GLENDALE, Ariz. — Trayce Thompson had one job.
The Dodgers have traded for the outfielder twice now (in December 2015 and June 2022) for the same reason – “to damage lefties,” as Thompson himself puts it. He proved to be a valuable addition last season, batting .268 with a .901 OPS, 13 home runs and 39 RBIs in 74 games with the Dodgers, regaining a foothold in the major leagues after passing through eight organizations in the previous four years.
But he didn’t really do his job. Thompson batted just .174 (15 for 86) with only three of his 13 home runs off lefties, slugging just .361 against them.
The reason behind the reverse splits was not hard to uncover, Thompson said.
“I know the reason is I didn’t hit fastballs very good against them,” he said. “It’s a fact and I can only think of a couple times where I really felt like I’m the aggressor in an at-bat against lefties.”
There were minor adjustments to be made with Thompson’s setup, improving his angle against left-handed pitchers. But Thompson diagnosed his problem against lefties as being primarily a lack of aggressiveness.
“When you watch the best guys (hitters) around the league, No. 1 they always seem to damage the fastball pretty well and they always seem to be on time,” Thompson said. “For me, I was just really consistently late on the fastball.
“I just feel like when I watch my video I was just getting to my position too late. It sounds simple but hitting sometimes can be really simple.”
Before last season, Thompson said he was looking for the way forward in his career, things that could help him “re-establish myself” as a big-leaguer. He found himself looking at video of Jose Bautista and listening to him talk about hitting. The six-time All-Star bounced from the Orioles to the Royals to the Pirates before emerging as a star with the Toronto Blue Jays at age 29.
“He just talks about being ready earlier so he could be the aggressor within each pitch and he…
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