Dodgers' Trayce Thompson: Slated for short-side platoon role
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Thompson is expected to form the short side of a platoon in left field with David Peralta for the Dodgers this season, Jack Harris of the Los Angeles Times reports.
Thompson actually had reverse splits for the Dodgers last season, posting a 1.010 OPS with 10 homers against righties versus just a .621 OPS and three dingers off lefties. The 31-year-old has worked over the offseason on his approach versus left-handers and the team is confident he'll improve in that area. "I'll still bet on the fact that there'll be an uptick - significant uptick - versus left this year," manager Dave Roberts said. "He's smart enough to know that, one piece of value that he can add for our club, is to be more productive versus left-handed pitching." Thompson also figures to see some starts in center field this season as part of the Dodgers' new-look outfield.
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Dodgers' Trayce Thompson: Inks one-year deal
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Thompson and the Dodgers agreed on a one-year, $1.45 million contract Friday to avoid arbitration, Jon Heyman of the New York Post reports.
The outfielder compiled a .256 average with 13 homers, 41 RBI, 36 runs and four stolen bases over 219 at-bats with the Padres and Dodgers in 2022. Thompson has a clear path to a starting spot in the Dodgers' outfield based on the current depth chart, but it wouldn't be a surprise to see the team add a higher-profile option before Opening Day and bump him to the bench.
Manager Dave Roberts confirmed that Thompson will start in Game 3 of the NLDS against the Padres on Friday, J.P. Hoornstra of the Los Angeles Daily News reports.
Thompson will take the place of Cody Bellinger in center field after Bellinger struck out four times in the first two games of the NLDS. Thompson will face Blake Snell in Game 3, against whom he is 1-for-5 in his career.
Dodgers' Trayce Thompson: Sits in regular-season finale
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Thompson is out of the lineup for Wednesday's regular-season finale with the Rockies.
Thompson will take a seat in the regular-season finale after going 6-for-14 with a home run, four walks, three runs and two RBI while starting the past five games. The righty-hitting outfielder is likely to fill a short-side platoon role when the Dodgers return to action during the National League Division Series.
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Dodgers' Trayce Thompson: Back in action Friday
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Thompson (personal) is starting at designated hitter and batting fifth Friday against the Rockies.
He was scratched for personal reasons Thursday but is back in there against righty Chad Kuhl. Thompson is slashing .155/.261/.431 with five home runs and one steal in 20 games this month.
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Dodgers' Trayce Thompson: Plates one in return
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Thompson went 1-for-5 with an RBI and a run scored in Friday's 10-1 win over the Rockies.
Thompson missed Thursday's game for personal reasons, but his absence was a short one. He had a rough September at the plate, going 10-for-63 (.159), though half of those hits were home runs and he drove in 12 runs. The outfielder owns a .243/.335/.486 slash line with 12 homers, 40 RBI, 34 runs scored and three stolen bases across 242 plate appearances between the Dodgers and the Padres this year.
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Dodgers' Trayce Thompson: Scratched for personal reasons
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Thompson was scratched from the lineup for Thursday's game against the Padres due to personal reasons, David Vassegh of AM 570 LA Sports reports.
The exact reason for Thompson's absence hasn't been revealed, but he's only expected to be away from the team for a single day. Miguel Vargas will start in left field Thursday in Thompson's absence.
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Dodgers' Trayce Thompson: Homers, on base three times
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Thompson went 1-for-2 with a solo home run, two walks and an additional run in a 6-2 win against the Cardinals on Saturday.
Thompson took Cardinals starter Jordan Montgomery 438 feet deep to center in the second inning to extend Los Angeles' lead and added walks in the fourth and eighth, scoring following the former. The 31-year-old has slumped through most of September with a .164/.273/.455 slash line through 18 games; however, his slugging percentage is propped up by five of his nine hits leaving the yard. Thompson walked twice in a game for the fourth time this season, with two of those occurrences coming in September.
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Dodgers' Trayce Thompson: Goes deep Wednesday
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Thompson went 1-for-5 with a solo home run in a loss to the Diamondbacks on Wednesday.
Thompson went back-to-back with Will Smith in the fourth inning, smashing a 445-foot shot to left field. The long ball was his 10th of the campaign and his third over his past eight games. Thompson has a career-high 34 RBI this season and needs three more homers to tie his career-best mark of 13 that he established in 2016 during his first stint in Los Angeles.
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Dodgers' Trayce Thompson: Back on bench
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Thompson is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Padres.
