Mookie Betts Injury Shines A Light On Thompson Family Pedigree & The Sports Week To Remember

Mookie Betts Injury Shines A Light On Thompson Family Pedigree & The Sports Week To Remember

by | Jun 21, 2022 | 6TH SLOT

With the Los Angeles Dodgers suddenly hit with weeks of inconsistent play, their huge lead in the NL West has now evaporated to a virtual tie with the San Diego Padres with only six percentage points keeping the Dodgers at the top of the heap.

 

It wasn’t an overreaction when the Dodgers fan base really started panicking when franchise player Mookie Betts was recently placed on the injured list courtesy of a broken rib. Not only will Betts be out for the foreseeable future, so will a ton of talent and offense from the right field position.

MLBbro.com’s Nick Hamilton was on top of the story when the injury occurred.  

 

After figuring out the severity of the injury which at first was believed to be only a bruise, it is being reported that he could be back in a couple of weeks. Betts shared his thoughts on how he was feeling after the diagnosis.

“I feel all right,” Betts said. “Sore, but it is what it is. It’s a cracked rib, so you’re going to feel sore. But after the play, the next inning it started hurting. I thought it was just a little bruise or something. So I tried to play through it and it got worse over the couple of days, and then now we’re sitting here.”

With one of the highest payrolls in baseball, the Los Angeles Dodgers decided to go with Trayce Thompson completing a deal with the Detroit Tigers for cash considerations. Trayce was playing for the Tigers’ Triple-A team in Toledo after signing with the team as a free agent. His eight home runs with seven walks in 25 games impressed the Dodgers to nab him as a short-term option as a right handed hitter for the two weeks Betts is recovering.

But Trayce’s signing could turn out to be a sportswriter’s dream if he can stick with the team for a long postseason run that leads to a championship. The 2020 World Series champs did pick up a MLBbro that is from a family that has a few professional championship trophies.

Most baseball announcers will point out the fact that Trayce’s brother is the newly crowned NBA champ, Klay Thompson of the Golden State Warriors who was celebrating in a parade probably when the negotiations were going on for our MLBbro.

 

 

But did you know that his father, Mychal Thompson was also a two time World Champion playing for the Los Angeles Lakers in the late 1980’s?

 

Trayce Thompson played in six MLB games for the Padres this season with one hit in 14 plate appearances. Overall in 223 games spanning six seasons in the majors with the Chicago White Sox (2015,2018), Dodgers (2016-17), Oakland A’s (2-18), Chicago Cubs (2021), Padres and Tigers (2022), our MLBbro brings a .205 batting average and .280 on-base percentage into the fold to keep the Dodgers afloat until Betts comes back and possibly going forward as Dave Roberts believes this injury will linger. 

“I don’t expect him to be pain free,” Roberts said. “But I think with Mookie, and this is more of a Mookie question, as long as it’s not at a point where it could affect something else, then you have peace of mind to play through it. A guy like Mookie who plays every day, you’re obviously used to playing through some type of discomfort.”

Comments like this could open Trayce Thompson’s chances to stay with the big squad the rest of the season if he plays well. Based on his family roots, the Dodgers got championship pedigree for pennies on the dollar.