On Saturday the Los Angeles Dodgers placed Trayce Thompson on the 15-day disabled list, retroactive to July 10, and recalled Zach Walters from Triple-A Oklahoma City. Thompson felt a tweak in his back in the final game before the All-Star break and wasn’t in the lineup Friday.
Prior to the series opener against the Arizona Diamondbacks, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts didn’t rule out the possibility of Thompson landing on the DL. The roster move hardly comes as a surprise considering Los Angeles is already playing with a short bench and eight-man bullpen.
Thompson is batting .225/.302/.436 with 11 doubles, 13 home runs and 32 RBIs this season. He got off to a hot start, which led to consistent playing time and a starting role, but cooled considerably after May.
Thompson had five hits in 35 at-bats this month and a pedestrian .496 on-base plus slugging percentage.
As for Walters, he was acquired by the Dodgers in an April trade with the Cleveland Indians. The 26-year-old utility man played first base, second base, third base, shortstop and all three outfield positions for Triple-A Oklahoma City; Walters also threw 0.2 innings of relief.
He hit .298/.346/.491 with 15 doubles, four triples, 10 home runs and 47 RBIs with OKC over 77 games. The switch-hitter was particularly effective against lefties, batting .313/.364/.538 with nine doubles, four triples, nine home runs and 36 RBIs in 217 plate appearances.
Walters was taken in the ninth round by the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2010. He’s played second base base, third base, shortstop, left field and right field over parts of four seasons (82 games) in the Majors. Walters is a career .182/.233/.394 batter during that span.
Just as they began the season with 10 players on the disabled list, the Dodgers again have that number on the DL at present time.
