Trayce Thompson strains oblique on check swing, headed for injured list

LOS ANGELES — Dodgers outfielder Trayce Thompson strained his oblique on a check swing against the Yankees on Saturday, and will likely be placed on the injured list on Sunday.

“Early indications is that it’s an IL,” manager Dave Roberts said Saturday. “We’ll see how he comes in tomorrow, but that’s unfortunate.”

Thompson injured himself on a check swing during his seventh-inning walk on Saturday, in what constituted the Dodgers’ best rally of the day in a 6-3 loss. Thompson was pinch-hitting for James Outman; the Dodgers pinch-hit for all three left-handed outfielders in the seventh with right-handed hitters.

But in the top of the eighth, Chris Taylor went to center, Miguel Vargas went to second with starter Mookie Betts moving to right field. Into left field went designated hitter J.D. Martinez, playing for the first time in the field in a major league game since 2021.

The Dodgers ceded the DH the rest of the game, with pitcher Tayler Scott entering in David Peralta’s spot in the lineup. That spot came up in the ninth inning, when pinch-hitter Austin Barnes, the last position player remaining on the bench, popped out to shortstop to lead off the inning.

It’s been a trying year for Thompson, who set a Los Angeles Dodgers record with an 0-for-39 skid that he snapped last Sunday at Tampa Bay with three hits, including a home run. Since the hitless streak, Thompson reached base in six of eight plate appearances with four hits and two walks.

Starts have been hard to come by for Thompson, totaling just 10 plate appearances and two starts in the Dodgers last 13 games. He’s essentially been relegated to starting against left-handed pitchers. The next southpaw the Dodgers are scheduled to face is Reds rookie Brandon Williamson in the middle game of the upcoming series next week.

“It’s frustrating, I feel for him,” Roberts said. “He took a good at-bat right there, and I was looking forward to him playing on Wednesday in Cincinnati, so now we’ve got to reassess.”

As for who might replace Thompson on the active roster, the Dodgers have a few options in Triple-A on the 40-man roster.

Jonny DeLuca is the only outfielder of the bunch, and is a right-handed hitter like Thompson. DeLuca is hitting .319/.380/.556 in 17 games since getting promoted to Oklahoma City, and had a 154 wRC+ in Double-A before that. If DeLuca gets called up, it would be his first stint in the majors after getting added to the 40-man roster in November.

DeLuca is expected to get the call on Sunday, reports Fabian Ardaya at The Athletic.

Yonny Hernández is on a 14-game hitting streak in Triple-A, hitting .367/.500/.531 during the streak. The switch-hitter has played shortstop and third base this season for Oklahoma City. He played in one game earlier this season in the majors, grounding out as a pinch-hitter in his only at-bat.

Luke Williams is hitting .274/.368/.463 with Oklahoma City, playing mostly shortstop but also started twice in left field and once at shortstop. Williams was up in the majors earlier this season and started three games at shortstop, going 1-for-10 at the plate.

Michael Busch left Tuesday’s game after hitting a double in the fourth inning against Reno, and hasn’t played in the four days since. Andy Pages, who was promoted to Oklahoma City along with DeLuca, played in only one game before landing on the injured list.