Guardians place Thomas (wrist) on IL, call up Will Wilson

CLEVELAND -- The Guardians placed outfielder Lane Thomas on the 10-day injured list on Tuesday with a bone bruise in his right wrist. In a corresponding move, Cleveland selected infielder Will Wilson from Triple-A Columbus.

Right-hander Trevor Stephan was transferred to the 60-day IL to make room on the 40-man roster for Wilson. Stephan is recovering from right UCL reconstruction surgery, which he underwent in March 2024.

Thomas initially suffered the right wrist injury in the Guardians’ April 8 home opener against the White Sox. He was hit by a pitch in the fifth inning of that game, and he briefly stayed in the game before exiting for a pinch-runner.

Thomas did not go on the IL then, but he missed Cleveland’s next five games and was considered day to day over that span before he returned on April 15 against the Orioles. He struck out in a pinch-hit appearance in the seventh inning of the Guardians’ 6-3 win.

Thomas played the following four games, drawing three starts, and went 2-for-14. That included a 2-for-5 game in Friday’s 10-7 win over the Pirates, when he aggravated the injury.

“I got that first jam-shot base hit in Pittsburgh when I played that first day, and it just kind of swelled up after that,” Thomas said. “... I kind of lost some range of motion. [The Guardians] talked to me and talked to some of the doctors, and just thought that was the best option, is just to try to get all that out of there and not kind of go through that same cycle again.”

Thomas said he underwent an X-ray on Monday “and everything bone-wise was good.” But he’s still dealing with inflammation and swelling in the wrist, hence the team’s move to put him on the IL.

“He had good days. He had some in-between days,” manager Stephen Vogt said. “Really, it was just the pain tolerance. It was in question every day, and we're like, ‘Lane, look, we wish we could keep you day to day, but let's take eight to 10 days, knock this thing out so that it's behind us for the rest of the year.’

“And really, out of fairness for him to be able to be himself and not wonder, ‘How's it going to feel today when I wake up?’”

Angel Martínez figures to get a chunk of the playing time in center field with Thomas sidelined. He has made eight appearances (seven starts) in center since Cleveland recalled him from Triple-A Columbus on April 9. Martínez is off to a hot start; he’s 12-for-33 in nine games, good for a .364/.353/.515 slash line.

The Guardians selected Wilson in the Minor League portion of the Rule 5 Draft on Dec. 11. The 26-year-old was selected 15th overall in the 2019 MLB Draft by the Angels, and he is in line to make his big league debut.

Wilson is a versatile player who can play third and second base and shortstop. He has made 278 appearances at short, 99 at second and at 67 at third since his first MInor League season in 2019.

Wilson has come out of the gates hot with Columbus. In 18 games, he has a .324/.418/.647 slash line with four doubles, six homers and 18 RBIs, plus 10 walks and 15 strikeouts. It’s a bit of a continuation of what he did during Cactus League play this spring. Wilson hit .306 (11-for-36) in 20 games.

“From Day 1 of spring, Will just impressed,” Vogt said. “He made a great impression. He earned starts in Spring Training and really played all three infield positions well and hit tremendously. And he's kept that rolling in Columbus. So really happy for Will, his family. This is a long-awaited day for all of them, I'm sure, and we're really pumped it’s with us.”