Nats deal Jon Lester to Cards for OF Lane Thomas originally appeared on NBC Sports Washington
The Washington Nationals were busy this trade deadline with marquee names such as Trea Turner, Max Scherzer and Kyle Schwarber all leaving the team.
However, the team wasn’t done making trades. At the last possible minute, the Nationals made another trade in offloading Jon Lester after half a season to the Cardinals, the team announced.
Lester has a 3-5 record with a 5.02 ERA, 51 strikeouts and a WHIP of 1.593 this season. The 37-year-old now returns to the NL Central, a division that he’s familiar with having spent six years with the Chicago Cubs.
As for the Nationals, they’ll be receiving outfielder Lane Thomas. The 23-year-old has a batting average of .104 on 48 big league at-bats this season with zero home runs and one RBI. Thomas hit .265 in 30 games with Triple-A Memphis this year.