The Los Angeles Dodgers are due to be without Trayce Thompson for the foreseeable future after he was placed on the 10-day injured list with a left oblique strain.
Thompson sustained the injury on a check swing in the Dodgers’ matchup against the New York Yankees this past Saturday. He finished the plate appearance by drawing a walk, but was removed at the start of the eighth inning.
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said after the loss he wasn’t certain of the severity of Thompson’s oblique strain, but that the 32-year-old would be sidelined for at least one month.
It has since been determined that Thompson’s oblique injury is more serious than initially believed and his absence will be more than the initially projected 30 days, via MLB.com:
Tests revealed a left oblique strain, which manager Dave Roberts described as “grade 2 or grade 3.” Roberts initially hoped that Thompson would only miss a month but now thinks it will be longer than that — although not season-threatening.
Thompson has struggled in a platoon role this season as he is hitting only .155/.310/.366 in 36 games. However, he had been swinging a hot bat 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.”
Jonny DeLuca replacing Trayce Thompson
The Dodgers recalled Jonny DeLuca from Triple-A Oklahoma City as the corresponding move to Thompson going on the IL. The 24-year-old made his MLB debut against the Cincinnati Reds on Wednesday and figures to receive the bulk of his opportunities against left-handed pitching.
DeLuca hit .362/.423/.681 with six doubles, three home runs and nine RBI in 52 plate appearances against southpaws between Double-A Tulsa and Oklahoma City this year.
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