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Cody Thomas

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Cody Thomas
Thomas with the Orix Buffaloes in 2024
Orix Buffaloes – No. 45
Outfielder
Born: (1994-10-08) October 8, 1994 (age 30)
Colleyville, Texas, U.S.
Bats: Left
Throws: Right
Professional debut
MLB: September 1, 2022, for the Oakland Athletics
NPB: July 14, 2024, for the Orix Buffaloes
MLB statistics
(through 2023 season)
Batting average.250
Home runs1
Runs batted in2
NPB statistics
(through 2024 season)
Batting average.000
Home runs0
Runs batted in0
Teams

Cody Ryan Thomas (born October 8, 1994) is an American professional baseball outfielder for the Orix Buffaloes of Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB). He was a multi-sport athlete in college, playing both college baseball and college football at the University of Oklahoma. He has previously played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Oakland Athletics.

Early life

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Thomas was born on October 8, 1994, in Colleyville, Texas, to Pete and Lisa Thomas. Thomas attended Colleyville Heritage High School in Colleyville, Texas. In football, he passed for 3,057 yards with 32 touchdowns as a junior and 4,154 yards with 51 touchdowns as a senior. Thomas was rated as a four-star recruit and was ranked among the top quarterbacks in his class.[1][2] He committed to the University of Oklahoma to play college football.[3]

The New York Yankees selected Thomas in the 30th round of the 2013 Major League Baseball draft, but he did not sign.[4]

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes
Name Hometown High school / college Height Weight 40‡ Commit date
Cody Thomas
QB 		Colleyville, Texas Colleyville Heritage HS 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 220 lb (100 kg) 4.5 May 17, 2012 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout:4/5 stars   Rivals:4/5 stars   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: 83
Overall recruiting rankings:
  • Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight.
  • In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale.

Sources:

College career

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Football

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In 2013, Thomas took a redshirt in his first year with the Oklahoma Sooners football team.

In 2014, as a redshirt Freshman, Thomas appeared in four games before making his first collegiate start vs. Texas Tech Red Raiders. Oklahoma starting quarterback Trevor Knight was sidelined with a neck injury that he sustained the previous week vs Baylor Bears.[5] On November 15, Thomas led Oklahoma to a 42-30 victory on the road against fellow opposition quarterback Patrick Mahomes. Thomas went 10-20 passing for 133 yards with one touchdown and three interceptions. Thomas also ran for 103 yards on eight carries and one touchdown. The following week, Thomas would earn his second straight start against the Kansas Jayhawks. After a ninety minute weather delay to start the game, Oklahoma running back Samaje Perine rushed for 427 yards on 34 rushes along with six touchdowns in a 44-7 victory, breaking the NCAA FBS single game rushing record. Thomas completed just three of 13 passes for 39 yards and added 21 yards on the ground in the poor conditions. On December 6, Thomas went 10-17 passing for 120 yards and one touchdown in a 35-38 overtime loss against Oklahoma State Cowboys. For the season, he completed 30-of-66 passes for 342 yards with two touchdowns and four interceptions.

In 2015, Thomas competed with Baker Mayfield and Trevor Knight for the starting job.[6] Mayfield won the job with Thomas appearing in three games as a backup. In January 2016, he left the football team to focus on his baseball career.[7][8]

Statistics

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Oklahoma Sooners
Season Team Games Passing Rushing
GP GS Cmp Att Pct Yds TD Int Rtg Att Yds Avg TD
2013 Oklahoma Redshirted
2014 Oklahoma 7 3 30 66 45.5 342 2 4 86.9 23 141 6.1 1
2015 Oklahoma 3 0 1 3 33.0 1 0 0 36.1 0 0 0 0
Career 10 3 31 69 44.9 343 2 4 84.7 23 141 6.1 1

Baseball

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Thomas appeared in 14 games for the Oklahoma Sooners baseball team as freshman in 2014, recording one hit in 12 at-bats. He did not play in 2015 while focusing on football.[9] He returned to baseball in 2016, appearing in 40 games. He hit .299/.354/.556 with six home runs and 27 runs batted in (RBI) over 117 at-bats.

Professional career

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Los Angeles Dodgers

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The Los Angeles Dodgers selected Thomas in the 13th round of the 2016 MLB Draft.[10] He signed with the Dodgers and made his professional debut with the Arizona League Dodgers. After seven games he was promoted to the Ogden Raptors. Thomas was awarded the Joe Bauman Home Run Award for finishing the 2016 season with 19 home runs among short season A and rookie ball players.[11] On August 3, 2017, Thomas set Great Lake Loons' single-game records in homers (3), RBIs (7) and total bases (12). In the same game, both Cody & teammate Carlos Rincon also hit back to back HR's twice in the same inning which has only been done one other time in the history of professional baseball (Boone/Cameron, Mariners 2002).[12]

With the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes in 2018 he was named to the post-season California League All-Star team.[13] In 127 games he hit .285 with 19 homers and 87 RBI.[14] In 2019, he began the season with the Tulsa Drillers and was selected to the mid-season Texas League All-Star Game.[15] Thomas did not play in a game in 2020 due to the cancellation of the minor league season because of the COVID-19 pandemic.[16]

Oakland Athletics

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On February 12, 2021, the Dodgers traded Thomas to the Oakland Athletics along with Adam Kolarek in exchange for Sheldon Neuse and Gus Varland.[17] Thomas spent the year with the Triple-A Las Vegas Aviators, slashing .289/.363/.665 with 18 home runs and 52 RBI in 59 games. On November 19, 2021, the Athletics' added Thomas to their 40-man roster to protect him from the Rule 5 draft.[18]

