Colby

Thomas

Thomas gets a chance to face Angels lefty Reid Detmers in his first start since May 13. The 25-year-old rookie has performed well in limited opportunities this season, hitting .345 (10-for-29) with one homer and three RBI in 10 games since being called up back on April 22. The harsh reality is that simply isn’t a regular role for Thomas with Carlos Cortes, Brent Rooker, Tyler Soderstrom, Henry Bolte and Lawrence Butler all needing at-bats.

He hasn’t played since being removed from Tuesday’s game in what Mark Kotsay said was “precautionary.” Colby Thomas is batting cleanup against LHP Noah Cameron. Brent Rooker (0-for-13 since returning from an oblique injury) is also sitting today, giving Shea Langeliers a DH day while Austin Wynns draws a start.

It appears to be a matchup-specific wrinkle with Langeliers moving up to the leadoff spot to face Rangers southpaw MacKenzie Gore. Nick Kurtz moves into the second spot in the order with Colby Thomas hitting third and Tyler Soderstrom in the cleanup spot. Lefty Carlos Cortes retreats to the bench following Friday’s two-homer effort.

With Denzel Clarke (foot) landing on the IL, it will be Thomas who takes his place on the active roster. Thomas is hitting .309/.397/.574 in 78 plate appearances at Triple-A with five home runs and 19 RBI. The Athletics have only wanted to play him against left-handed pitching previously, but maybe he gets a shot at a bigger role this time.

Thomas, 25, hit .239/.250/.435 in his 20 games of Cactus League action, and he’ll head to Triple-A to get regular playing time. There’s a pretty good chance Thomas will be up whenever the A’s need outfield help.

Butler has hit .228/.261/.397 with a 33% strikeout rate against lefties in his career, so it’s really easy to see how the A’s should manage his playing time, even if they’re not going to call him a platoon player right now. Butler says he feels back to normal after being limited throughout 2025, and he’s slated to make his first appearance in right field on Friday. Colby Thomas could start over him against lefties once the season starts.

The A’s gave Zack Gelof a start in the outfield today, so he might be a potential alternative to Thomas as a platoonmate for Lawrence Butler. Thomas, though, projects to be the better player of those two right now. He didn’t excel in hitting .225/.267/.417 in 132 plate appearances as a rookie last year, but the pop is legit and he’s a quality defender. We also don’t know for sure that Butler will be platooned, but given that he’s being slowplayed this spring while coming off knee surgery, it’d make sense to go that route initially.

Thomas came into this one 0-for-12 in his last five appearances and 4-for-36 with one extra-base hit in his last 14. So, he needed this. Thomas has shown nice pop as a major leaguer, with his hard-hit rate checking in at 49 percent. Still, the 33 percent strikeout rate and .270 OBP are problems. The A’s probably shouldn’t reserve him a spot in their 2026 outfield, even if he might be helpful later.

With left-hander Payton Tolle on the bump, Soderstrom will get a rare day off for the finale against Boston. The 23-year-old will be joined on the bench by Lawrence Butler, so JJ Bleday and Colby Thomas will take their place in the outfield to begin Wednesday’s bout.

Bleday hit 381- and 428-foot homers off Sonny Gray. He’s been starting about half of the time against right-handers lately, though he’s getting to take advantage of Nick Kurtz’s absence right now. He’s batting .270/.343/.524 in 20 games since his recall last month, so the A’s could give him more time at Colby Thomas’s expense when Kurtz returns.