Thompson will take a seat after going 2-for-12 with a home run and a double while starting in each of the Dodgers' last three contests. While Gavin Lux (back) is day-to-day and Chris Taylor is seeing more time at second base, Thompson and Joey Gallo -- who starts in left field Sunday -- should pick up more playing time in the outfield alongside Cody Bellinger and Mookie Betts.
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Dodgers' Trayce Thompson: Swats homer Friday
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Thompson went 1-for-4 with a solo home run in a 5-4 extra-inning loss to the Padres on Friday.
Thompson gave the Dodgers a 4-3 lead with his fourth-inning solo shot, though that ended up being the team's final run of the contest. The homer put Thompson at 32 RBI on the campaign, tying the career-best mark he established during his first stint with Los Angeles in 2016. He began this season with San Diego and went 1-for-14 over six games, but Thompson has been much better since joining the Dodgers, slashing .281/.371/.556 with nine homers over 57 contests.
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Dodgers' Trayce Thompson: Belts big homer Sunday
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Thompson hit a three-run home run in a pinch-hit appearance during Sunday's 9-4 win over San Diego.
Los Angeles was clinging to a two-run lead in the seventh inning when Thompson came on to pinch hit for Joey Gallo. Thompson crushed a 424-foot shot to left field to plate three runs and put the game out of reach. The veteran outfielder continues to make the most of his opportunities, slashing .360/.484/.800 with three homers, eight RBI and a stolen base over his past 10 games.
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Dodgers' Trayce Thompson: Swipes bag during loss
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Thompson went 0-for-2 with one steal in Thursday's loss against the Mets.
The outfielder stole second base against Trevor May in the seventh inning. Thompson has been hot over his last seven games, batting .400 (8-for-20) with two doubles and two homers. The 31-year-old has crushed righties, slashing .353/.461/.659 in 102 plate appearances against them this season compared to .172/.243/.313 in 70 plate appearances against lefties.
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Dodgers' Trayce Thompson: Stays hot Sunday
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Thompson went 1-for-4 with a solo home run, a walk and an additional run in Sunday's 8-1 trouncing of the Marlins.
Thompson made only three starts during the Dodgers' recent six-game week, but he capitalized on the few opportunities he received, going 6-for-14 with two home runs, two walks, a double, seven runs and five RBI across those contests. According to Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic, Thompson will return to the bench for Monday's series finale in Miami, and the 31-year-old looks like he'll remain stuck in a short-side platoon role in the Los Angeles outfield while all of Mookie Betts, Chris Taylor, Cody Bellinger and Joey Gallo are healthy.
Thompson went 2-for-3 with a home run, four RBI, three runs scored and a walk in Tuesday's 10-1 win over the Brewers.
Thompson scored each time he got aboard. He also supplied a three-run homer in the second inning and an RBI single in the fourth, both off Brewers ace Corbin Burnes. This was Thompson's first multi-hit effort since Aug. 12 -- the Dodgers' relatively good health among their position players has seen him slip into a part-time role. The outfielder is slashing .265/.358/.492 with six homers, 27 RBI, 22 runs scored and two stolen bases through 151 plate appearances between the Dodgers and Padres this year. Thompson is likely to find most of his playing time against left-handed pitchers.
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Dodgers' Trayce Thompson: Homers in three-hit night
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Thompson went 3-for-4 with a home run and a double for a total of three RBI and two runs scored in an 8-3 win over the Royals on Friday.
Thompson got the start in center field with lefty Daniel Lynch on the mound for the Royals. He came through with a three-hit performance which was punctuated by a no-doubt three-run shot to straight-away center. It was Thompson's fifth home run of the season. The 31-year-old backup outfielder has been hot since joining the Dodgers on June 21. Thompson is slashing .300/.391/.560 in 100 at-bats with his new team. He figures to continue seeing playing time when either of his fellow outfielders Joey Gallo or Cody Bellinger sits against lefties.
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Dodgers' Trayce Thompson: Back on bench
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Thompson is out of the lineup for Thursday's game against the Giants.
The Dodgers will roll out an outfield of trade-deadline acquisition Joey Gallo along with Cody Bellinger and Mookie Betts, and that trio will likely represent manager Dave Roberts' preferred figuration against right-handed pitching moving forward. As a result, the righty-hitting Thompson projects to see most of his playing time as a short-side platoon mate of either Gallo or Bellinger. Thompson had started both of the past two games, going 0-for-5 with three walks, a stolen base and two runs.
