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A's Add LHP Connor Thomas From Atlanta Braves
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- A's Add LHP Connor Thomas From Atlanta Braves
(John Jones-Imagn Images)
The injuries have just stacked up on the Athletics this season, especially over the past month or so, knocking them out of the hunt for the postseason. Entering play on Thursday, just days before Monday's trade deadline, the club is 45-63 and 10 games back in both the AL West and the AL Wild Card.
At this point, they're just trying to field a team of Major League-caliber players. On the pitching side of things, they've been without Luis Severino for months, J.T. Ginn is on the IL with a blister issue (but nearing a return), Gunnar Hoglund and Mark Leiter Jr. are out for the year, Justin Sterner is dealing with knee troubles, and Brooks Kriske is on the 60-day IL.
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To help give them a big-league arm to call upon, the A's have claimed left-hander Connor Thomas off waivers from the Atlanta Braves . To make room on the 40-man roster, RHP Mark Leiter Jr. will be transferred to the 60-day IL.
Thomas, 28, made his ML debut last season with the Milwaukee Brewers and elected free agency in the offseason, where the Braves scooped him up. He's pitched a combined 11 ⅔ innings in the big leagues these past two seasons and holds a 20.83 ERA.
This season, he was handed the ball twice by Atlanta, and gave up four earned runs across 3 ⅔ innings in Pittsburgh on July 7, then 11 earned runs in 2 ⅔ innings in New York against the Mets on July 27. In that outing, he gave up 10 hits and walked five. He's also been home run prone, giving up four homers this season and three last year.
It's tough to see the exact fit immediately. The stuff on all of his pitches grades out below average (at least this season), topping out at a 91 stuff+ grade on his changeup. He's racked up average location grades on his fastball and cutter, but the rest of his offerings are again below league average — especially that changeup — with a 69 location+ grade.
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That's all the bad news.
The bright side here is that Thomas has pitched much better in the minor leagues, holding a 1.98 ERA in Triple-A Gwinnett across 27 ⅓ innings, striking out 20 and walking eight. He also holds a .185 batting average against and a 0.91 WHIP in that time.
The hope here is that Thomas can bring that kind of production to the A's bullpen. There has been no move to officially add him to the roster, so where he ends up beginning his A's tenure is not known just yet. It could be worth it to start him in Las Vegas just to get him used to the type of environment he'll be facing in Sacramento.
He missed most of the 2025 campaign with left elbow arthritis after being a Brewers Rule 5 pick from the St. Louis Cardinals .
