Tag / Trayce Thompson

by admin

The Sell-Off Continues

The dismantling of the 2023 Chicago White Sox continued today, as pitchers Lance Lynn and Joe Kelly were traded to the Dodgers in exchange for Nick Nastrini, Jordan Leasure, and Trayce Thompson.  Lynn and Kelly last teamed up Wednesday night, as they combined to give up six runs in the top of the fifth in the loss to the Cubs.

The White Sox acquired the 36-year-old Lynn prior to the 2021 season, where he helped lead the team to an AL Central title, earned an All-Star nod and finished top three in AL Cy Young Award voting, and signed a three-year contract extension.  A knee injury limited him to 21 starts in 2022, and hampered his performance when he did pitch, as he saw his ERA soar by nearly one and a third runs.  This year has been a mixed bag, as some of his peripheral numbers show that he should be doing better than he has, but his ERA is well over 6 and he’s set a career high for home runs allowed, and we aren’t even to August yet.

Joe Kelly, signed as a free agent prior to the 2022 season, has not seen much success during his tenure on the south side.  Injuries hampered him in 2022 as he posted a career-worst 6.08 ERA.  He has seen better results in 2023, but still sports an ERA of 4.97 while spending more than his fair share of time on the IL.

On the return side, Nick Nastrini, a 23-year-old right-hander, appears to be the prize in the deal.  The Dodgers fourth-round pick in 2021, he reportedly has the stuff to be a starter in the big leagues if he can reign in his command.  He was 5-3 with a 4.03 ERA in 17 starts Double A.  Jordan Leasure was a 14th-round pick in 2021 and has been closing in Double A this year, compiling a 3.09 ERA with nine saves.  He’s averaging 14.4 strikeouts per nine innings, but has had issues keeping the balls that are hit in the ballpark, giving up more than one and a half homers per nine innings.  Trayce Thompson, who made his major league debut with the White Sox back in 2015, is currently on the 60-Day IL and was likely included just to give the Dodgers salary relief.

The White Sox are now down two pitchers from their starting rotation for the remainder of 2023, with indications a third, Mike Clevinger, may be moved as well if he proves healthy enough coming off the IL this weekend.  Who eats those innings for the rest of 2023?  Your guess is as good as mine.

by jim

Upgrading The Hot Corner

todd_frazier1cThe White Sox continued their attempts to upgrade their offense by acquiring third baseman Todd Frazier in a 3 team deal yesterday.  Frazier, who hit 11 more home runs last year than White Sox third baseman managed in the past 2 seasons combined, comes to the from the Reds.  The Sox send Micah Johnson, Frankie Montas, and Trayce Thompson to the Dodgers, who, in turn, will send  Jose Peraza, Brandon Dixon, and Scott Schebler back to the Reds.

With this move, the previously acquired Brett Lawrie will move to second base, filling two long-term holes for the south siders.  If Frazier is able to match his production for the Reds over the past few years, he will easily surpass any White Sox third baseman since Joe Crede went down with a back injury in 2008.

Of the 3 prospects going to the Dodgers, the only big loss would appear to be Frankie Montas, a young pitcher acquired in the Jake Peavy deal.  Montas put up a 2.97 ERA for AA Birmingham last year while also appearing in 7 games for the White Sox.  He likely would have found a spot at the end of the rotation or in the bullpen in 2017.  Micah Johnson was the Opening Day second baseman for the White Sox last year, but defensive problems sent him back to the minors and injuries took part of the season away from him.  Trayce Thompson also spent time with the big league club in 2015, despite a middling minor league career.  He was red hot as a platoon player at first, but cooled down and seemingly looks to be a fourth outfielder at best.

To be fair, the White Sox appeared to be much improved last winter as well, and the 2015 season did not play out as anyone would have anticipated.  One can only hope that, with the upgrades at catcher and now second and third base, the 2016 season will turn out much different.

by admin

2015 Final Batting Leaders

MLB: Cincinnati Reds at Los Angeles DodgersAnother season has come to an end, with yet more disappointment on the south side while things finally started to look up on the north side.  Let’s take a look back at the offensive leaders for the 39 games, including the post-season, that I attended this season:

Home Runs

Name Total
Alexei Ramirez 6
Brian Dozier 3
Melky Cabrera 3
Geovany Soto 3
Gordon Beckham 3
Jose Abreu 3
Jorge Soler 3

Hits

Name Total
Melky Cabrera 39
Alexei Ramirez 38
Adam Eaton 34
Jose Abreu 27
Avisail Garcia 26

Runs

Name Total
Alexei Ramirez 15
Adam Eaton 15
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