An online poll shows Trayce Thompson as the player more fans think will emerge as the Dodgers’ primary option in center field in 2023.
Center field remains a big question mark for the Dodgers as we get closer and closer to the start of the 2023 season. Los Angeles non-tendered former MVP Cody Bellinger early this offseason, and while they originally hoped to re-sign him to a lesser deal, the wild free-agent market priced him beyond what they wanted to pay and he ended up with the Cubs.
L.A. was reportedly interested in Kevin Kiermaier, but again, it would have had to be at their price considering his profile — good glove, bad bat — was very similar to the guy they let go. Toronto was willing to pay more, so there he went.
The Dodgers have internal options including Trayce Thompson and James Outman, both of whom are on the 40-man roster already. They’ve also signed former star Jason Heyward and former Giant Steven Duggar to minor-league deals, which provides some intriguing options.
Our friends over at Dodgers Nation tweeted out a poll to ask fans who they think will emerge as the regular center-fielder, and the results were interesting.
Thompson played much better than expected for Los Angeles in 2022. He was brought in as a temporary fill-in when Mookie Betts went down with a fractured rib in June, but he stuck around even after Mookie came back and ended up posting a .901 OPS (145 OPS+) for the Dodgers. But he started to show holes in his swing over the last few weeks of the season, and he had a 36% strikeout rate overall, even higher than Chris Taylor’s career-worst 35.2% K rate.
Outman got a few games in the big leagues and hit the ball well when he hit it, although he also struck out in nearly half of his plate appearances. He hit very well in the minors and he’s a good defensive outfielder, so he’ll surely get some shots in the L.A. outfield.
Heyward played some center field for the Cubs in 2022, but his days as an elite outfielder came in right field. The Dodgers are obviously all set in right, but it’s not really clear that Heyward still has the range to play well in center.
Among the 9.1% who voted “Other,” pretty much everyone is saying “Bryan Reynolds,” which remains a viable possibility.
We know someone will start in center field for the Dodgers, but right now it’s anyone’s guess who it will be.
