Message #2229005

[welch]

From The Athletic:

Can Lane Thomas prove to the Nationals that he can stick as an everyday outfielder?

WASHINGTON, DC - SEPTEMBER 04: Lane Thomas #28 of the Washington Nationals rounds the bases after hitting a home run in the first inning against the New York Mets during game two of a doubleheader at Nationals Park on September 04, 2021 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Greg Fiume/Getty Images)
By Maria Torres 2h ago 2
ATLANTA — A baseball skipped in the grass and cut a low arc over the head of the sliding center-fielder attempting to trap it. Had it fallen back to Earth in a spot any farther back, the baseball might have caused trouble.

Fortunately for Nationals newcomer Lane Thomas, the ricochet occurred within reach. He got to his feet, scampered after the ball, gloved it and threw it to second baseman Luis García. Travis d’Arnaud, the Braves batter whose hit dropped a few feet in front of a sliding Thomas moments earlier, was on an RBI double but Thomas’ relay arrived in time for García, positioned in the outfield grass to the right of the bag, to redirect the baseball to home plate. Catcher Riley Adams caught it off two hops and tagged the feet of Braves lead runner Adam Duvall just before he reached the dish.

The play ended the third inning and prevented the Braves from widening their lead to four runs in a game the Nationals lost 8-5 on Tuesday night. Thomas received an assist and an appreciative glove tap from left fielder Yadiel Hernandez as they came off the field.

Thomas’ recovery partially made up for the runner who was able to score when Thomas misjudged the landing spot of the ball that was scorched by d’Arnaud. The sequence also served as an example of the Nationals’ conundrum.

Thomas is supplanting Victor Robles in center field because he was steadier at the plate in his tenure-opening 15-day stretch with the team than Robles was in the 159 games he played after the 2019 World Series. But Robles is the more skilled defender. He just wasn’t the one trying to rob d’Arnaud of a hit at Truist Park because he was playing roughly 830 miles away at a Triple-A stadium in northeastern Pennsylvania.

Robles was reassigned to the Nationals’ top minor-league team last week after two consecutive seasons of poor production on offense. His current assignment is to work on his swing; he is 5-for-26 since reporting to Rochester within a day of his demotion. Thomas’ present duty is to prove to the Nationals he can stick as an everyday outfielder, or something close to it.

For the better part of the last month, Thomas has done that. He credits his stretch at the plate — he has reached base in nine consecutive games and is 24-for-76 with 10 walks — to the simple fact that he has received consistent opportunities to play. He didn’t always get those. Injuries set him back early in his minor-league career. A broken wrist limited him to 44 major-league plate appearances in 2019 and a positive COVID-19 test kept him to 40 plate appearances in 2020.

“I had a spot to earn” with the Nationals, Thomas said. “It almost gives you a little motivation. It’s just trying to worry about where my feet are at and just keep going.”

Thomas wasn’t a no-name when the Nationals acquired him from the Cardinals in their trade of Jon Lester. He signed with the Blue Jays for $750,000 as a fifth-rounder in 2014. He had been ranked among the Cardinals’ top 10 prospects, according to Baseball America, since 2019. In the last few years, his plus defense and instincts in center field and home run power helped him stand out.

But his best tools failed him while he skidded to a 4-for-36 line with 13 strikeouts and four walks last season.

A scouting report compiled by Baseball America warned of concentration lapses in the field by Thomas. Asked if anyone had ever mentioned such an issue to him, Thomas shrugged off the idea. The COVID-19 symptoms hit him hard enough that he didn’t feel like himself during the 18 games he played for the Cardinals in 2020. He told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch last November that he experienced fatigue, coughing, breathing issues and dizzy spells “that lasted as long as 15 seconds.” He also detailed the effects of weight loss and his struggles combatting it.

“At this level, it’s hard to be successful having lapses like that,” Thomas told The Athletic on Tuesday afternoon.

Getting in reps is all he can do to continue to reverse the effects of COVID-19 on his career. That’s why he took grounders from the knees in shallow center field with outfielders coach Bob Henley during pregame practice Tuesday. Teammates Hernandez and Andrew Stevenson were with him. It wasn’t a special drill. It was only meant to acclimate the players to an environment unfamiliar to them.

Learning the field earlier in the day might have been the difference between a two-run double and the one-run double with which d’Arnaud was awarded. The work didn’t prevent Thomas from making a mistake.

“It’s a tough play,” manager Dave Martinez said on his postgame videoconference. “I think he should just play it on one hop and try to make a good throw home. I think he was just overly aggressive.”

Those are wrinkles the Nationals must smooth as they figure out what shape their outfield will take next year.