Guardians' Lane Thomas: Stays warm with homer, double
Rotowire
Thomas went 2-for-4 with a solo home run, a double and two total runs scored in Saturday's 6-1 win over the Rays.
Thomas has found his swing after a brutal August, going 18-for-49 (.367) through 13 contests in September. He's added four homers, six doubles and a stolen base in that span. The hot stretch has helped Thomas secure a starting role in center field, which had previously been a revolving door for the Guardians. He earned some extra job security when Tyler Freeman was reassigned to Triple-A Columbus before Saturday's game. Thomas is now at a .247/.319/.405 slash line with 12 homers, 58 RBI, 60 runs scored and 32 steals through 118 contests between Cleveland and Washington this year.
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Guardians' Lane Thomas: Three hits, four RBI in win
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Thomas went 3-for-4 with four RBI and a run scored in Wednesday's 6-4 win over the White Sox.
Thomas continued his torrid run Wednesday -- he's now 15-for-37 (.405) with three home runs, 13 RBI and a 1.178 OPS through 10 games in September. The 29-year-old outfielder's boosted his slash line to .246/.321/.397 on the season with 11 homers, 56 RBI, 58 runs scored and 32 steals across 471 plate appearances between the Nationals and Guardians.
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Guardians' Lane Thomas: Stays hot with homer and double
Rotowire
Thomas went 2-for-4 with a three-run homer, a double and an additional run scored in Tuesday's 5-0 victory over the White Sox.
The Guardians' center fielder stretched the team's lead to 4-0 with a 374-foot, three-run homer off reliever Gus Varland in the sixth inning. After floundering with a .148 (12-for-81) batting average in his first 28 games with Cleveland, Thomas has now collected a hit in all eight games he's started this month. The 29-year-old has hit .364 (12-for-33) with three homers, four doubles, four runs scored and nine RBI across nine games in September.
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Guardians' Lane Thomas: Provides offense in loss
Rotowire
Thomas went 1-for-4 with a two-run home run in Saturday's 7-2 loss to the Dodgers.
Thomas answered the Dodgers' six-run first inning with a homer in the second, but that was the extent of the Guardians' scoring in the game. After starting his Cleveland tenure on a sour note, Thomas has bounced back, hitting .342 (13-for-38) with two homers and three stolen bases over his last 14 games. He's posted a .239/.317/.384 slash line with 10 homers, 32 steals, 48 RBI and 55 runs scored over 111 contests between the Guardians and the Nationals this year. With Daniel Schneemann and Jhonkensy Noel both struggling of late, Thomas has begun to carve out a decent share of playing time versus right-handers in addition to playing regularly versus southpaws.
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Guardians' Lane Thomas: Blasts first homer with Guardians
Rotowire
Thomas went 2-for-4 with a double, a two-run homer and a stolen base in Monday's 4-2 win over the Royals.
Thomas put his team ahead in the fifth inning with his ninth home run of the season off Michael Wacha. It was Thomas' first homer in 30 games since joining the Guardians, and he snapped a streak of 213 at-bats without a home run, which was the eighth longest active streak in MLB among all hitters. The 29-year-old continues to run plenty as he picked up his 32nd steal of the season, which ties him for eighth most in MLB. His .551 OPS since joining Cleveland has resulted in a reduced role, but he could reclaim a more regular spot in the lineup with a hot start to September.
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Guardians' Lane Thomas: Racks up three hits in win
Rotowire
Thomas went 3-for-4 with one RBI in Sunday's 6-1 win over the Pirates.
Thomas was one of five Guardians to post multiple hits in the win. This was his third multi-hit effort in 29 games with the team since he was traded from the Nationals -- Thomas has hit .176 as a Guardian. That has dropped his slash line to .236/.316/.366 with eight home runs, 44 RBI, 52 runs scored and 31 stolen bases across 106 contests this season.
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Guardians' Lane Thomas: Absent from lineup
Rotowire
Thomas is not in the lineup for Wednesday's contest against the Royals.
Thomas started two of the first three games of the series and entered mid-game in the other contest. He will begin the series finale on the bench while Will Brennan plays center field and Jhonkensy Noel start in right field.
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Guardians' Lane Thomas: Hitting bench against righty
Rotowire
Thomas is out of the lineup for the second game of Monday's doubleheader with the Royals.
Thomas looks to be at risk of moving into a platoon role in the Cleveland outfield, as he'll take a seat for the third time in the Guardians' last four matchups with right-handed starting pitchers. Will Brennan will cover center field in Game 2 in place of Thomas, who started against a lefty (Cole Ragans) in the Guardians' 4-3 loss earlier in the day and went 1-for-4 with a walk.
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Guardians' Lane Thomas: Reaches 30-steal mark
Rotowire
Thomas went 1-for-4 with a stolen base in Sunday's 4-2 win over the Rangers.
Thomas has two steals over his last nine games, but he's gone just 4-for-22 (.182) with two walks and 12 strikeouts in that span. The outfielder is batting just .132 as a Guardian, which has seen him slip into a part-time role after being a full-time option when he was traded from the Nationals. Thomas has a .231/.309/.367 slash line with 30 steals, eight home runs, 42 RBI and 49 runs scored over 99 contests this season.
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Guardians' Lane Thomas: Sitting against righty again
Rotowire
Thomas is out of the lineup for Thursday's game against the Yankees.
