The Boston Red Sox announced on Monday that they’d added 33-year-old outfielder Trayce Thompson to their Spring Training roster as a non-roster invitee.
The signing was first reported by Hunter Noll of Beyond the Monster and BoSox Injection.
Thompson is the younger brother of Dallas Mavericks small forward Klay Thompson and former Cleveland Cavaliers shooting guard Mychel Thompson, as well as the son of 1978 first overall draft pick Mychal Thompson.
While Mychel went undrafted out of Pepperdine University and played just five career NBA games, Klay and Mychal combined for over two decades in the Association (and counting).
The elder Thompson was selected by the Portland Trail Blazers with the top selection and earned First Team All-Rookie honors during the 1978-79 campaign. He had his best year during the 1981-82 season, averaging a double-double (career-high 20.8 points and 11.7 rebounds) across 79 games.
The now-70-year-old Thompson spent seven seasons with Portland, played 49 games with the San Antonio Spurs during the 1986-87 campaign and was then traded to the Los Angeles Lakers. Mychal won back-to-back championships with the Lakers in 1987 and 1988.
35-year-old Klay was taken 11th overall by the Golden State Warriors during the 2011 NBA Draft and suited up in the Bay Area for his first 10 seasons, missing the 2019-2020 and 2020-21 campaigns due to injury. He made five All-Star squads, two All-NBA third teams and won four NBA titles with the Warriors, while becoming one of the best three-point shooters in league history. He was traded to the Mavericks in July.
The Washington State product’s 2,627 regular season three-pointers put him fifth all-time and fourth among active players.
Thompson Hasn’t Lived up to Lofty Draft Status
Trayce hasn’t had nearly the same impact as either Klay or Mychal have had on the NBA on the diamond, though has had a lengthier MLB run than Mychel did on the hardwood.
The Los Angeles native was drafted out of high school in the second round (61st overall) of the 2009 event by the Chicago White Sox. Trayce was notably selected only two picks after eight-time All-Star and 10-time Gold Glove Award-winning third baseman Nolan Arenado, and ahead of two-time All-Star second baseman Jason Kipnis (63rd pick), three-time All-Star infielder DJ LeMahieu (79th overall) and two-time All-Star starting pitcher Patrick Corbin (80th pick).
Trayce didn’t make his MLB debut until August 2015 and has played just 369 games across seven seasons with five teams.
His first of three stints with the White Sox lasted 44 contests in 2015 before he was sent to the Los Angeles Dodgers. Trayce then played two seasons with the Dodgers, split 2018 between the White Sox and Oakland Athletics and spent 2019 and 2020 in the minors.
He played a career-low 15 games with the Chicago Cubs in 2021 before having his best season in 2022. After six contests with the San Diego Padres and joining the Detroit Tigers minor league system, Thompson returned to the Dodgers in June 2022 and went on to hit all 13 of his home runs (tied career-high) and drove in 39 of his career-best 41 RBI over 205 at-bats.
He split 2023 between the Dodgers and White Sox, posting just six home runs, 17 RBI and a .163/.285/.294 slash line across 153 at-bats covering 72 contests. Thompson hit only .233 in 378 at-bats (107 games) with the Mets’ and Cubs’ minor-league squads in 2024, though he showed pop with 23 home runs and 66 RBI.
Barring Injuries, Thompson Unlikely to Make Red Sox Opening Day Roster
The veteran will turn 34 in March and barring multiple injuries to the Red Sox major league outfield this spring, he’s unlikely to make the Opening Day roster.
Boston is projected to start 2024 All-Star Jarren Duran, promising 24-year-old Ceddanne Rafaela and Gold Glove Award winner Wilyer Abreu from left to right, respectively in the outfield, with other options like designated hitter Masataka Yoshida and bench players David Hamilton, Rob Refsnyder and Romy Gonzalez among the other choices.
Trayce does provide versatility, however, having played at least 600 innings at the major league level at all three outfield posts.
For now, the transaction seems more likely to gain headlines due to Trayce’s famous family members, rather than analyzing his potential impact on the 2025 Red Sox.
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