I keep forgetting that Lester pitched for the Nats. Getting Thomas is almost like asking the Cardinals to give away a prospect for free and the Cardinals saying "yes". That trade was like George Preston Marshall offering M.C. Reynolds to the Browns for Bobby Mitchell. GPM was under pressure to integrate his Redskins, so he proclaimed that Paul Brown was keeping the Redskins all-white by turning down the trade. Reynolds was the Redskins' third-string QB. Shirley Povich had a merry time ridiculing Marshall for asking the Browns to give him a big star for nobody.
The Lester-for-Thomas trade was almost as if Paul Brown had said "yes". Although Lane Thomas is not, and probably will never be, an all-star, that trade was a plain give-away.
For the others:
- Schwarber for Aldo Ramirez, who started two games for the Nats Florida league last year, then broke down. Hasn't pitched this season.
- Yan Gomes and Josh Harrison to Oakland for Richard Guasch, Drew Millas, and Seth Shuman. Guasch is a starter for Harrisburg, where he has a 6.63 ERA (2 - 7); Millas is hitting .210 for Wilmington and Harrisburg -- he is a maybe; Shuman has started and thrown 33 innings for Wilmington with a 2,41 ERA, so Shuman is not hopeless.
- Daniel Hudson for Mason Thompson and Jordy Barley. Thompson was a no-big-deal reliever last season, is out with an injury; Barley is hitting .160 for Wilmington.
Thanks for the update. Thomas was a good get. Surprisingly Lester was great for the Cards and helped them make the playoffs. So they got what they wanted also. Lester knew he couldn’t do it for a full season so retired.
