After sustaining a bruise to his right wrist bone in the Guardians’ tenth game, Lane Thomas’ 2025 season didn’t get off to the best start. Now that the problem has been resolved, he and Cleveland are anticipating the potential influence he may have on their lineup moving forward.
In preparation for Thursday’s game against the Tigers, the Guardians placed outfielder Will Brennan (left forearm inflammation) on the 10-day IL and activated Thomas off the 10-day IL. Thomas is scheduled to play center field and hit second in the series opener.
“It’s always difficult,” Thomas remarked about getting hurt when he did. “You work so hard during the offseason [only] to deal with that during the first few weeks of the season.” But there’s a lot more season left. I hope you can return and salvage some.
On April 22, Thomas was placed on the IL due to a bruising on his right wrist bone. He was hurt on a hit-by-pitch in the fifth inning of Cleveland’s April 8 home opener. After taking a week off, the 29-year-old made a comeback on April 15 and participated in five games; however, he worsened the injury against the Pirates on April 22, which led to his placement on the injured list.
After going on the IL, Thomas said that the discomfort in his wrist subsided in a week or two and that it is now doing great. Regaining his strength was crucial during the IL stay and contributed to his prolonged period of inactivity.
Although Thomas had a sluggish start to the season (7-for-45,.366 OPS in 13 games), his return is a welcome sight for the Guardians lineup, who went into Thursday tied for 17th place with a 97 wRC+ and a season OPS of.689 (22nd in the Majors).
Cleveland’s.651 OPS versus lefties ranks 19th in the Majors as of Thursday, and the Guardians’ No. 2 batters have a combined.187/.250/.294 slash line this season. Thomas, who hit third against the Royals on Opening Day and was the center fielder for Cleveland, has a lifetime slash line of.298/.361/.505 versus southpaws.
Manager Stephen Vogt stated, “He hit there a lot for us last year and was hitting [second] right before the injury.” “Lane plays a significant role in both our offense and team. It has suffered since we haven’t had that for the past month. It will be really beneficial for this lineup to continue growing just to have Lane back in it.
Thomas will also get some action in right field, where the Guardians have had trouble producing so far this season, according to Vogt. Together, their right fielders have only slashed.172,.244, and.271.
During his rehab assignment with Triple-A Columbus over the past week or so, Thomas has started three times in right, one in center, and three at DH. Since center ranks second (1,324 innings as of Thursday), and Thomas has played right field more than any other position in the Majors (2,461 1/3 innings), it’s hardly a new situation.
Regarding playing two positions, Thomas remarked, “I’ve done that my entire career.” To be honest, I find the corners to be more difficult to read. Since I hadn’t played there in a while, I believe that the first few games [with Columbus] were different. I learned it quite quickly.
Against the club he won postseason glory against last autumn, Thomas returned from the disabled list. The Guardians advanced to the ALCS last season thanks in part to his game-winning grand slam in the sixth inning of Game 5 of the ALDS. After being acquired by Cleveland from the Nationals on July 29, he also made his club debut at Comerica Park on July 30 of last year.
“Everyone said, ‘That’s where you met us last year,’ and I didn’t even realize that,” Thomas said. However, once it was brought up, there was undoubtedly [some deja vu]. I hope we can return to where we were when I visited the previous time.
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Brennan was 1-for-11 in six games after being called up by the Guardians from Triple-A Columbus on May 12. Brennan has been battling the forearm problem and other illnesses intermittently all season, according to Vogt. During the restart of Monday’s halted game, Vogt stated that Brennan “really felt” the forearm problem on throws from right field to home plate on Friday against the Reds and on Wednesday against the Twins.
Vogt remarked, “He wants to play, but he can’t play through this.” “We must deal with it. We’re going to examine and resolve everything.
