Guardians Acquire Lane Thomas
Movement! Right-handed bat! Middle infielders sent out! All the things that have been clamored about for years has finally happened this trade deadline. Monday night, the Washington Nationals dealt Lane Thomas to the Cleveland Guardians for a trio of prospects: left handed starter Alex Clemmey, shortstop Rafael Ramirez, and middle infielder Jose Tena. Both Clemmey and Ramirez are age-19 and were on the Low-A Lynchburg Hillcats, while Tena had been biding his time in Triple-A Columbus, and had appeared in three games with the big club.
Thomas is 28, as previously mentioned is a right-handed bat, and has been in the Nationals organization since 2021. He’s been a slightly above league-average hitter for the last two seasons, and played primarily right field for the Nats. Owner of a .253/.331/.407 triple slash with eight dingers, 28 steals, and a wRC+ of 108, Thomas fits in as a near-everyday fixture in manager Stephen Vogt’s lineup in right. He had played some center this season, 20 innings worth, but he hasn’t played more than 46 innings in center since 2022. Thomas is not a power hitter, but fits the Guardians mold of contactability, with Z-Contact% and overall Contact% of 88.7% and 82.5%, respectively, good for 41st and 32nd-best in the league. An identical BB% to Josh Naylor with 9.7% shows just how much of a Guard he’s been.
Thomas is arbitration-eligible for the 2025 season, meaning that he will be around in Cleveland for at least another year at a cost-controlled amount. His presence in the org allows for the team to wait a smidge on uber-prospect Chase DeLauter, as well as providing a decent bat for 2024 down the stretch. Being a right-handed bat, you’d think Jhonkensy Noel might be on the block, but the man they call “Big Christmas” has been a revelation of late, providing big power from the bench and grabbing some starts in right, at first, and designated hitter while Josh Naylor had a mini-non-IL vacation to rehab some nagging injuries. The ones more likely to see playing time get smushed are Will Brennan or Tyler Freeman, with Brennan being the more likely to hold on due to being a lefty. Time will tell how Vogt handles his lineup and bench, but all signs point to Thomas being the near-everyday guy there, and could hit as high as second against lefties.
Tena is the closest to the majors, but is the one the Guardians will likely miss the least. He has 17 home runs and 14 steals in Columbus this year, but never got a steady opportunity to play in Cleveland over the last two seasons. A shortstop by trade, there were more pressing matters ahead of him in Brayan Rocchio and Gabriel Arias, but both seem to have more issues. Time will tell if Cleveland missed the boat on giving the guy a steady chance, but there are more pressing matters.
Clemmey is the biggest name in the deal, and rightfully so. A 19-year old behemoth (coming in at 6’6” and 205lbs), Clemmey had all the makings of a future starter, but is at least two years away from being anything of note. FanGraphs graded him with a 55/70 fastball and 45/55 curve, meaning he had two plus offerings, but with a 20/40 grade command, it’s no wonder Cleveland was shopping him around. A 32.6 K% is lights out, but a 15.8 BB% will keep him from being that fully “highly-touted” prospect. Could he make Cleveland regret the deal? Absolutely. Huge lefties like that are rare and even if he becomes a reliever because he can’t find the strike zone often enough, a Sam Hentges-type is still hella valuable.
Rafa Ramirez has a high ceiling but the hit tool is in question. In 54 games at Lynchburg this year, Ramirez has four home runs and seven steals to go along with a robust 13.9 BB%, but only hitting .187 shows what is missing. As with Clemmey, we are projecting a 19-year-old player here and making decisions on whether they will already make it. Maybe Ramirez will make some adjustments with Washington that help him break out; Washington has had a good track record of position players coming through with the likes of Bryce Harper and Juan Soto becoming some of the best players in the league, and now CJ Abrams and James Wood graduating to the majors with success. Do I think Ramirez does that? No, but he’s 19. What were you doing when you were 19?
Overall, it’s a fine trade. Cleveland got rid of some depth at the middle infield spot that was necessary with the drafting of Travis Bazzana. Yes, it might have been a bit of an overpay including both Clemmey and Ramirez, but even if all things break right for them, it will be two years at least before we see it in the bigs. President of Baseball Ops Chris Antonetti and General Manager Mike Chernoff did what everyone has wanted them to do: something.
