During his time in Washington, Thomas established himself as an everyday big and a clubhouse leader for the Nationals, who played at Arizona on Monday night. He arrived in 2021 early in the franchise’s rebuild. He leaves this summer with Washington in a very different place, with its young arms showing promise and some of its emerging prospects starting to emerge.

“Hopefully the guys I’ve played behind have trusted me to play right field there and have earned the trust of the coaches over time,” Thomas said. “I’m proud of that. I’ve been in the lineup the last two years straight and I’ve shown up every day.”

Manager Dave Martinez informed Thomas before Monday’s game that he was being traded. Players then gathered around Martinez’s office. Before Thomas left, he hugged the Nationals relievers as they warmed up on the field.

“I don’t necessarily have favorites,” Martinez said. “But he’s one of the guys I can count on every day to show up and do what he does.”

Shortly after the deal was announced, the Nationals rode a five-run first to an early lead, getting five strong innings out of Mitchell Parker. Alex Call, recalled Sunday to replace the traded Jesse Winker, replaced Thomas in right field and delivered the big blow of the inning, hitting a three-run homer off Jordan Montgomery. Every Nationals starter had a hit.

But in the ninth inning, Kyle Finnegan — who could be traded before Tuesday’s deadline — allowed five runs. Corbin Carroll pinch-hit and hit a game-winning, two-run homer.

“It’s out of your control,” Finnegan said. “We’re here to win the game today and that’s our focus. It’ll take care of itself. … I was focused on the game today and doing my job, and I couldn’t do it.”

Thomas said the trade came as a shock, even though he knew it was possible. He said he was excited to get into the American League pennant race and sees many similarities between the Guardians and Nationals. But Thomas was proud of what he and the team accomplished during his time in Washington.

Thomas grew from a Major League sideline player to an everyday outfielder and locker room leader as a young team matured with him as a mainstay.

“I’ve always said it would be fun to do this with a lot of these young guys,” Thomas said. “The talent that you see from James (Wood), CJ (Abrams), MacKenzie (Gore), all these guys that are so young and have so much time to improve, it’ll be fun to see. I’ll be rooting for them.”

In Clemmey, Ramirez and Tena, the Nationals received three of the top 30 prospects in Cleveland’s minor league system, according to Baseball America’s midseason rankings. Clemmey, a 2023 second-round pick, is the centerpiece of the deal, sporting a highly regarded fastball and curveball. The 19-year-old had 97 strikeouts and a 4.67 ERA in 69⅓ innings with the Guardians’ lowly Class A affiliate.

Tena, 23, is the closest to MLB-ready, with an .846 OPS in Class AAA this season at third base — a position from which Washington has struggled to get offensive production. He made his major-league debut in August.

Ramirez, 19, had an OPS of .879 in rookie ball last year, but that has dropped to .620 in the lower-A division this season.

Thomas hit .257 with 60 home runs during his time with Washington. His OPS-plus was 113, well above the MLB average of 100. He’s not the only National to leave before the deadline this summer. Before the All-Star break, Washington sent reliever Hunter Harvey to the Kansas City Royals. And on Saturday, the Nationals traded Winker to the New York Mets.

The trade deadline is 6 p.m. Tuesday, and Washington still has decisions to make, perhaps most notably on Finnegan, the team’s 32-year-old closer who has 28 saves. And then there’s reliever Dylan Floro, whose contract is expiring.

Thomas’ breakout season with Washington came in 2023, when he hit .268 with 28 home runs, 20 stolen bases and a .783 OPS. His first-half numbers made him eligible for an All-Star nomination, but he faded in the second half.

His 2024 campaign started slowly, and then a medial collateral ligament sprain set him back a month. His defensive numbers are down from a season ago. While Thomas’ numbers at the plate aren’t as gaudy as they were in 2023, he did have a streak of 25 games on base and entered Monday’s game tied for third in the majors in stolen bases (28). Now he’s headed to the Guardians, who are in first place in the AL Central.

“You’re going to miss the guys,” Thomas said. “We were together for so long. You just build a really good relationship with the coaches and the players. That’s the worst part of it, saying goodbye to the guys you played with for three years.”