Thames announced his retirement from professional baseball on Wednesday.
Thames did so in his personal Instagram page, writing: "The day has finally come. In the year of our lord, twenty, twenty-three...HE GONE! I've been so blessed over these last 14 years to call baseball my job." The now-36-year-old slugger played for the Blue Jays, Mariners, Brewers and Nationals over parts of six major-league seasons and posted a career .792 OPS with 96 home runs in 605 games. He'll also go down as a power-hitting legend in Korea and Japan.
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Eric Thames: Let go by Athletics
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Thames was released by Oakland on Tuesday, Melissa Lockard of The Athletic reports.
Thames joined the Athletics as a non-roster invitee but failed to win a roster spot. He produced a merely average 100 wRC+ in 22 games for Triple-A Las Vegas while striking out 38.0 percent of the time, which probably won't generate much interest on the open market.
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Athletics' Eric Thames: Won't win roster spot
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Thames was reassigned to Triple-A Las Vegas on Monday, Matt Kawahara of the San Francisco Chronicle reports.
Thames' minor-league deal with the Athletics seemingly put him in the best possible position to win a roster spot given the team's lack of alternatives at the position, but his .227/.346/.409 line in 11 spring games evidently wasn't good enough to earn him a job. Chad Pinder and Seth Brown could be the top options at first base heading into the start of the regular season, though the job could also go to non-roster invitee Billy McKinney.
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Athletics' Eric Thames: Positive day at plate in loss
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Thames went 2-for-3 with a double and a run in a Cactus League loss to the Dodgers on Tuesday.
The veteran slugger pushed his spring average to .250 (4-for-16) with Tuesday's production. Thames has only struck out in four of his 19 plate appearances and has drawn three walks along the way thus far, an encouraging sign for a player who recorded at least a 30.0 percent strikeout rate in each of his last three seasons. Thames remains in a battle with Billy McKinney and Dalton Kelly for the first base job.
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Athletics' Eric Thames: Chances of roster spot boosted?
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Thames, who is in camp on a minor-league deal, seemingly has a better chance at securing a roster spot with the big-league club in the wake of Monday's trade of Matt Olson to Atlanta.
Thames last played in the majors back in 2020 for the Nationals, posting a .203/.300/.317 slash line with three home runs and 12 RB across 41 games that season. However, the veteran slugged 25 homers the season prior in Milwaukee, a campaign in which he also generated a solid .877 OPS versus right-handed pitching. If Thames can demonstrate he still has sufficient pop in his bat this spring, his 269 games of big-league experience at first base could certainly help him lock in a possible platoon role to open the season, potentially alongside the ultra-versatile Chad Pinder.
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Athletics' Eric Thames: Hopes to return to majors
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Thames, who is in camp with the A's on a minor-league deal, hopes to return to the majors and wants to "play in front of my family," according to Matt Kawahara of The San Francisco Chronicle.
Thames, the 33-year-old lefty slugger from San Jose, CA, has set a goal to return to the majors. He last played in the majors back in 2020 with the Nationals, where he hit three home runs with a .203 batting average in 140 plate appearances. If he makes the major-league roster, Thames will serve in a platoon role given the .824 OPS against righties and .650 OPS against lefties in his career.
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Athletics' Eric Thames: Signs with Oakland
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Thames signed a minor-league contract with the Athletics on Friday, Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reports.
Thames signed with the Yomiuri Giants of Nippon Professional Baseball in Japan in December of 2020 but didn't see much action before tearing his Achilles. However, he'll attempt to secure a roster spot with Oakland ahead of the 2022 campaign.
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Eric Thames: Heading to Japan
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Thames signed a contract with the Yomiuri Giants of Nippon Professional Baseball in Japan on Tuesday, Yahoo! Japan reports.
The 34-year-old struggled with the Nationals in 2020 with a .617 OPS in 41 games, and the team declined the mutual option after the season. Thames returned to MLB in 2017 after revitalizing his career in Korea, and he'll now be returning overseas for 2021.
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Nationals' Eric Thames: Nationals decline option
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Thames' club portion of his mutual contract option was declined by the Nationals on Wednesday, Jesse Dougherty of The Washington Post reports.
