Guardians get Lane Thomas, trade 3 prospects to Nats

CLEVELAND -- Guardians All-Star third baseman José Ramírez was too busy making history with his two long balls in Cleveland’s 8-4 win over Detroit on Monday night to hear the news.

During the game, Cleveland acquired outfielder Lane Thomas from the Nationals in exchange for three prospects: lefty Alex Clemmey (the Guardians’ No. 8 prospect according to MLB Pipeline), shortstop Rafael Ramirez Jr. (No. 22) and infielder José Tena.

“It’s hard not to be excited about that,” Thomas told Nationals reporters after he got the news. “I think they’ve been one of the better teams in baseball. Even playing against them, I was like, 'They get it done.'"

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Ramírez was asked about the trade, but didn’t know what had happened. So he asked Cleveland reporters to fill him in. When he was told it was Lane Thomas from Washington, he immediately approved.

“Good player,” he said in English.

TRADE DETAILS:
Guardians get: OF Lane Thomas
Nationals get: LHP Alex Clemmey, SS Rafael Ramirez Jr., INF José Tena

Thomas has been a solid player over the last few years and his underlying numbers will tell you that he should be having an even better season than he is so far this year. He also seems to fit the Guardians’ typical hitting profile. His chase rate ranks in Baseball Savant’s 91st percentile and his expected batting average in the 79th percentile. Plus, he is a right-handed bat (which the Guardians have been lacking) who owns a career slash line of .306/.369/.519 against left-handed pitching.

“That’s a versatile outfielder, a guy who’s capable of playing center field, right field and can contribute offensively, defensively and on the bases,” Guardians president of baseball operations Chris Antonetti said. “He’s been really effective against left-handed pitching. He’s a good outfielder and I think he’s third in MLB in stolen bases. So, a lot of different ways he can help us and we’re excited to have him.”

Thomas, who turns 29 on Aug. 23, had a breakout year in 2023. He recorded career-highs in batting average (.268), home runs (a team-best 28), hits (168), runs (101), RBIs (86) and stolen bases (20). This season, he searched for the same production. Thomas has hit .253 with eight home runs, 40 RBIs and 28 stolen bases as the Nationals’ No. 2 hitter.

Although Jhonkensy Noel has been seeing time in right field, Thomas would be an easy bat to slide into the corner, which would mean Noel could see more time as a designated hitter when the matchups are right. And with Thomas under control until 2026, the Guardians may be able to keep him in the lineup for the next few seasons.

But that comes at a cost. Clemmey was the Guardians’ second round Draft pick last year and in his first professional season, he’s owned a 4.67 ERA in 19 starts with a whopping 97 strikeouts in 69 1/3 innings. But being just 19 years old, Clemmey is some ways away from his Major League debut. Plus, with the infield depth that Cleveland has – especially with Travis Bazzana now in the mix -- it’s hard to envision Ramirez Jr. or Tena having a path to the Majors in Cleveland.

“This was a painful deal for us,” Antonetti said. “We gave up a lot of value. That’s what the market necessitated. We gave up three players that we think have a chance to go on and have bright futures. It’s painful to make deals like this, but this is one we felt we had to make.”

After Cleveland had been relatively silent over the last few weeks, the team decided to make its first move. But maybe it won’t be the last. The Guardians know you can never have too much pitching. And they certainly know they need to add a starter, if they can. But making this first move to show this clubhouse that they believe this is a year in which they can contend was critical.

“It definitely uplifts us and I think it helps us know that they think that we can go out there and win,” Guardians starter Tanner Bibee said. “That’s a crazy monkey off the back. I don’t think a lot of people really know how much that clears the mental a little bit.”

There’s less than 24 hours remaining to get other deals done. Maybe they’ll be able to add a starter before the buzzer sounds.

“We’re definitely not done pursuing things,” Antonetti said. “Whether or not that leads to another deal or more deals is really hard to forecast. But we’ll continue to try to be active and see if there are other opportunities to improve.”