The Dodgers have claimed right-hander Cory Mazzoni off waivers from the Cubs, the team announced on Twitter. Mazzoni has been optioned to Triple-A. To create roster space, outfielder Trayce Thompson has been designated for assignment in a corresponding move.
Thompson posted an .896 OPS over 135 plate appearances as a rookie with the White Sox in 2015, and came to L.A. as part of the three-team trade with the Sox and Reds (the same deal that also sent Todd Frazier to Chicago and Scott Schebler to Cincinnati). Between that rookie performance and a strong start as a Dodger in 2016, it looked as if Thompson was on his way to becoming a key piece in the Los Angeles outfield, though his season was prematurely ended by a pair of back fractures. Still hampered by injury and recovery last season, Thompson hit .212/.269/.363 over 369 PA at the Triple-A level and appeared in just 27 games for the Dodgers.
With Chris Taylor and Yasiel Puig slated for everyday duty in center and right field, the Dodgers had a multitude of options for the left field and backup outfield spots, including Matt Kemp, Joc Pederson, Enrique Hernandez, Andrew Toles, and prospect Alex Verdugo. It could be that the Dodgers’ inability to trade Kemp and his big contract led to Thompson’s situation and the roster crunch, as it seems as though Kemp and Pederson will begin the year in a righty/lefty platoon in left field. Thompson is out of options, which makes the Dodgers’ decision to designate him rather than just keep Toles and Verdugo in the minors something of a curious one, as now L.A. could lose Thompson to any team that issues a claim for his services.
Mazzoni has been rocked to the tune of a 17.28 ERA over his 16 2/3 career big league innings, and he missed almost all of 2016 recovering from shoulder surgery. The righty is switching teams for the second time this offseason, as the Cubs previously claimed him off waivers from the Padres back in November. A second-round pick for the Mets in the 2011 draft, Mazzoni has a 3.72 ERA, 9.1 K/9 and 4.02 K/BB rate over 373 frames in the New York and San Diego farm systems, working exclusively as a reliever the last three seasons.
Just dont end up on the Giants. Anywhere else good luck Trayce
Yes, anywhere but there
Why not? Giants or Oakland he’d spend more time watching his brother play then he will play
He could probably make both bay teams as the 5th OF. He’ll never be more than a 4th OF. Dodgers should have sent Pederson down as well.
He may have time now to go watch his brothers nba playoff games
Mazzoni has been an extreme case of a guy who dominates the minors, but gets shelled in the majors. I mean, for how outrageously dominant he was in triple a last year, his few appearances were absolutely horrific. He’s given up 40 hits in 16.2 career innings pitched. Holy moly.
The Cubs should claim Trayce.
The last thing the Cubs need is another OF. He’s not as good as what they have now so I’m sure they’ll pass on him.
This guy just needs a chance at 500 AB’s.
It’s more of a crap shoot of how he performs coming back from injury.
He’s 27 with a career .237/.313/.421 minor league line in over 3000 AB. He’d get exposed long before anyone would give him 500 AB.
Thompson is better than Schwarber by far!
Giants need to end their inexplicable obsession with Gregor Blanco, toss him overboard, and jump all over Trayce Thompson within the hour.
I can’t believe JB Shuck has a job and Trayce Thompson and Jose Bautista don’t.
totally agree. having Gregor Blanco on your team says to your fan base, we DGAF
Braves should get him we have been getting outfielders lately
I actually agree. This may be someone who can be the long term solution at the 3rd OF spot with Acuna and Enciarte
Too bad they just signed Flaherty and Bourjos, or I’d completely agree. Should have waited til a few more roster crunches shook out before they wasted a couple 40 man spots on retreads.
That’s a lot of hype for a guy with average minor league numbers. He may be worth a look but I’d be surprised if he became an everyday regular.
I can envision the debate over acquiring Trayce Thompson in the White Sox front office. Kenny Williams shouts, “You can put it on the board! Yes! while Rick Hahn tells his boss he should, “Grab some bench!” lol
*said action rouses Hawk from his daily nap shouting about the krauts invading Cooperstown. Steve Stone mutters to himself about the 2004 cubs and some poor staffer from The Score is just trying to schedule somebody for a five minute interview on opening day.*
I’m surprised Themed the Card troll didn’t post the Cubs are going to regret letting this guy go post. Like he’s done with every other Cubs player they have released.
