Nationals acquire three prospects in exchange for Lane Thomas

The Washington Nationals acquired left-handed pitcher Alex Clemmey, infielder José Tena and infielder Rafael Ramirez Jr. from the Cleveland Guardians in exchange for outfielder Lane Thomas on Monday. Nationals President of Baseball Operations and General Manager Mike Rizzo made the announcement.

Clemmey, is Cleveland’s No. 7 prospect according to Baseball America and its No. 8 prospect according to MLBPipeline.com In his first professional season, Clemmey has struck out 97 batters with a .214 opponents’ batting average in 69.1 innings pitched for Single-A Lynchburg. His 97 strikeouts rank third in the Carolina League and fifth among Guardians farmhands. On the season, he is 1-4 with a 4.67 ERA in 19 starts. Baseball America also cites Clemmey as having the “Best Curveball” among Cleveland Minor Leaguers.

The 6-foot-6, 205-pound Clemmey has pitched to a 2.28 ERA (11 ER/43.1 IP) with 63 strikeouts, a 1.18 WHIP, a .185 opponents’ average and just two home runs allowed in his last 11 starts since May 24. During this stretch, he tossed 4.2 shutout innings with eight strikeouts and three hits on June 12 vs. Augusta (ATL) and on July 5 vs. Salem (BOS), he struck out seven batters in 4.0 no-hit innings. He kicked off the strong run with 5.0 innings of one-hit, shutout ball on May 24 at Fredericksburg (WSH).

The 19-year-old was Cleveland’s second-round pick (No. 58 overall) in the 2023 First-Year Player Draft out of Bishop Hendricken (RI) High School. He was named Rhode Island's 2023 Gatorade Player of the Year after finishing his senior year with a 9-1 record and 0.42 ERA (2 ER/43.0 IP) with 105 strikeouts in 10 starts. Clemmey was ranked by Baseball America as the No. 49 prospect in the 2023 First-Year Player Draft and the No. 3 high school left-handed pitcher in the draft, according to Perfect Game.

Tena, 23, leads Cleveland’s Minor League system with 110 hits and ranks in home runs (2^nd, 17), RBI (3^rd, 63), extra-base hits (4^th, 36), batting average (4^th, .298), slugging percentage (6^th, .493) and OPS (6^th, .846). He’s clubbed 17 doubles and recorded 14 stolen bases in 90 games for Triple-A Columbus this season. Tena is a career .286/.339/.443 hitter with 109 doubles, 22 triples, 57 home runs, 152 walks, 64 stolen bases and 304 runs scored in 520 games across five Minor League seasons.

Tena (tey-NAH) made his Major League debut on Aug. 5, 2023 and has appeared in 21 games for the Guardians across two seasons (2023-24). He is 7-for-35 (.200) with two doubles, three RBI, three walks and two runs scored along the way. Tena has appeared in three Major League games this season and will join Washington’s 40-man roster. The left-handed hitting Tena is Cleveland’s No. 28 prospect, according to Baseball America.

A versatile infielder, Tena earned a Rawlings Minor League Gold Glove in 2021. He’s appeared at shortstop (364 G), second base (93 G) and third base (34) and designated hitter (30) during his Minor League career. He signed with Cleveland as a non-drafted free agent on July 2, 2017.

Ramirez Jr., 19, is the Guardians No. 20 prospect per Baseball America and their No. 23 prospect per MLBPipeline.com. He is taking part in his first full season in 2024 after ranking second in the Arizona Complex League in walks (50) and seventh in on-base percentage (.453) in 2023.

Signed as a non-drafted free agent on Jan. 15, 2022, 15 of Ramirez Jr.’s 34 hits this season have gone for extra-bases. He has 10 doubles, a triple, four homers to go along with 30 walks, seven stolen bases and 23 runs scored. He’s hitting .187 with a .301 on-base percentage and a .319 slugging percentage in 54 games.

Thomas, 28, hit .251 with 95 doubles, 11 triples, 65 home runs, 220 RBI, 63 stolen bases 154 walks and 238 runs scored in four seasons (2021-2024) with the Nationals.