Guardians trade for perfect outfield fit in deal with Nationals

It took a little longer than anyone would have liked, but the Cleveland Guardians have made their first trade deadline deal. The Guardians have agreed to terms with the Washington Nationals that will have Lane Thomas becoming a member of their outfield. Cleveland will be sending three prospects in the deal, with pitcher Alex Clemmey, shortstop Jose Tena, and infielder Rafael Ramirez going to the Nationals.

With a slash line of .253/.331/.407 with 16 doubles, eight home runs, and three triples, Thomas and his 112 OPS+ are going to be a welcome addition to Cleveland's outfield. This is a group, aside from Steven Kwan, that can provide average production at best, with most of it being slightly below. Tyler Freeman and Will Brennan are fine, but the Guardians can not settle for fine at this moment in time. Freeman (.219/.313/.344 87 OPS+) and Brennan (.233/.291/..379 89 OPS+) have simply not done enough for the Guardians not to look to find some sort of upgrade over what they have been able to provide.

There is one area of Thomas' performance this season that is going to be a breath of fresh air, his ability to hit left-handed pitching. Thomas is slashing 326/.410/.512 in 86 at-bats, with five doubles, three home runs, and one triple while walking 10 times. For reference, the Guardians are slashing .254/.328/421 on the year, and having someone who is hitting above that is going to be a huge boost to their offense.

Adding a right-handed bat before was clearly a priority for the Guardians. Being able to add Thomas into the equation is going to lengthen their lineup and make the team harder to pitch around. It is also going to make things seem a lot less doom and gloom when facing an opponent who decides to go left-handed starter-heavy, as has been the case several times this season. The Guardians still have some work to do before 6 PM on Tuesday, but this is a great start for a very important deadline in Cleveland.