Chicago White Sox keep inexplicably benching Trayce Thompson

Trayce Thompson burst onto the scene with the Chicago White Sox in late July. After he reached base in five of his first six games at the big league level, the 24-year-old outfielder took a well-deserved three day break, as would be expected of a promising young prospect.

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Just a few months earlier, the Sox had done the same with Tyler Saladino, now the everyday third baseman for the club. Manager Robin Ventura started Saladino for all three games against the Cubs, which led into a nice rest at the All-Star Break after his impressive debut. However, when the All-Star Break ended, Saladino returned to the lineup and stayed there (mainly as a result of Conor Gillaspie being traded to Anaheim, but that’s aside from the point). Fast-forward a month and a half to Thompson’s eerily similar situation, and Ventura seems to have changed his protocol.

After his three-game hiatus from being in the lineup, Thompson returned against the Angels, but was pinch-hit for in favor of J.B. Shuck even after reaching base twice in three at-bats. One major criticism of Ventura’s managerial style is that he plays the righty vs. lefty matchups too often and doesn’t stick to the guy with the hot bat. Then came a day off for Thompson, followed by three consecutive games of being limited to pinch-hitting and defensive replacement duty.

Next time out, Thompson went 2-for-3 with a home run. His reward? Back to the bench for two games. Once again, he followed the benching with a terrific night, going 3-for-4 with three RBI against the Red Sox. If you guessed that he was on the bench the next night, you would be correct.

After going 3-for-4 that night in a 5-4 White Sox win, Thompson raised his slash line to a remarkable .522/.560/.957. Four of the past seven games, he’s been on the bench, causing White Sox fans to raise their eyebrows once more at Ventura, who has been under pressure all season by fans who envisioned a possible playoff run after a busy offseason.

With advanced metrics becoming more and more pronounced in the game, it’s easy to see why Ventura might employ the righty vs. lefty advantage. Sometimes, however, it’s better to stick to the old adage of playing whoever has the hot bat.

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