Insider Makes Case For Guardians To Reunite With Former Outfielder

The Cleveland Guardians have all of a sudden lost three in a row after going on a nice little run over the previous two weeks around the All-Star break. Cleveland was thrashed 11-3 in its series opener with the first-place Tampa Bay Rays on Friday as the offense once again showed signs of regression despite being close to full strength with Chase DeLauter, Jose Ramirez, and Angel Martinez all recently coming back from injury.

Even with those three back in action, it’s clear the Guardians could use some more help to push the team to the next level. The Chicago White Sox aren’t going away so the Guardians will have to actually work to pry the AL Central away from them, and one insider recently made the case for reuniting with a former Guardians outfielder in order to help do that.

Cleveland.com’s Terry Pluto recently wrote about an unconventional target he’d like to see the Guardians go after at the trade deadline. He believes improving around the margins is important, which is why he targeted Lane Thomas as a guy the Guardians should check in on.

“OK, here’s cliche time, cliche warning: ‘You’ll get the best version of himself’ if they get Lane Thomas,” Pluto said. “Improving around the margins. That’s one that’s popped up in the last year or so… you just kind of get a guy to push you forward.”

Thomas is having a solid year for the Kansas City Royals, who are 43-62 with little hope to improve. Their season is circling the drain and Thomas is on a one-year, $5.25 million deal, so he’s going to be one of the most likely candidates around MLB to be moved ahead of August 3rd.

Thomas is hitting .233 with nine homers and 36 RBIs in 262 at bats. He is also drawing walks more frequently than he has in five years and looks much-improved from the guy the Guardians let walk this past offseason after he hit .160 with a .518 for them last season.

Nobody will forget Thomas’ heroics from Cleveland’s 2024 playoff run. He has proven he can deliver in big moments for a contender and would be an immediate upgrade over Petey Halpin for the Guardians. Considering how little it will likely take to go get him, this would be a sensible and wise move for the front office.