If anyone saw the return season for Trayce Thompson turning out the way it did last year, they best go out a get their hands on a lottery ticket.
The Dodgers brought the outfielder back to Los Angeles after acquiring him for cash considerations in June. President of baseball operations, Andrew Friedman, admitted late in the season that at the time of the trade, the club didn't expect Thompson to stick around for very long. He was supposed to be a fill in for the injured Mookie Betts. But he hit .292 over his first month back with the team and played his way onto the roster permanently.
The one knock on Trayce last year was that he didn't hit left-handed pitching. He slashed a robust .308/.409/.602 vs right-handed pitching in 2022 but just .174/.260/.361 against lefties.
And it's something it seems like he's heard about a lot. Speaking with DodgersNation.com earlier this spring, Thompson stayed confident in knowing the talent to rake against lefties is still there. But it seemed like he was more tired of talking about it and more about letting the results prove it.
"I know I can hit righties, and I know should've hit lefties better. It just comes down to proving it. I can say so many things but I just have to go out there and do it and go out and try and have quality at-bats every day."
So far, things haven't gone quite well for Trayce during the spring. In Cactus League play with the Dodgers, he's gone just 1-13 (.077) in 6 games. But things have been a bit more successful over with Team Great Britain in the World Baseball Classic where the outfielder has 3 hits in 10 at-bats (.300).
By all accounts, Thompson will be on the opening day roster for LA, but with star rookie James Outman having the spring he's having, Trayce will need to have his game prove itself sooner rather than later.
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