Guardians News: Lane Thomas set to see foot specialist, Gabriel Arias out of lineup

Lane Thomas’ horrible walk year got a little bit worse over the weekend. 

After missing most of the year with a variety of injuries, Thomas was pulled out of a rehab game on Sunday at Double-A Akron and is now set to visit a foot specialist due to the plantar fasciitis that’s kept him out for most of the year.

Thomas, 30, is set to be a free agent after the season for the first time in his career, which meant this season was arguably the most important one of his seven-year career.

Unfortunately for him, he hasn’t been able to make the most of it, as he’s hit just .160 with four home runs and 11 RBI in 39 games this year. 

Guardians News: Lane Thomas set to see specialist, Gabriel Arias out of lineup

He also missed a little more than a month at the beginning of the season after he was hit on the wrist by a pitch in the Guardians home opener. 

While there hasn’t been any kind of formal update about Thomas’ timeline, it’s hard to believe that there’s going to be enough time left in the season for him to return before the end of the season.

The Guardians only have 19 games left in their season, and it’s hard to believe they’d be comfortable putting Thomas on the postseason roster given the lack of playing time that he’s had this year. 

They also may not have a huge desire to give him some playing time down the stretch given the fact that he’s an impending free agent whereas the other players in their outfield (Angel Martinez, George Valera and C.J. Kayfus) are all pieces who fit into the team’s long-term plan. 

Right now, it seems like everything is going against Thomas. 

And, if this is the end of his Guardians tenure, it will have been quite a ride. He hit just .189 across 92 regular season games with the Guardians, but will forever be revered in Cleveland for the huge home run he hit off Tarik Skubal in last year’s American League Division Series. 

That said, there’s always a chance that his rotten year dips him back into the Guardians’ price range. 

The other Guardians injury update concerns something a bit more short-term, as Gabriel Arias is out of the lineup after leaving yesterday’s game with wrist inflammation. Arias appeared to first suffer the injury on a swing in the fourth inning before leaving in the fifth. He missed four games last week after he was hit on the wrist by a pitch in a game against the Mariners on Aug. 29. 

Although he’s hitting just .229 on the season, he’s recorded a hit in four of his last five games and has been playing excellent defense all season. Brayan Rocchio will get the start at shortstop in Arias' place, and will be set to get a majority of reps at the position should Arias miss significant time.