additional bat, especially in the outfield.
In response, the Guardians made moves to address these areas by trading for outfielder Lane Thomas from the Washington Nationals and right-hander Alex Cobb from the San Francisco Giants.
While Cobb’s impact is still uncertain—after two mediocre starts, a stint on the 15-day injured list, and a solid recent performance—the early results from the Thomas acquisition have been underwhelming.
CBS Sports’ Mike Axisa included Cleveland’s trade for Thomas in his “ouch” section, and his critique seems justified. Although Thomas recently showed some improvement with three hits in a win over the Pittsburgh Pirates and has a .281 batting average over the past two weeks, his overall performance for the Guardians has been disappointing.
Thomas is hitting just .176/.260/.224 since joining Cleveland and remains without a home run. His time with the Nationals wasn’t stellar either, as he posted a .738 OPS with eight home runs in 341 plate appearances.
While Thomas did hit 28 home runs last season, his career performance has generally been average. The Guardians may have been better served by acquiring another bat before the deadline, but fortunately, rookie outfielder Jhonkensy Noel has stepped up, mitigating the impact of Thomas’ struggles so far.