PORT ST. LUCIE — Trayce Thompson doesn’t mind.
The new Mets outfielder understands that wherever he goes — which is all over for a 32-year-old who has spent time with five different teams over parts of seven major league seasons — he will be known as Klay Thompson’s brother.
“I’m proud,” Trayce said Saturday about being the younger sibling of the Warriors star. “I understand his status in the sports world, but … I’m his No. 1 fan, me and our big brother Mychy [Mychel]. Everything I’ve wanted him to accomplish in life he’s accomplished. I’m proud to be Klay Thompson’s brother. I don’t even view him as Klay Thompson — that’s my brother Klay.
“I’m extremely proud, so it doesn’t bother me.”
Appropriately, Klay Thompson’s brother (and the son of Mychal Thompson) has a shot with the Mets.
Trayce, in major league camp on a minor league pact, said the Mets were the first team that targeted him this offseason.
Thompson can play all three outfield spots — and started in center field in Saturday’s 10-5 loss to the Cardinals at Clover Park, where he went 0-for-2 — and has a mixed history at the plate.
Thompson, who played basketball in high school but said baseball has always been his love, had not hit consistently until a breakout season in 2022, when he posted an .860 OPS (including 13 home runs) in 80 games primarily with the Dodgers.
He could not replicate the numbers a season later, when he struggled (.677 OPS in 36 games) before a strained oblique forced him to the IL in June. By the time he returned to health he had been traded to the White Sox, with whom he again did not hit much.
Asked about his down season, Thompson cited several possible factors that included a “weird” spring training in which he played in the World Baseball Classic with Great Britain, as well as receiving limited at-bats against righties, against whom the righty hitter uniquely performs better. He did not blame injuries for his struggles, though he did require a “minor” ankle surgery in November.
Thompson projects as minor league depth for an outfield that could need it. There are injury concerns with Harrison Bader and Starling Marte, with Brandon Nimmo and Tyrone Taylor likely filling out the major league group.
Thompson, who has solid power, said the early focus with Mets hitting minds has been improving his contact rate. Thompson’s strikeouts — 77 in 179 plate appearances — soared last season.
“When I’m [making contact] at close to even league-average rate, I’m a pretty good player,” Thompson said. “Now, how we get there is always going to be something that we can work on. … Because when I do make contact, I make quality contact. And so if you could just up that just a little bit, it could pay big dividends.”
