Dodgers acquire Lance Lynn & Joe Kelly

July 28th, 2023

LOS ANGELES – The Los Angeles Dodgers acquired right-handed pitchers Lance Lynn and Joe Kelly from the Chicago White Sox in exchange for outfielder Trayce Thompson and right-handed pitchers Nick Nastrini and Jordan Leasure. In order to make room on the 40-man roster, the Dodgers designated infielder Eddys Leonard and left-handed pitcher Justin Bruihl.

Lynn, 36, has made 21 appearances for the White Sox and he is 6-9 with a 6.47 ERA (86 ER/119.2 IP) and 144 strikeouts this season. He had a banner season in his first season with Chicago, going 11-6 with a 2.69 ERA (47 ER/157.0 IP) and 176 strikeouts in 28 starts for the White Sox, earning his second All-Star bid and finishing third for the American League Cy Young. His other All-Star nod was in his first full season in 2012, going 18-7 with a 3.78 ERA (74 ER/176.0 IP) and 180 strikeouts. He has been in the Major Leagues parts of 12 seasons with St. Louis (2011-17), Minnesota (2018), New York-AL (2018), Texas (2019-20) and Chicago-AL (2021-23) and he is a combined 129-93 with a 3.71 ERA (753 ER/1825.0 IP) and 1859 strikeouts. He was originally drafted in the first round (39th overall) of 2008 First Year Player Draft out of the University of Mississippi by the St. Louis Cardinals.

Kelly, 35, returns for his second stint with the Dodgers after going 7-4 with a 3.59 ERA (42 ER/105.1 IP) and 121 strikeouts in three seasons with Los Angeles. This season, he is 1-5 with a 4.97 ERA (16 ER/29.0 IP) and 41 strikeouts in 31 games for the White Sox. He has been in the Major Leagues parts of 12 years with St. Louis (2012-14), Boston (2014-18), Los Angeles (2019-21) and Chicago-AL (2022-23) and he is 52-37 with a  3.98 ERA (352 ER/796.2 IP) and 713 strikeouts in 439 games. He was originally drafted by the St. Louis Cardinals in the third round of the 2009 First Year Player Draft out of the University of California, Riverside.

Thompson, 32, has been on the injured list since June 4 after appearing in 36 games for the Dodgers. He hit .155 (11-for-71) with five homers and 14 RBI. He has been in the Majors parts of seven seasons, hitting .216 (184-for-853) with 44 homers and 123 RBI. He was originally drafted by the White Sox in the second round of the 2009 First Year Player Draft out of Santa Margarita Catholic High School.

Nastrini, 23, appeared in 17 games for Tulsa this season, going 5-3 with a 4.03 ERA (33 ER/73.2 IP) and 85 strikeouts. He has been with the Dodgers parts of three minor league seasons and he is a combined 11-7 with a 3.83 ERA (87 ER/204.1 IP) and 286 strikeouts against 99 walks in 51 games. He was drafted by the Dodgers in fourth round of the 2021 First Year Player Draft out of UCLA.

Leasure, 24, was 2-2 with a 3.09 ERA (12 ER/35.0 IP) and 56 strikeouts in 29 games for Tulsa this season. He has been with the Dodgers since 2021, going a combined 5-4 with a 3.46 ERA (40 ER/104.0 IP) and 153 strikeouts against 43 walks in 86 games. The right-hander was originally drafted in the 14th round of the 2021 First Year Player Draft out of the University of Tampa.