Thames announced his retirement from professional baseball on Wednesday.

EDGE Analysis

Thames did so in his personal Instagram page, writing: "The day has finally come. In the year of our lord, twenty, twenty-three...HE GONE! I've been so blessed over these last 14 years to call baseball my job." The now-36-year-old slugger played for the Blue Jays, Mariners, Brewers and Nationals over parts of six major-league seasons and posted a career .792 OPS with 96 home runs in 605 games. He'll also go down as a power-hitting legend in Korea and Japan.

Thames was released by Oakland on Tuesday, Melissa Lockard of The Athletic reports.

EDGE Analysis

Thames joined the Athletics as a non-roster invitee but failed to win a roster spot. He produced a merely average 100 wRC+ in 22 games for Triple-A Las Vegas while striking out 38.0 percent of the time, which probably won't generate much interest on the open market.

Thames was reassigned to Triple-A Las Vegas on Monday, Matt Kawahara of the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

EDGE Analysis

Thames' minor-league deal with the Athletics seemingly put him in the best possible position to win a roster spot given the team's lack of alternatives at the position, but his .227/.346/.409 line in 11 spring games evidently wasn't good enough to earn him a job. Chad Pinder and Seth Brown could be the top options at first base heading into the start of the regular season, though the job could also go to non-roster invitee Billy McKinney.

Thames went 2-for-3 with a double and a run in a Cactus League loss to the Dodgers on Tuesday.

EDGE Analysis

The veteran slugger pushed his spring average to .250 (4-for-16) with Tuesday's production. Thames has only struck out in four of his 19 plate appearances and drawn three walks along the way thus far, a cautiously optimistic sign for a player who recorded at least a 30.0 percent strikeout rate in each of his last three seasons. Thames remains in a battle with Billy McKinney and Dalton Kelly for the first base job, and he's currently outhitting his two teammates by 100 and 120 points, respectively.

Thames, who is in camp on a minor-league deal, seemingly has a better chance at securing a roster spot with the big-league club in the wake of Monday's trade of Matt Olson to Atlanta.

EDGE Analysis

Thames last played in the majors back in 2020 for the Nationals, posting a .203/.300/.317 slash line with three home runs and 12 RB across 41 games that season. However, the veteran slugged 25 homers the season prior in Milwaukee, a campaign in which he also generated a solid .877 OPS versus right-handed pitching. If Thames can demonstrate he still has sufficient pop in his bat this spring, his 269 games of big-league experience at first base could certainly help him lock in a possible platoon role to open the season, potentially alongside the ultra-versatile Chad Pinder.

Thames hopes to return to the majors and wants to"play in front of my family," according to Matt Kawahara of The San Francisco Chronicle.

EDGE Analysis

Thames, the 33-year-old lefty slugger from San Jose, CA, has set a goal to return to the majors. He last played in the majors back in 2020 with the Nationals, where he hit three home runs with a .203 batting average in 140 plate appearances. If he makes the major league roster, Thames will serve in a platoon role given the .824 OPS against righties and .650 OPS against lefties in his career.

Thames signed a minor-league contract with the Athletics on Friday, Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

EDGE Analysis

Thames signed with the Yomiuri Giants of Nippon Professional Baseball in Japan in December of 2020 but didn't see much action before tearing his Achilles. However, he'll attempt to secure a roster spot with Oakland ahead of the 2022 campaign.

Thames signed a contract with the Yomiuri Giants of Nippon Professional Baseball in Japan on Tuesday, Yahoo! Japan reports.

EDGE Analysis

The 34-year-old struggled with the Nationals in 2020 with a .617 OPS in 41 games, and the team declined the mutual option after the season. Thames returned to MLB in 2017 after revitalizing his career in Korea, and he'll now be returning overseas for 2021.

Thames' club portion of his mutual contract option was declined by the Nationals on Wednesday, Jesse Dougherty of The Washington Post reports.

EDGE Analysis

Thames could still elect to remain with the club on a $4 million deal for a second season, but he'll be owed $1 million if he declines his player option. The 33-year-old slashed .203/.300/.317 with three home runs and 12 RBI while appearing in 41 games during the shortened 2020 season.

Thames isn't in the lineup for Game 1 of Saturday's doubleheader against the Mets.

EDGE Analysis

Thames' playing time has decreased significantly in recent games, and he'll take a seat once again for Saturday's matinee. Yadiel Hernandez will take over as the designated hitter.