The Los Angeles Dodgers transferred Trayce Thompson to the 60-day injured list on Sunday in order to make room for Adam Kolarek on their 40-man roster. Kolarek had his contract selected prior to the series finale against the Philadelphia Phillies.
Thompson sustained the strained left oblique on a check swing during the series finale against the New York Yankees. He finished the plate appearance by drawing a walk and remained in the game to run the bases but was removed at the start of the next inning.
When the Dodgers placed Thompson on the 15-day IL on June 4, manager Dave Roberts initially projected he would be out at least one month.
“With the oblique, unfortunately it seems like 30 days is going to be the floor,” Roberts said at the time. “We’ll kind of re-assess at that point, which is unfortunate.”
However, less than a week later, the severity of Thompson’s oblique strain was discovered to be Grade 2 or Grade 3. As a result, the new timeline for his potential return was longer than one month.
Thompson has struggled in a platoon role this season as he is hitting .155/.310/.366 in 36 games. He appeared to have turned a corner of late, going 4-for-his-last-6 with a home run, two RBI and two walks after ending a historic 0-for-39 drought.
“It is frustrating,” Roberts said of the timing with Thompson’s oblique injury. “I feel for him. He took a good at-bat right there and I was looking forward to him playing on Wednesday in Cincinnati. Now we’ve got to re-assess, but I’m sure he’s really disappointed.”
When can Trayce Thompson return?
Thompson being moved to the 60-day IL officially rules out a potential return from a strained left oblique until some time after the All-Star break. The earliest date Thompson could be activated is Thursday, August 3, during a series against the Oakland Athletics.
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