Guardians Top Deadline Add Off to Uninspiring Start

As the days go by, the Cleveland Guardians continue to absolutely dominate the opposition. In fact, the club has the very best winning percentage in all of baseball and has somewhat surprisingly become the league’s best team.

The Dodgers, Braves and Yankees were expected to take the league by storm but it’s been an underdog Cleveland team that’s taken the top spot.

At the trade deadline, there were a few obvious needs the Guardians needed to address. Standing out above the rest was their need in the starting rotation. As our Zach Worden highlighted, Cleveland starters were 24th in ERA and 26th in FIP as the deadline neared.

On offense, there was a need for some thump as well. This is a team that’s always relied on a contact-over-power approach, but someone like Brent Rooker, who Worden specifically mentioned as a strong trade fit, would’ve made their lineup even stronger.

However, the Guardians once again opted to play smallball at the deadline. Only injured starter Alex Cobb and outfielder Lane Thomas were brought aboard at a time where Yusei Kikuchi, Rooker and maybe even a catcher like Danny Jansen would’ve made some sense as trade targets.

Of course, we’re only a few weeks past the deadline, but the Guardians have not gotten much out of their deadline adds. Cobb has only made two starts, but his last time out he held the Cubs to just one run on three hits across 5.2 innings of work.

Thomas, on the other hand, has not looked good.

What the Guardians Acquired in Lane Thomas

Before diving into the first few weeks of Thomas’ tenure in Cleveland, it’s better to understand where the club was coming from when trading for him.

Over the past four or so seasons as a member of the Nationals, Thomas was easily one of the top run-producers on an otherwise tough to watch team. He had an OPS+ north of 100, league-average, in each of his seasons in D.C. and represented one of the top trade chips on a club nearing the end of a rebuild.

This season, he recorded 27 extra-base hits (16 doubles, three triples, eight home runs) with 28 stolen bases and a .738 OPS. He wasn’t exactly setting the world on fire, but he had a respectable 111 OPS+ pre-trade and his extra year of control beyond the 2024 season only furthered his value.

The Nationals did not need to trade Thomas, but they saw it fit to deal him while his value is at its highest.

How Did He Fit on This Roster?

Outside of Steven Kwan, the Guardians have had a tough time getting production out of their outfielders.

Before the trade, Kwan was the every day left fielder and a combination of nine other players had filled out the other two spots in the outfield. Of the players not named Kwan, only Jhonkensy Noel and Daniel Schneemann had above-average stat lines.

The need for another outfielder could not have been more obvious. Cleveland center fielders were 18th in the league in wRC+ and 25th in batting average pre-deadline. Their right fielders were 26th in wRC+ and 29th in batting average. Can you spot where they needed a boost on offense?

What Has Gone Wrong?

Thomas was supposed to be an asset to a scuffling unit of outfielders. Instead, he has fallen flat on his face. In fact, he’s just 5-for-48 to start his tenure in Cleveland, which is good for a .104 batting average.

Since July 30, Thomas is dead last in all of baseball in batting average (min. 30 PA), while he’s second-lowest in SLG, wOBA and wRC+, third-lowest in OBP and fourth-lowest in fWAR. He’s striking out in just under 39% of his plate appearances and has looked completely lost at the plate.

At one point, his extra year of control was seen as a positive aspect in assessing his value. Now, it’s looking more like a hinderance to the Guardians than anything else. If he continues to play this way, he is not even doing enough to guarantee himself a spot on their postseason roster.

One possible solution would be for first-year manager Stephen Vogt to exclusively play Thomas against left-handed pitching. His career L-R splits are wild, as seen below.

The difference between his production is like night and day. He clearly sees the ball so much better against southpaws than he does against right-handers. Getting him into situations he’s more comfortable in would be a fantastic first step to him turning his season around.

Closing Thoughts

In a lineup dominated by left-handed hitters (Kwan, Josh Naylor, Andres Gimenez), it made all the sense in the world that the Guardians added a righty bat to the fold. However, Thomas has not been the answer so far. Throwing him out there against left-handed pitching and having Noel get the majority of the starts against right-handers should be the way to go from here on out.

A positive spin on Thomas’s struggles is that his dreadful play has not hurt the Guardians too much. But it certainly hasn’t helped. The club just snapped a seven-game losing streak and followed it with a five-game win streak that is still active entering their upcoming series against the Brewers that kicks off on Friday.

Through it all, they remain 4.5 games above the Twins, who are also 5-5 in their last 10 games. The Royals are also just six games back, but it remains to be seen how seriously their contention for the top spot in the AL Central is to be taken.