Veteran first baseman and outfielder Eric Thames took to Instagram yesterday to announce his retirement. “The day has finally come,” he says in the post.
Thames returns to affiliated ball, hoping to earn his way back into the majors.
Thames is no stranger to playing overseas, having starred for the NC Dinos of the Korea Baseball Organization from 2014-16 before returning to MLB with the Brewers in 2017.
Rizzo is no stranger to memorable trade-deadline swaps, perhaps most notably the acquisition of Daniel Hudson at the 2019 deadline.
Thames said summer camp has been “terrible,” citing the various social distancing rules implemented by the league to reduce the likelihood of the virus being transmitted.
MLB players obviously have a few months of rust to knock off as summer camps get underway, and Washington Nationals infielder Eric Thames credits a pastime associated with backyard barbecues and such for keeping him sharp during the league’s layoff.
It’s important also to understand that this list is far from exhaustive, in that many first basemen set for free agency in 2020-21 will ultimately ink one-year deals that put them back on track to return to the open market post-2021.
It’s a somewhat surprising decision, as the 32-year-old Thames turned in a .247/.346/.505 batting line with 25 homers, 23 doubles and two triples in just 459 plate appearances.
Welcome to this week's edition of Three Up, Three Down — your weekly catch-up of the three best highlights (and lowlights) from around the league. We're here for all of the cheers and the jeers, because it's baseball.
Welcome to this week's edition of Three Up, Three Down — your weekly catch-up of the three best highlights (and lowlights) from around the league. We're here for all of the cheers and the jeers, because it's baseball.
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