Hello Kettle! I’m Mr. Pot. Nice to meet you!
You would stick up for you’re troll buddy. Typical n Sad.
Maybe the Royals will take a run at Trayce. Cuthbert is out for 80 games.
Whoa wait. What happened to Cuthbert?
I meant Bonifacio…my bad.
Cuthbert is an infielder and has not been suspended. Bonifacio is the outfielder suspended for 80 games.
Still, not a bad idea. He has more upside than Orlando or Burns. I’d take a flier on his health.
He will go to the Giants if he isn’t traded before being claimed. The need for him is obvious and the Giants have the #1 waiver wire spot.
Whose roster spot will he take – Blanco or Gorkys Hernandez? Thompson is a significant upgrade over either one of them.
Thompson was a guy I hoped the Angels could nab a few years back. A lack of trade chips at that time made it impossible.
Still wouldn’t mind him on the Halos but that would mean eating the Chris Young contract at $2 million.
Angels need a LH bat more.
Out with Gorkys Hernandez or Blanco, in with Thompson…..?
What a pair of total mystery moves. Why give up Thompson for nothing? Why claim a player with virtually no value?
From the Cubs angle, it made sense.
They have quite a few guys in the upper-level of the minors as relievers. You’ll believe me or you won’t, but there you go.
By losing Mazzoni on waivers, they received “surrender value” as a return. And leave more room in Triple A for other players.
Thompson is out of options so its either put him on the 25-man or try to pass him through waivers. I believe they have a limited amount of time to try to work out a trade.
7 days.
Well Thompson is out of options, which you already know. DFAing will speed up the transaction process. It’s not going to muster much of a return, but it will make teams come with their offer. Why claim a guy with no value? Well they have to have a full 40 man since they are using a 60 Day DL slot. So why add a prospect or milb contract until you have to especially if they are at risk of losing them. It’s more of a paper transaction move than anything else. If others clear waivers he can easily be DFAd.
The injury to Turner seemed to remove the urgency to push that button. Sending Toles or Pederson down made more sense on the face of it, especially the latter given his struggles this spring.
Well that might be true in a sense, but if the thinking is that carrying an extra bench piece that can play inf like Farmer is preferable I can’t argue. I like trayce, but the problem is he’s been pushed so far down the depth chart it’s hard to see him actually playing. I don’t know if he’s anything more than an every now and then short side platoon guy, with Kemp remaining on the roster, slash def replacement. So in terms of value, I’m not sure you can recuperate much at all. There wasn’t the greatest amount of urgency, but if he’s not in their plans he’s not in their plans.
I believe you are right in suggesting this move is as much about Farmer as anything else. This FO prizes flexibility and Farmer gives them quite a bit more in that respect than Thompson. Management also said that they don’t seen Thompson thriving in a reserve role, and that’s about all he can be offered on this roster. Partly a sales pitch but also true probably.
M’s should pick him up if available. Would be a better option than Werth.
I wonder if Thompson just got fed up with being buried on the depth chart and just didn’t hit until they cut him – watch him mash with whoever he gets with.
Hmmm!
Yeah, he has the minor league slash line to prove that! Just absolutely tore up the minors only to suck in ML spring training to get cut!
uh, no. that’s not how it works
I wish the Braves had room for him in the 40 man roster.
White Sox…they’re early to pick
No they aren’t. Waivers go in reverse order of the 2017 standings starting with the league the player was designated in, so in this case the NL. Giants have first waiver priority followed by the rest of the national league. It would take about 20 teams to pass on him in order for him to get to the White Sox, not happening.
The dodgers are most likely going to trade him. Gotta get something for him while the rest of the league is still intrigued by what he did in 16′
I believe jhinde103 is correct, waiver priority goes in reverse order of the prior year’s MLB standings each offseason.
If a player is waived, any team may claim him. If more than one team claims the player from waivers, the team with the weakest record in the player’s league gets preference. If no team in the player’s league claims him, the claiming team with the weakest record in the other league gets preference. In the first month of a new season, preference is determined using the previous year’s standings.
