Mason Lane Thompson (born February 20, 1998) is an American

professional A professional is a member of a profession or any person who work (human activity), works in a specified professional activity. The term also describes the standards of education and training that prepare members of the profession with the partic ...

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("Pitch (baseball), pitches") the Baseball (ball), baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of out (baseball), retiring a batter (baseball), batter, ...

for the

Washington Nationals The Washington Nationals are an American professional baseball team based in Washington, D.C. The Nationals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East Division. They play their home games at Na ...

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

(MLB). He previously played in MLB for the

San Diego Padres The San Diego Padres are an American professional baseball team based in San Diego. The Padres compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Division. ...

Amateur career

Thompson attended

Round Rock High School Round Rock High School is a public high school located in Round Rock, Texas, a suburb of North Austin. Founded in 1867, it is the oldest high school in the Round Rock Independent School District. As of 2021, it is the largest high school in the ...

Round Rock, Texas Round Rock is a city in Williamson and Travis County, Texas, United States, part of the Greater Austin metropolitan area. Its population is 119,468 according to the 2020 census. The city straddles the Balcones Escarpment, Texas State Histor ...

. He underwent

Tommy John surgery Ulnar collateral ligament reconstruction, sometimes referred to as Tommy John surgery is a surgical graft procedure where the ulnar collateral ligament in the medial elbow is replaced with either a tendon from elsewhere in the patient's body, ...

as a junior, and pitched only one inning as a senior. He was selected by the

in the third round, 85th overall, of the

2016 Major League Baseball draft The 2016 Major League Baseball draft began on June 9, 2016, to assign amateur baseball players to MLB teams. The draft order is the reverse order of the 2015 MLB season standings. In addition, compensation picks were distributed for players who ...

. He signed for $1.75 million, forgoing his commitment to play

college baseball College baseball is baseball that is played by Student athlete, student-athletes at institutions of higher education. In the United States, college baseball is sanctioned mainly by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA); in Japan, ...

for the

Texas Longhorns The Texas Longhorns are the athletic teams representing the University of Texas at Austin. The teams are sometimes referred to as the Horns and take their name from Longhorn cattle that were an important part of the development of Texas, and ...

Professional career

San Diego Padres

Thompson made his professional debut with the

Arizona League Padres The Arizona Complex League Padres or ACL Padres are a Minor League Baseball team based in Peoria, Arizona. The Padres compete in the Arizona Complex League as a rookie-level affiliate of the San Diego Padres. The team plays its home games at Peor ...

, tossing 12 innings of 2.25 ERA ball. In 2017, Thompson played for the Single-A

Fort Wayne TinCaps The Fort Wayne TinCaps are a Minor League Baseball team based in Fort Wayne, Indiana. The TinCaps compete in the Midwest League as the High-A affiliate of the San Diego Padres. The team plays its home games at Parkview Field. The TinCaps won the ...

, posting a 2-4 record and 4.67 ERA in seven appearances. He returned to Fort Wayne for the 2018 season, pitching to a 6-8 record and 4.94 ERA with 97 strikeouts in 93 innings of work. In 2019, Thompson played for the High-A

Lake Elsinore Storm The Lake Elsinore Storm are a Minor League Baseball team based in Lake Elsinore, California. The Storm compete in the California League as the Single-A affiliate of the San Diego Padres. The team plays its home games at Lake Elsinore Diamond, w ...

, only appearing in seven games due to injury, and recorded an 0-5 record and 7.66 ERA. Thompson did not play in a game in 2020 due to the cancellation of the minor league season because of the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

. The Padres added him to their 40-man roster after the 2020 season. On June 20, 2021, Thompson was promoted to the major leagues for the first time. He made his MLB debut on June 22, pitching one-third of an inning against the

Los Angeles Dodgers The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Div ...

, and earning a

hold Hold may refer to: Physical spaces * Hold (compartment), interior cargo space * Baggage hold, cargo space on an airplane * Stronghold, a castle or other fortified place Arts, entertainment, and media * Hold (musical term), a pause, also called ...

Washington Nationals

On July 30, 2021, Thompson and Jordy Barley were traded to the

in exchange for

Daniel Hudson Daniel Claiborne Hudson (born March 9, 1987) is an American former professional baseball pitcher who played 16 seasons of Major League Baseball (MLB) from 2009 to 2024. Hudson was drafted by the Chicago White Sox in the fifth round of the 2008 M ...

. He was activated the next day and made his Nationals debut on August 2. In 27 relief appearances, he posted a 4.15 ERA with 21 strikeouts across innings of work. On April 10, 2022, Thompson was placed on the injured list due to a

biceps The biceps or biceps brachii (, "two-headed muscle of the arm") is a large muscle that lies on the front of the upper arm between the shoulder and the elbow. Both heads of the muscle arise on the scapula and join to form a single muscle bel ...

injury. He was transferred to the 60-day IL on May 10 with biceps tendinitis. He was activated on July 1. On September 5, he earned his first major league save by pitching the final three scoreless innings against the

St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Centra ...

in a 6-0 Nationals win in St. Louis. In 24 games, Thompson recorded a 2.92 ERA with 15 strikeouts and one save. In 2023, Thompson made 51 relief appearances for Washington, registering a 5.50 ERA with 44 strikeouts across 54 innings of work. On February 28, 2024, it was announced that Thompson would require

, ending his season prematurely. He was activated from the injured list to make his return from surgery on July 5, 2025.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Thompson, Mason 1998 births Living people Arizona League Padres players Baseball players from Travis County, Texas El Paso Chihuahuas players Florida Complex League Nationals players Fort Wayne TinCaps players Harrisburg Senators players Lake Elsinore Storm players Major League Baseball pitchers Rochester Red Wings players San Diego Padres players Sportspeople from Round Rock, Texas Washington Nationals players 21st-century American sportsmen