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Athletics' Colby Thomas: Misses out on Opening Day roster
Rotowire
The Athletics optioned Thomas to Triple-A Las Vegas on Sunday.
With Lawrence Butler (knees) making his Cactus League debut this past week to clear up any concern about his readiness for Opening Day, the Athletics didn't have regular playing time in the outfield available for Thomas to begin the season. Rather than keeping Thomas around as a platoon bat, the Athletics will let the 25-year-old continue his development at Las Vegas, where he'll be able to play on an everyday basis. Thomas should rank near the top of the list for a call-up if the Athletics have an opening in the outfield or at designated hitter at any point.
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Athletics' Colby Thomas: Drives second spring homer
Rotowire
Thomas started in right field and went 2-for-4 with a solo home run and an additional run scored in Sunday's Cactus League loss to the Guardians.
Thomas opened the scoring, blasting a solo homer off Tanner Bibee that left the bat at 110.2 mph. Through 15 Cactus League appearances, he's hitting .250/.270/.472 with two doubles, two homers and eight RBI. Coming off a rookie campaign in which he slashed .225/.267/.417 with five doubles, six homers and 19 RBI in 49 games, Thomas is battling for a spot on the Athletics' bench as a reserve outfielder alongside Carlos Cortes.
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Athletics' Colby Thomas: Ready to play outfield
Rotowire
Thomas (elbow) is starting in left field and batting fifth in Thursday's Cactus League game against the Rangers.
The 25-year-old has been dealing with elbow inflammation, so he's been limited to serving as a designated hitter in spring games the past couple weeks. Thomas is now fully healthy and cleared to play the outfield. He's yet to get on track at the plate this spring and has a .431 OPS through 11 Cactus League games.
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Athletics' Colby Thomas: Managing elbow issue
Rotowire
Thomas is dealing with inflammation in his right elbow and will start up a throwing program Monday, Martin Gallegos of MLB.com reports.
Thomas is still expected to see some Cactus League action as a designated hitter, but he'll need to build up his arm strength before being cleared to play the outfield. The 25-year-old is competing for a bench spot on the Opening Day roster after posting a .684 OPS in 49 games as a rookie last year.
Thomas went 2-for-5 with a three-run home run, a walk and four total runs scored in Saturday's 17-4 win over the Angels.
Thomas' homer stretched the Athletics' lead to 7-0 in just the second inning. The reserve outfielder has struggled to see steady playing time, though he hasn't helped his cause much by going just 3-for-22 over his previous nine games before Saturday's big performance. On the year, he has a .235/.287/.459 slash line with five homers, 17 RBI, 15 runs scored and two stolen bases over 95 plate appearances. Thomas will likely continue to see most of his playing time versus left-handed pitchers.
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Athletics' Colby Thomas: Swats fourth homer
Rotowire
Thomas went 1-for-3 with a solo home run in Monday's 8-3 win over the Tigers.
Thomas went deep off Tarik Skubal in the seventh inning, sparking a rally for the Athletics that also saw Shea Langeliers hit a grand slam. Thomas is up to four homers this season, three of which have come over his last seven games. The rookie outfielder is at a .262/.299/.525 slash line with 13 RBI, 11 runs scored, two stolen bases and four doubles across 67 plate appearances, seeing time as a short-side platoon option.
Athletics' Colby Thomas: Sitting out third straight game
Rotowire
Thomas is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Twins.
Despite recording at least one hit in his last five games while going 8-for-18 overall with two home runs and a stolen base, Thomas hasn't been able to break through in an everyday role in the Athletics outfield. He'll be on the bench Wednesday for the Athletics' third straight matchup versus a right-handed starting pitcher (Bailey Ober) and looks to be stuck in the short side of a platoon in right field with the left-handed-hitting JJ Bleday.
Thomas is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Angels.
Thomas will hit the bench after he started in each of the Athletics' last four games while going 7-for-14 with two home runs, one double, one stolen base, seven RBI and five runs. JJ Bleday will enter the lineup in place of Thomas on Sunday, but the latter player should be able to hold down a near-everyday role in the Athletics outfield until Denzel Clarke (hip) is ready to return from the injured list.
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Athletics' Colby Thomas: Blasts homer in win
Rotowire
Thomas went 1-for-4 with a two-run home run in Saturday's 7-2 win over the Angels.
Thomas is starting to look comfortable in the majors, having hit safely in each of his last five games. He's also gone deep in two straight contests against the Angels. Overall, he's posted a .255/.298/.490 slash line with three homers, 12 RBI, eight runs scored and two stolen bases across 57 plate appearances in his first taste of the majors.
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Athletics' Colby Thomas: Homers in three-hit effort
Rotowire
Thomas went 3-for-3 with a three-run home run and an additional run scored in Friday's 10-3 win over the Angels.
Thomas gave the Athletics a 4-1 lead in the third inning with his second homer of the season. Both of those long balls have come over his last six games, a span in which he's supplied nine RBI. Thomas is starting to claim a larger role for the Athletics, but it's unclear if he'll be able to hold a starting role against right-handed pitchers. He's batting .255 with a .749 OPS across 53 plate appearances after Friday's strong effort.
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Athletics' Colby Thomas: Swipes bag, plates two
Rotowire
Thomas went 2-for-3 with a double, two RBI, a stolen base and one run scored in Tuesday's 6-0 win over the Rays.
Thomas remains in a part-time role, but he's supplied six RBI over his last four games. The outfielder plated the Athletics' first two runs Tuesday with an RBI double in the second inning and a sacrifice fly in the fourth. He's up to a .200/.261/.350 slash line with one home run, two steals, seven RBI, four runs scored and three doubles through 46 plate appearances. He continues to see most of his playing time versus southpaws, though he isn't being strictly platooned.
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Athletics' Colby Thomas: Tallies first big-league homer
Rotowire
Thomas went 1-for-1 with a two-run home run and an additional RBI in Thursday's 6-0 win over the Nationals.
Thomas opened the scoring in the second inning with his first major-league homer, a 406-foot shot off Mitchell Parker that put the A's ahead 2-0. The 24-year-old Thomas had been struggling early in his big-league career, going just 4-for-31 (.129) in 15 games prior to Thursday. However, he did demonstrate some power in the minors, logging 18 homers in 82 games with Triple-A Las Vegas this year. Thomas figures to see regular at-bats against left-handed pitching while Denzel Clarke (hip) remains on the IL.
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