Former Dodgers get rude introduction to White Sox system

Trayce Thompson

So far, so bad for the three players the White Sox acquired from the Los Angeles Dodgers last week in exchange for pitchers Lance Lynn and Joe Kelly.

Trayce Thompson is back for his third stint with the Sox. Longtime fans will recall the Sox drafted him in the second round in 2009. He made it to the majors in 2015 before being traded to the Dodgers the following offseason. He was with the Sox briefly in 2018, and like a cat with nine lives, he's back on the South Side again.

The 32-year-old outfielder went 0 for 4 with three strikeouts in his first game back with the Sox on Thursday, a 5-3 loss to the Texas Rangers. 

Thompson is a good defensive player who can handle all three outfield spots competently. He's also reportedly a good guy in the clubhouse. That's probably why he keeps getting opportunities in the majors. It certainly isn't his skill at the plate. He's a lifetime .215/.302/.426 hitter.

To be honest, I'm not sure why Thompson is here. What purpose does he serve? Your guess is as good as mine. He's in the twilight of a journeyman career, trying to hang on to a roster spot in the majors.

The two guys who matter most to the Sox in this deal are pitchers Nick Nastrini and Jordan Leasure.

Nastrini, a 23-year-old right-hander, was the No. 9 prospect in the Dodgers system. He is now the No. 4 prospect in the Sox system. Reports say he could be major league ready as soon as next year. Let's hope so, because the Sox have plenty of holes to fill in the starting rotation.

However, Nastrini's first start at Double-A Birmingham went poorly. He gave up seven runs, five earned, on six hits over 4.2 innings. But hey, at least he struck out six. That's an indication that some swing-and-miss stuff was there. This season, Nastrini has fanned 91 batters over 78.1 innings. We can hope that his bad outing was just a matter of getting acclimated to a new team. After all, it can be jarring for a young player after he gets traded.

Speaking of jarring, Leasure is 0-2 with a 40.50 ERA through his first two relief appearances at Triple-A Charlotte. He gave up four runs in two-thirds of an inning in his first outing, and gave up a two-run walk-off homer in his second appearance. That's rough.

The 24-year-old throws 98 mph, and I've heard some people say he might get a look in Chicago in September. I wouldn't mind that, but first he'll need to stabilize his performance with Charlotte.