The Houston Astros made a roster move ahead of Saturday's game, claiming outfielder Rhylan Thomas off waivers from the Seattle Mariners.
Thomas will be optioned to Triple-A Sugar Land. Right-handed pitcher Hunter Brown, who has been out since April 5 with a grade two shoulder strain, was moved to the 60-day IL to open the roster spot.
Thomas, 26, is a left-handed hitting left fielder out of Ventura, California who played college ball at USC.
Originally drafted by the New York Mets in the 11th round of the 2022 MLB Draft, he was traded to Seattle in July 2024.
He made his MLB debut last season, appearing in three games for the Mariners. At Triple-A Tacoma in 2025 he led all minor league players with 178 hits.
He showed up to 2026 spring training swinging a hot bat as well, hitting .423 with two home runs and a 1.233 OPS. In 31 Triple-A games this season he's hitting .260 with 34 hits, two home runs, nine RBIs, 15 runs and six stolen bases.
For the Astros Thomas is a low-risk pickup who brings a solid contact bat and some speed to a team that needs all the help it can get sitting at 16-25 through 41 games, per MLB.
The Astros are off to a rough start in 2026. Houston dominated Friday with a 10-0 win over the Reds but dropped Saturday's game 3-1 and were shut out Sunday 5-0 giving Cincinnati the series.
Houston now heads home to host the Mariners on Monday night.