When the Atlanta Braves acquired Lane Thomas at the trade deadline, the hope was that he could shore up the right side of the platoon in the outfield. Unfortunately for Braves, Thomas has not found success in limit play.
Thomas has struggled to find playing time, as the Braves have suddenly found themselves facing a slew of right-handers down the stretch. On Thursday, even with a righty on the mound, Walt Weiss decided to give Lane Thomas a start. Unfortunately for Thomas, however, an intercostal tweak removed him from the lineup, and now will remove him from the active roster, with the Braves placing the outfielder on the injured list.
Walt Weiss said Lane Thomas will be placed on the IL
— Mark Bowman (@mlbbowman) September 10, 2026
Lane Thomas to go on the injured list according to Walt Weiss
Thomas has struggled so far into his Braves tenure. In 21 games, the 31-year-old has slashed just .171/.261/.317 in 46 plate appearances. Against lefties, he's more or less held up to expectations, slashing .259/.333/.481 in 30 plate appearances, but has struggled mightily in his 16 plate appearances versus right-handed pitchers, as he's gone 0-14.
Since joining the Braves, Thomas has struggled to find playing time, as the club has only faced seven left-handed starters since he was acquired. Thoams has only started nine of his 21 games with the Braves so far. Still, with Thomas on the bench, the Braves still had a great weapon on the bench versus lefties, even if Thomas's overall statline was underwhelming.
With Thomas going on the IL, the Braves depth takes a big hit. DeShawn Keirsey Jr. is the only other outfielder on the Braves 40-man roster, and he hits left-handed. While Brewer Hicklen is a righty bat currently on the active roster, he's had pretty drastic reverse splits in Triple-A, and the Braves seem reluctant to use him versus lefties.
Atlanta could add José Azócar back to the active roster for a third time, or bring back shortstop Jim Jarvis to provide more depth off the bench, which would allow Mauricio Dubón to play more outfield and let Ha-Seong Kim get more starts at shortstop.
Patrick Clohisy would have been a wild card option as well, but unfortunately the Braves outfield prospect just went on the IL a few days ago. Even with Thomas's underwhelming statline to start his Braves tenure, the injury could cost the team down the stretch, as it takes a way a legitimate threat against lefties, and the Braves simply do not have the depth to replace him.
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