“There’s a lot of teams that would really benefit from acquiring Lane Thomas,” the Nationals’ general manager and president of baseball operations said. Mike Rizzo told reporters: “Yes,” he said earlier this month when asked if he would consider trading the 28-year-old outfielder at this year’s trade deadline.
Thomas was acquired by Washington at the 2021 deadline and played in 424 games for the Nationals in four seasons with Washington, batting .257/.320/.439 with 92 doubles and 60 home runs.
“He has as good an arm as any right fielder,” Rizzo added.
“He strikes out a lot of guys. He has power, he hits lefties and he’s good against righties.”
“We’re going to make a deal that makes sense. And if [we’re not]I won’t trade.”
On Monday night, the club Arizona DiamondbacksRizzo and his front office staff found a deal that worked, trading Thomas to the Cleveland Guardians in exchange for left-hander Alex Clemmey (19), infielder Jose Tena (23) and infielder Rafael Ramirez Jr. (19).
In a press release about the deal, the Nationals noted that Clemmie is ranked the No. 7 overall prospect in the Guardians organization by Baseball America and No. 8 on a list compiled by MLB Pipeline Scouts. He was a second-round pick by Cleveland in 2023.
“Clemmy is 6-foot-6 and weighs 205 pounds,” Nationals emphasized.…In his last 11 starts since May 24, he has a 2.28 ERA (11 earned runs allowed in 43.1 innings), 63 strikeouts, a 1.18 WHIP, 0.185 home runs allowed and just two home runs allowed.”
Chris Craig/The Providence Journal/USA Today Network
Tena (pronounced Tay-na) signed with the Guardians as an undrafted free agent in 2017 and prior to the deal,He had 110 hits in Cleveland’s minor league system, ranking[ed] Home runs (2and17), RBIs (3rd63), long hits (4Number36), batting average (4Number.298), slugging percentage (6Number.493) and OPS (6Number0.846)
“Ramirez Jr. is the Guardians’ No. 20 ranked prospect.” Baseball America He is the No. 23 prospect according to MLBPipeline.com, who signed him as an undrafted free agent in 2022. As of 2024, he is projected to hit 10 doubles, one triple, [and] In addition to the four home runs, he also recorded 30 walks, seven stolen bases and 23 runs.
“He’s batting .187 with a .301 on-base percentage and a .319 slugging percentage in 54 games.”
Martinez, speaking to reporters before the start of the Nationals-Diamondbacks series last night in Arizona, said he didn’t know what the return would entail.Kyle Finnegan and company suffered a 9-8 walk-off loss.) But he spoke at length about Thomas and what a great asset he was to his manager and teammates during his time in the capital.
“Cleveland is going to get a really good player. I wish him the best. He was sad. Like I said, we had a really strong relationship and he got on well with everyone on the team. But I told him,” Martinez said, “‘You have a chance to help them get to the playoffs and do something special. This is the start of a new beginning.'”
Davey Martinez looks back on Lane Thomas’ time with the Nationals and talks about how he plans to handle the lineup going forward. pic.twitter.com/RtLn4EHXq0
— MASN Nationals (@masnNationals) July 30, 2024
Since acquiring Thomas from the Cardinals (in exchange for Jon Lester), he has made great strides and has worked hard to improve both at the plate and defensively.
“He’s put in the effort,” Martinez said. “I’ve challenged him a lot on how to play the game and how to be consistent.
“He’s playing well. He’s playing well on the field, he’s playing well off the field…” [and] He’s one of those guys that I expect to come to work every day and do his job.”
“It’s always a little bit of a shock,” Thomas told reporters in Arizona ahead of the series opener about being traded for the third time in his career, “even though you know they’re going to do it.”
“But I feel like it makes it a little easier because I’ve been in similar situations before. My wife has dealt with similar situations. So I think we’re better prepared to go and help other teams.”
Thomas joined the Nationals as they began their restructuring and had a tough season, but now he’s headed to a new team just as what he’d built in Washington, D.C., was starting to take shape.
“I always told you guys it’d be fun to go through this with the young guys,” Thomas said, “but they’re OK. Look at the talent that James has. [Wood]C.J. [Abrams]Mackenzie [Gore] And then there are the guys who are still young and have a lot of time to develop… they’ll be fun to watch. I’ll definitely be rooting for them.”
“I hope our return will come here and help us out. [and] “We want you to be part of the future here. That’s all we can do,” Martinez said.
Is Rizzo done with the trade? Kyle Finnegan’s five-run ninth inning tumble last night came at a bad time for the Nationals, who already have another closer who could be a trade candidate before today’s deadline (6 p.m. ET). Will Finnegan still be with the Nationals by the time the second of a three-game series against the Diamondbacks begins?
