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- A’s traded outfielder Colby Thomas to the Phillies ahead of the 3 p.m. Pacific deadline.
- The club acquired right-handed reliever Seth Johnson from the Phillies for Thomas.
- GM David Forst said he didn’t feel compelled to trade just because of the deadline.
While the Athletics, sitting at 45-67 and 11½ games out of a playoff spot after a historically bad month of July, may have been in a position to sell at Monday’s trade deadline, they made just one minor deal amid a crazy day of blockbusters.
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At the buzzer of the 3 p.m. Pacific deadline, the A’s dealt outfielder Colby Thomas, who was sent down to Triple-A last week, to the Philadelphia Phillies in exchange for right-handed reliever Seth Johnson, a former first-round pick, the club confirmed on social media.
Though other A’s players like outfielder Carlos Cortes, catcher Jonah Heim and reliever Elvis Alvarado had been mentioned as potential trade candidates ahead of the deadline, the A’s stayed quiet outside of the Thomas trade.
Why did the A’s trade Thomas?
Thomas, 25, had been struggling at the plate in 55 games with more than 100 at-bats this season.
The outfielder was hitting just over .200 with a .569 OPS and seven extra-base hits, a decline from his average .684 OPS rookie season the year before. He notably won an Electric Play of the Week award for a home run robbery in late June after making a viral outfield assist in his MLB debut last season.
Thomas, who earned the nickname “Crank” from his teammates, was caught in a logjam in the A’s outfield, which limited his playing time. A’s manager Mark Kotsay said Friday, when Thomas was sent down to Triple-A, that the move would allow him to get more at-bats before potentially returning during September call-ups.
“Colby’s a young player,” Kotsay said Friday. “He’s still got a ton ahead of him.”
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Johnson, 27, was the No. 40 overall pick by the Tampa Bay Rays in 2019 but hasn’t found much success at the major league level since making his MLB debut for the Phillies three years ago.
This season, Johnson has bounced between the Phillies and Triple-A Lehigh Valley. Overall, he has a 5.51 ERA with 20 strikeouts in 16⅓ innings across 16 appearances, though he has allowed just one run over his most recent five-game stint in the majors.
Why didn’t the A’s do more?
Coming into the season, the A’s were looking to make a run at the playoffs after locking up members of their young core, including Tyler Soderstrom and Jacob Wilson to long-term contracts ahead of a planned move to Las Vegas in 2028.
However, the season has gone awry because of a lack of pitching and numerous injuries that have likely ended the seasons of All-Star designated hitter Brent Rooker and 2026 starting All-Star Game catcher Shea Langeliers. Injuries have also sidelined or hampered Wilson, All-Star first baseman Nick Kurtz, infielder Zack Gelof, Soderstrom, and starters J.T. Ginn and Luis Severino.
While the season has not gone the way the A’s had hoped, general manager David Forst said last week that he didn’t “feel compelled” to make a trade simply because of the looming deadline, saying he still believed in the club’s core and future.
“We have built this team for the long haul,” Forst said on A’s Cast. “I’m not looking to break this team up just because we’re not in a playoff race right now.”
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