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Phillies beat trade deadline buzzer with trade for Athletics' 25-year-old outfielder
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- Phillies beat trade deadline buzzer with trade for Athletics' 25-year-old outfielder
Phillies beat trade deadline buzzer with trade for Athletics' 25-year-old outfielder originally appeared on The Sporting News . Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here .
The Philadelphia Phillies came into MLB trade deadline day without having made a single move yet. But they began the day with two significant trades, one for Luis Arraez and Caleb Kilian , and another for Brooks Raley .
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But, they could've used another starting pitcher, another reliever, and most importantly, a right-handed hitting outfielder. Well, it took until the buzzer, but the Phillies did make a trade for an outfielder.
According to Jayson Stark of The Athletic , the Phillies agreed to a trade with the Athletics , sending reliever Seth Johnson to the A's in exchange for 25-year-old outfielder Colby Thomas .
Phillies trade for Colby Thomas from A's at trade deadline buzzer
"The Phillies made a minor-league trade at the buzzer," Stark reports. "RHP Seth Johnson to the A's for outfielder Colby Thomas. But ran out of time shopping for one more starter or reliever."
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Seth Johnson likely wasn't going to be in the Phillies' plans this season with their bullpen additions, so trading him shouldn't be a huge loss, if one at all. So, who is Colby Thomas?
The 25-year-old outfielder is a right-handed hitter, like many Phillies fans were hoping to see their team add. There's just one issue: Thomas hasn't been good in the Majors.
In 49 games his rookie season last year, Thomas hit six home runs in 120 at-bats with a .225 batting average and a .684 OPS. This year, he's only gotten worse.
MORE: Braves get unexpectedly weak grade from ESPN for Lane Thomas trade with Royals
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In 55 games this season, Thomas has four home runs in 114 at-bats with a .202 batting average and a .569 OPS.
Last year, he had -0.1 bWAR, and so far this season, Thomas has -0.8 bWAR. It's not been a good start to Thomas' MLB career, though he has been a fantastic hitter in the minor leagues.
This season at Triple-A, he has a .971 OPS in 68 at-bats with five home runs, and for his minor league career, he has 72 home runs in 1,421 at-bats with a .885 OPS across all levels.
Thomas is surely not the kind of right-handed hitting outfield addition that Phillies fans were hoping to see Dave Dombrowski make this summer.
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But there is some potential here with Thomas, as he's under club control through 2031. It might take time, but there is a chance that Thomas winds up contributing to the Phillies down the road.