Thames could still elect to remain with the club on a $4 million deal for a second season, but he'll be owed $1 million if he declines his player option. The 33-year-old slashed .203/.300/.317 with three home runs and 12 RBI while appearing in 41 games during the shortened 2020 season.
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Nationals' Eric Thames: Not starting Game 1
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Thames isn't in the lineup for Game 1 of Saturday's doubleheader against the Mets.
Thames' playing time has decreased significantly in recent games, and he'll take a seat once again for Saturday's matinee. Yadiel Hernandez will take over as the designated hitter.
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Nationals' Eric Thames: Playing time drying up
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Thames is not in Thursday's lineup against the Mets.
Thames has started just one game since Sept. 20. Kurt Suzuki will start at designated hitter while batting third.
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Nationals' Eric Thames: Not starting Wednesday
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Thames isn't in Wednesday's lineup against the Phillies.
Thames will retreat to the bench Wednesday for the fourth time in the last five games, even with right-hander Zach Eflin starting for Philadelphia. Asdrubal Cabrera will take over at first base.
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Nationals' Eric Thames: On bench against righty
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Thames will sit Monday against the Phillies.
Thames sits despite a righty (Zack Wheeler) taking the hill for the Phillies. It's just the third time all season the veteran has found himself on the bench against a right-hander. With Thames, who's 33 years old and will be a free agent next season, hitting just .208/.296/.325 on the year, it wouldn't be a surprise to see the struggling defending champions plan for next season and give more at-bats to younger options in the final week of the year. That's not actually what they're doing Monday, though, as 34-year-old Asdrubal Cabrera starts at first base while 32-year-old Brock Holt serves as the designated hitter.
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Nationals' Eric Thames: Not starting Game 2
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Thames is out of the lineup for Game 2 of Sunday's doubleheader against the Marlins.
Thames went 0-for-3 with two strikeouts and committed a crucial error during Game 1, and he'll stick on the bench for the nightcap with lefty Braxton Garrett on the mound for Miami. Jake Noll receives the start at first base in Game 2 for Washington.
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Nationals' Eric Thames: Gets breather during nightcap
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Thames isn't starting Game 2 of Friday's doubleheader against the Marlins.
Thames reached base twice during the first game of Friday's doubleheader, and he'll take a seat for Game 2. Jake Noll will start at first base in his absence.
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Nationals' Eric Thames: Out of Wednesday's lineup
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Thames is not in Wednesday's lineup against the Rays.
The expectation is that lefty Josh Fleming will be the Rays' primary pitcher in this one. Even so, Thames is hitting .212 with a .257 OBP and a 37.1 percent strikeout rate this month, continuing what has been a pretty disappointing season for the perceived slugger. Nobody expected Thames to hit for a high average, but his .296 OBP and .339 SLG on the season are well below expectations.
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Nationals' Eric Thames: On bench against lefty
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Thames sits Tuesday against lefty Ryan Yarbrough and the Rays.
Thames has yet to start against a single southpaw this season. Given that he's hitting just .212/.291/.323 on the year, it's easier to see him losing at-bats against righties than it is to see him gaining playing time against lefties. Asdrubal Cabrera will be the first baseman Tuesday.
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Nationals' Eric Thames: Sits against southpaw
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Thames will not start Saturday against Atlanta.
It's no surprise to see Thames on the bench with a lefty (Max Fried) on the mound for the opposition. Whether or not Thames loses playing time against righties as well down the stretch remains to be seen. Carter Kieboom was recalled Saturday and will start at third base, pushing Asdrubal Cabrera to first.
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Nationals' Eric Thames: Comes up big in nightcap Friday
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Thames went 2-for-4 with a double, two runs scored and two RBI in the second game of Friday's doubleheader against Atlanta.
After sitting during the matinee, Thames hit fifth in the nightcap and helped the Nats to a 10-9 win. The 33-year-old should continue to hold down the strong side of a platoon at first base with Asdrubal Cabrera despite a poor .209/.294/.330 slash line on the season.
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Nationals' Eric Thames: On bench for afternoon game
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Thames will sit for the first game of Friday's doubleheader against Atlanta.
Thames hits the bench with the left-handed Tommy Milone set to start for Atlanta. He'll likely return for the nightcap against righty Josh Tomlin.