Thomas has gone just 7-for-59 at the plate since joining the Guardians in late July, and the prolonged slide seems to have cost him a spot in the club's everyday lineup. He's now started just six of the last 12 contests, with each of those absences coming against right-handed pitchers. With Thomas on the bench Thursday, Tyler Freeman will pick up a start in center field.
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Guardians' Lane Thomas: Absent from Cleveland lineup
Rotowire
Thomas is not in the lineup for Thursday's game versus the Yankees.
Thomas' dreadful start since joining the Guardians (7-for-59) has meant being less than an everyday player the last couple weeks, as he's now started just six of the last 12 contests. Tyler Freeman will be in center field and Will Brennan will patrol right.
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Guardians' Lane Thomas: Not starting Friday
Rotowire
Thomas is not in the starting lineup for Friday's contest against Milwaukee.
Jhonkensy Noel will start in right field and bat seventh against Brewers right-hander Aaron Civale. Thomas has slashed .104/.204/.146 with one stolen base and a 38.9 percent strikeout rate across 53 plate appearances since being acquired by the Guardians in late July.
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Guardians' Lane Thomas: First steal with new team
Rotowire
Thomas went 0-for-2 with a walk, a hit-by-pitch, a stolen base and a run scored in Wednesday's 6-1 win over the Cubs.
Thomas is hitting just .104 over 14 contests with the Guardians, which largely explains why this was his first steal since he was traded from the Nationals. He's also struck out 21 times since the trade. The outfielder is still expected to handle a majority of the playing time in center field, but until he can find more consistency at the plate, he'll be pressured by Will Brennan, Daniel Schneemann and Tyler Freeman. Thomas is slashing .233/.314/.371 with 29 steals, eight home runs, 40 RBI and 47 runs scored across 91 contests between Cleveland and Washington.
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Guardians' Lane Thomas: Not in Sunday's lineup
Rotowire
Thomas is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Twins.
Thomas has struggled to a .363 OPS in 11 games since being acquired by Cleveland, and he'll head to the bench for Sunday's series finale in Minnesota. Daniel Schneemann will shift to center field while Brayan Rocchio receives a start at shortstop.
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Guardians' Lane Thomas: Headed to Cleveland
Rotowire
The Guardians acquired Thomas from the Nationals on Monday in exchange for left-hander Alex Clemmey and infielders Jose Tena and Rafael Ramirez, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reports.
Cleveland will get a high-impact right-handed bat in Thomas, who is hitting .326 against southpaws this season. He also brings plenty of speed with 28 stolen bases, though he has been caught stealing an MLB-high 12 times. Thomas is under club control through 2025 and should immediately supplant either Will Brennan for an everyday spot in the Cleveland outfield. Since the beginning of July, Thomas has slashed .287/.398/.379 with 11 stolen bases, eight doubles and six RBI across 100 plate appearances.
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Nationals' Lane Thomas: Nabs steal in blowout win
Rotowire
Thomas went 1-for-4 with a walk, a stolen base and three runs scored in Saturday's 14-3 win over the Cardinals.
Thomas is 6-for-26 (.231) with five steals over eight games since the All-Star break. The speedy outfielder is up to 28 thefts this season, though he's needed 40 attempts to get there. He's added a .250/.329/.399 slash line with eight home runs, 39 RBI, 42 runs scored, 14 doubles and three triples over 76 contests.
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Nationals' Lane Thomas: Pilfers 24th bag
Rotowire
Thomas went 0-for-3 with a walk, a run scored and a stolen base in Friday's win over the Reds.
The outfielder continues to do damage on the basepaths in July. Thomas is up to 24 steals on the season, and seven of them have come in his last 12 games -- a stretch in which he's batting .319 (15-for-47). His homer drought stands at 24 games, however, something that won't help the Nationals extract maximum value for the 28-year-old if they elect to move him at the trade deadline.
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Nationals' Lane Thomas: On base four times in loss
Rotowire
Thomas went 2-for-2 with two walks in Thursday's loss to the Mets.
The Nationals wound up getting shut out, but that was no fault of Thomas'. The 28-year-old hasn't homered in 20 straight games but he's hardly been struggling during that stretch, slashing .293/.376/.415 with six doubles, two triples, six steals, 13 runs and 13 RBI.
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Nationals' Lane Thomas: Nabs steal No. 20
Rotowire
Thomas went 2-for-6 with a double, a run scored and a stolen base in Friday's extra-innings loss to the Cardinals.
The 28-year-old stole a career-high 20 bags in 157 games last season, but Thomas has massively ramped up his aggressiveness on the basepaths in 2024. Through only 59 contests, he's already matched those 20 steals in 26 attempts. He's also regaining last year's form at the plate, and over his last 15 games he's slashing .266/.329/.469 with nine of his 17 hits (six doubles, two triples and a homer) going for extra bases.
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Nationals' Lane Thomas: Swipes two bags in win
Rotowire
Thomas went 1-for-3 with a walk and two stolen bases in Thursday's win against the Mets.
Thomas had his fifth game of the season with multiple stolen bases, which is the second most in MLB behind Elly De La Cruz (eight). Thomas already has 19 steals in 58 games this season, one away from the career high he set last season in 156 contests. The 28-year-old continues to be a solid producer since returning from a knee injury in late May, slashing .268/.327/.504 with six homers and 25 RBI over his last 36 games.