C’mon Cleveland!
Now that’s interesting…
Braves… go get him. See if he can fight back on a minor league deal
If they “go get him”, it wqould be on an MLB deal. If he clears waivers, the Dodgers keep him.
Gonna miss him. He was darn good for the Dodgers in 2016 when he actually played
Somebody will give him a job.
Good grief! The trade in which LAD got Trayce looks HORRIBLE now. They gave up Peraza (who at age 24 looks like a plus-everyday 2B) and Schebler (who hit 30 HRs last season) and got 2 players that LAD has since released (Thompson & Micah Johnson), & a guy (Montas) they packaged to rent Rich Hill for 3 mos., 1 month of which he spent on the DL.
Even if you consider trading for Hill a net positive, LAD had enough pitching depth in the minors to get a trade like that done w/o Montas…
The thing that didn’t make sense about the move was that Peraza was LAD’s best 2B prospect & LAD didn’t have any long-term option at 2B beyond him. They had Kendrick, who was already 32 yrs. old & only had a yr. left on his deal, & Chase Utley, who was 37 yrs. old. They should’ve just traded Kendrick (LAD did so anyway the following yr. & essentially got nothing in return), & let Peraza platoon at 2B w/ Utley for a yr. to see how he developed. But b/c they traded him (& Kendrick), LAD was left w/ a giant hole at 2B & had to trade a top pitching prospect (DeLeon) to get Forsythe, who was horrible last season.
All around, just an awful, awful trade.
The trade didn’t work out because essentially Thompson got injured. That said Peraza is not a plus 2b. His value will derive from SS, because offensively he’s somewhat limited. The trade just didn’t work out for the Dodgers, but it’s wasn’t awful. If you look at what they had he was never going to displace Seager. If you look at their current state the depth in Forsythe, Kikè, Utley, Barnes, and Taylor not sure he would even be considered high mark on the depth chart now. Dodgers ended up trading three players not in their plans. Sure Forsythe was pretty bad last year(some of that truly can be chalked up to injuries), but he still collected a higher ops that Peraza. There really shouldn’t be any crying over spilled milk in which Peraza is not really a difference maker, JDL will essentially be on the shelf for the 2nd consecutive year, and Schebler is good but he’s 27 LH his def flexibility is somewhat masked by playing in GAB. It
You’re completely undervaluing Peraza. He hit .324 in 2016, and while that BA slipped to .259 last yr., & his OPS overall is not great, he’s still just 23 yrs. old and a better defender at 2B than any of the guys you mentioned.
Either way, Peraza & Schebler are firmly entrenched as MLB players. In exchange, LA got 3 guys who aren’t on the team anymore & contributed little (in Thompson’s case) to nothing (in Johnson’s case).
Also, Thompson was never the key cog in this deal. He’s athletic, good enough defensively to play all 3 OF positions, & has raw power, BUT he’s never been able to hit consistently at any level. His career best BA was .260 in AAA. He’s also already 27 yrs. old, just a few mos. younger than Schebler.
I’m not really crying over spilled milk… It’s just the you never really know how good or bad a trade is at the time the trade is made. Now that time has passed, we can evaluate the trade properly. In this case, the trade was awful for LA…
I’m sorry I’m just not buying. Using def and average would hold some water if he were anything other than a league average hitter in 16 and way below average hitter in 17, and if the Dodgers didn’t turn out to have one of the best defensive inf in the league. In GAB that’s particularly not great especially considering Senzel is being groomed as the future SS. The Dodgers have done a terrific job of knowing who to hold and who’s expandable. His bat is nothing you have to make room for at 2b and def his arm is not strong enough to fill in at 3rd. It really quite honestly seems like Peraza will soon become a light hitting util inf for the reds. Yes you are correct Thompson wasn’t the main cog in that trade, but he was simply carving out his role as a platoon OF in an offense that quite frankly needed him badly down the stretch. Montas was flipped obviously, but the trade again was not awful. Especially considering if you’re going to platoon anyone at 2b Forsythe and Kikè are far more destructive against LH than Peraza.