Cleveland Guardians Add A Great Outfield Bat On Monday
The Cleveland Guardians had the best record in the American League as of July 30th, the last day for the MLB trade deadline. On Monday night, Cleveland traded for Washington Nationals outfielder Lane Thomas, a right-handed bat that the team needed and could supply some power and speed hitting out of the two-hole. Thomas hit 28 home runs last season, but the power supply has gone away this year, only hitting eight home runs in 300 at-bats. He does have 28 stolen bases, so he is putting himself in a scoring position. He also leads the league in 12 caught stealing attempts, but he couldn't be a better fit for a Cleveland team that likes to make contact and steal bases, and he does a great job at both of those things.
Since the All-Star break, the Guardian's offense has had its ups and downs. They have been relying on Steven Kwan, José Ramírez, Josh Naylor, and David Fry to supply most of their runs, but now Thomas comes into the team looking to be another name that can provide offense when the main four guys have an off night or week.
Cleveland did a great job attacking their weakness, a right-handed outfield bat and got one of the best on the trade market.
The Guardians gave up three prospects in the deal: pitcher Alex Clemmey and infielders José Tena and Rafael Ramirez. However, they have many middle infielder prospects, including first-overall pick Travis Bazzana, so losing two of them isn't going to hurt the team.
It's time for the Guardians to put it all together and win the World Series, something they last did in 1948.
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