CLEVELAND (AP) — Guardians center fielder Lane Thomas was placed on the 10-day injured list Tuesday with a bruised right wrist sustained when he got hit by a pitch two weeks ago.
Cleveland made the move — retroactive to April 20 — before facing the New York Yankees in the second game of a three-game series.
To replace Thomas, the club selected the contract of infielder Will Wilson from Triple-A Columbus.
Thomas, who was a postseason star for Cleveland in 2024, was struck on April 8 in the home opener against the Chicago White Sox. The 29-year-old has played in five games since, most recently on Sunday at Pittsburgh.
Thomas said his wrist initially responded to treatment, but it began troubling him after he played over the weekend.
“I got that first jam shot base hit when I played that first day and it just kind of swelled up after that,” said Thomas. “I kind of lost some range of motion, so they just thought the best option was to try and get all that out of there and not go through that same cycle again.”
Manager Stephen Vogt hopes putting Thomas on the IL will give him time to let the injury heal correctly.
“Let's take eight to 10 days, knock this thing out so that it’s behind us for the rest of the year,” he said. “Out of fairness for him to be able to be himself and not wonder how’s it going to feel today when I wake up. We decided that with Lane, that this was the best course of action.”
Thomas has twice broken the same wrist after being hit by pitches. He went 2 for 15 with five strikeouts in five games after getting hit.
The Guardians acquired Thomas in a July trade with the Washington Nationals. He struggled for much of the regular season before having his biggest moments with Cleveland in October.
Thomas hit two homers in the AL Division Series against Detroit, connecting for a grand slam in Game 5 off Cy Young winner Tarik Skubal to help the Guardians advance.
Wilson was batting .324 for the Columbus Clippers with six homers and 18 RBIs in 18 games. He homered in three of his past four games.
This is the 26-year-old's first promotion to the majors. He's a former first-round pick of the Los Angeles Angels, who traded him to San Francisco in 2019. Cleveland acquired Wilson in the minor league portion of the Rule 5 Draft this past offseason.
The Guardians also transferred right-hander Trevor Stephan to the 60-day injured list. He's recovering from Tommy John surgery.
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AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb
Tom Withers, The Associated Press