Thomas underwent Achilles surgery in the offseason and missed the majority of the 2022 season in recovery.[19] Thomas began a rehab assignment with the rookie-level Arizona Complex League Athletics before being elevated to Triple-A Las Vegas. In 4 games, he went 4-for-15 (.267) with a home run, two doubles, and a 1:7 BB:K. On September 1, 2022, Thomas was recalled and promoted to the major leagues for the first time.[20] He made his Major League Baseball debut the same day against the Washington Nationals, where he recorded his first career hit. Thomas finished the season 8-for-30 (.267) in 10 games played. He was designated for assignment on December 16, following the signing of Trevor May.[21] Thomas cleared waivers and was sent outright to Las Vegas on December 20.[22]

Thomas with the Las Vegas Aviators in 2023

Thomas began the 2023 season with Triple-A Las Vegas, where he hit for the cycle on Opening Day against the Reno Aces.[23] In 74 games, he batted .308/.367/.576 with 17 home runs and 79 RBI. On July 7, 2023, Thomas was selected to the major league roster.[24] On July 19, Thomas hit his first Major League Baseball home run in the second inning off of the Boston Red Sox's Brayan Bello in a 6-5 victory at the Oakland Coliseum.[25] In 19 games for Oakland, he batted .238/.304/.381 with 1 home run and 2 RBI. On August 30, Thomas was removed from the 40–man roster and sent outright to Triple–A Las Vegas.[26] On October 2, Thomas elected free agency.

Orix Buffaloes

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On January 9, 2024, Thomas signed a contract with the Orix Buffaloes of Nippon Professional Baseball.[27]

Personal life

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Thomas' brother–in–law is Kansas City Royals shortstop Bobby Witt Jr.[28]

References

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  1. ^ "Cody Thomas, 2013 Pro-style quarterback - Rivals.com". n.rivals.com.
  2. ^ "Cody Thomas, Oklahoma Sooners, Pro-Style Quarterback". 247Sports.
  3. ^ "QB Cody Thomas commits to OU". ESPN.com. May 17, 2012.
  4. ^ "Source: Oklahoma quarterback signee Cody Thomas won't sign MLB contract". Oklahoman.com. June 10, 2013.
  5. ^ Buettner, Joe (November 11, 2014). "Oklahoma Sooners football: Cody Thomas may get his shot against Texas Tech". stormininnorman.com.
  6. ^ Writer, GUERIN EMIG World Sports (August 13, 2015). "Baker Mayfield, Trevor Knight or Cody Thomas? A deep dive into the quarterback battle underway at Oklahoma". Tulsa World.
  7. ^ "Oklahoma football: Cody Thomas leaving football program to focus on baseball". Oklahoman.com. January 23, 2016.
  8. ^ "Oklahoma QB, Colleyville Heritage graduate Cody Thomas leaving OU baseball team".
  9. ^ "Oklahoma football: Cody Thomas quitting baseball to focus on the spring quarterback competition". Oklahoman.com. February 3, 2015.
  10. ^ "OU's Cody Thomas signs with Los Angeles Dodgers". Oklahoman.com. June 22, 2016.
  11. ^ "Dylan Cozens Wins 2016 Joe Bauman Home Run Award". MiLB.com. Retrieved June 28, 2017.
  12. ^ "Cody Thomas and Carlos Rincon hit back-to-back homers twice in the same inning". Major League Baseball. Retrieved August 5, 2017.
  13. ^ Bumbaca, Chris (August 21, 2018). "Bannon leads California League All-Stars". milb.com. Retrieved August 22, 2018.
  14. ^ "Cody Thomas Minor League Statistics". Baseball Reference.
  15. ^ Tulsa Drillers (June 13, 2019). "Top Prospects Named to Rosters for ONEOK Field All-Star Game". milb.com. Retrieved June 15, 2019.
  16. ^ "2020 Minor League Season Canceled". mlbtraderumors.com. June 30, 2020.
  17. ^ Adler, David (February 12, 2021). "Dodgers acquire 2 prospects from A's". MLB.com. Retrieved February 12, 2021.
  18. ^ "Athletics' Cody Thomas: Added to 40-man roster". November 19, 2021.
  19. ^ "Athletics' Cody Thomas: Out after Achilles surgery". cbssports.com. March 14, 2022. Retrieved May 22, 2023.
  20. ^ "Athletics' Cody Thomas: Receives first MLB call-up". cbssports.com. Retrieved May 22, 2023.
  21. ^ "Athletics' Cody Thomas: Designated for assignment". cbssports.com. December 16, 2022. Retrieved May 22, 2023.
  22. ^ "Cody Thomas Stats, Fantasy & News". milb.com. Retrieved September 29, 2023.
  23. ^ "A's Prospect Cody Thomas Starts Season with Cycle for Las Vegas Aviators". si.com. Retrieved April 29, 2023.
  24. ^ "Athletics' Cody Thomas: Added to roster". cbssports.com. Retrieved July 8, 2023.
  25. ^ "Cody Thomas' two-run homer (1)". mlb.com. Retrieved July 19, 2023.
  26. ^ "A's Outright Three Players". mlbtraderumors.com. August 30, 2023. Retrieved September 5, 2023.
  27. ^ Franco, Anthony (January 10, 2024). "NPB's Orix Buffaloes Sign Cody Thomas". MLB Trade Rumors. Retrieved October 27, 2024.
  28. ^ Rogers, Anne (August 24, 202). "Witt Jr. and brother-in-law Zach Neal meet in the Majors". MLB.com. Retrieved September 22, 2024.
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