Charles

Thomas

Thomas did pinch-hit in the game. He’ll probably get the start in left field tonight.

With nobody on base, Thomas’ OPS is a wimpy 517. If there are ducks on the pond, however, Thomas has a super-human 1.102 OPS. That’s quite an amazing split. It’d be nice if Bobby Cox would use Thomas behind J.D. Drew and his .427 on-base percentage.

Dewayne Wise started in his place.

Thomas is limited by flu-like symptoms.

A 17-mph wind blowing out to center helped Thomas achieve his first multihomer game. He had missed two starts with flu-like symptoms.

We don’t yet know whether Billy Beane sees Thomas as a potential regular over Nick Swisher. Swisher looks like the superior choice to us. Thomas might be a better option than Eric Byrnes in left field against right-handers, but he’s not going to play over Byrnes at the start of the year. His acquisition definitely increases the chances of Bobby Kielty being non-tendered. Thomas, who turns 26 later this month, hit .288/.368/.445 in 83 games for the Braves last season, but he fell to .265/.367/.368 in Aug. and .211/.325/.296 in Sept. He’s a very good defender, but we just don’t see him as a regular.

It’s not clear if the deal includes a spring training invite. Thomas, 34, has been out of baseball for the past five seasons and last played for the Brewers’ Triple-A affiliate in 2007. He figures to serve in an organizational depth role with the Royals.

The only surprise here is that it took them so long. Thomas was 5-for-46 this season and had received only 18 at-bats since the start of May. Regular playing time at Sacramento might get him hitting again, and once that happens, he’d have value to the A’s as a reserve outfielder.

Thomas looked completely lost at the plate with the A’s, but he is not nearly that bad a player. Expect him to rejoin the team in the second half, because the A’s aren’t going to give up on him yet.