MLB trade deadline tracker: Live updates on all of the buyers and sellers as teams look to the postseason

Cleveland was one of several contenders that had been suspiciously quiet in the hours leading up to the trade deadline — Houston, Atlanta, Minnesota, still looking at you — but the Guardians get on the board with a solid pickup in Thomas. He brings a much-needed right-handed element to a Guardians lineup headlined by Steven Kwan, Josh Naylor and switch-hitter Jose Ramirez, and his exceptional track record of torching left-handed pitching should improve this lineup in a real way. He’ll be the every-day right fielder moving forward and is under team control for 2025, which certainly reflects the prospect cost to acquire him.

Nationals GM Mike Rizzo had been clear when discussing a possible deal for Thomas that he wouldn’t trade the 28-year-old outfielder for a package that suggested he was merely a platoon bat. He seems to have found a good match with Cleveland, which certainly projects to use Thomas in an every-day capacity and was willing to part with three promising players because of that.

I like this return a fair bit. Tena has gotten somewhat lost in the shuffle of Cleveland’s deep collection of multi-positional infielders but has performed well in Triple-A and has a much clearer path to playing time in Washington, likely at third base. He makes a ton of hard contact and now needs to work on elevating the ball a bit more consistently. At just 23, he’s a really nice hitter to build around. Ramirez is much more of a lottery ticket but is still an intriguing third piece. He’s striking out a ton in Low-A, but he only just turned 19 and is a capable infielder with promising raw ingredients on offense. We’ll see what the Nationals’ player development group can do with him.

Clemmey might be the real prize. A second-round pick out of a Rhode Island high school a year ago, he possesses some of the louder stuff of any left-handed pitcher in the minor leagues but needs to find a way to throw enough strikes to maximize his incredible physical ability. While his 32.6% strikeout rate in low-A ranks 19th among all minor-league arms with at least 60 innings pitched, his 15.6% walk rate ranks ninth-highest. That’s an obvious area for improvement, but then again, there are only so many left-handers on earth who throw 98 with the kind of curveball Clemmey has when he’s cooking. For a guy who turned 19 earlier this month, that’s a lot to dream on.