Former Gamecock outfielder dealt by Yankees in trade with Mariners
A former South Carolina Gamecocks baseball player was included by the New York Yankees in a major trade with the Seattle Mariners Monday.
Outfielder Dom Thompson-Williams was one of three prospects the Yankees sent in a trade to the Mariners for starting pitcher James Paxton, the New York Post reported.
In addition to Thompson-Williams, New York traded minor league pitchers Justus Sheffield and Erik Swanson to Seattle for Paxton, who was 11-6 with a 3.76 ERA last season, and tossed a no-hitter, mlb.com reported.
It was the first blockbuster deal of the hot stove season in baseball.
Thompson-Williams was a junior when he played for the Gamecocks in 2016. He started all 64 games, hit .321, scored 58 runs and drove in 41 RBIs on 17 doubles, three triples, and eight home runs, according to gamecocksonline.com. He also had a .418 on-base percentage and a .517 slugging mark.
That was his only year with the Gamecocks, after transferring to USC from junior college, The State reported. He didn’t play his senior season because Thompson-Williams was drafted by the Yankees in the fifth round of the 2016 MLB draft.
Thompson-Williams played for three of the Yankees Class A teams in two-plus seasons in their farm system, according to baseball-reference.com. In stints at Staten Island, Charleston and Tampa, the former Gamecock played in a combined 220 games where he posted a .270 batting average with 116 runs scored and 118 RBIs on 34 doubles and 28 homers. He also had a .350 on-base percentage and a .434 slugging mark.
The Yankees have drafted several former Gamecocks in recent years, including pitchers Jordan Montgomery, Clarke Schmidt, Tyler Webb and Taylor Widener. Like Thompson-Williams, Webb and Widener been traded, The State reported.
This story was originally published November 19, 2018 at 6:14 PM.
