The Los Angeles Dodgers have been without slugger Teoscar Hernandez since May 27th, when he went down with a left hamstring strain. That would, ultimately, land him on the Injured List.
Luckily, Hernandez is getting closer to a return for the Dodgers. In fact, manager Dave Roberts shared that he’s preparing to go on his rehab assignment.
“He’s taking batting practice [Thursday],” Roberts said. “He’s going to do a simulated game here, and then I would assume he goes out on rehab early next week.”
What is unclear is how long of a rehab assignment Hernandez is going to need. Of course, that’s probably going to end up relating to how his hamstring responds to playing on it again. It is also worth noting that position players can be on a rehab assignment for a maximum of 20 days.
“I’m going to take my time,” Hernández previously said. “I want to deal with it. It’s early in the season. Miss maybe a couple more weeks, and then be back 100% and just give my best to the team all the way through the end of the season.”
Teoscar Hernandez Has Been a Spark for the Los Angeles Dodgers When Healthy
GettyLos Angeles Dodgers outfielder Teoscar Hernandez
Now going into his third season with the Los Angeles Dodgers, Teoscar Hernandez has consistently provided power toward the middle of their lineup. That’s even true in a lineup littered with superstars where it’s hard to stand out.
This season, Hernandez is hitting .276 with a .348 OBP and a .436 slugging percentage. That’s good for a .785 OPS. He’s done that with 7 home runs, 8 doubles, and 31 RBIs.
Hernandez was playing well prior to his injury. Not counting the game he was injured in, as Hernandez only had one at-bat in it, he hit safely in seven straight games. He had also hit safely in 12 of his 13 games prior to getting injured. That included four multi-hit games and three of his home runs.
This comes as the Dodgers are now sitting at 48-27 on the season. That’s good for a 9.0 game lead in the NL West and is the most wins in all of MLB. That isn’t overly surprising, though, given that Los Angeles is once again the consensus favorite to win the World Series.
Multiple Dodgers are Dealing With Injuries
GettyLos Angeles Dodgers catcher Will Smith
While the Dodgers are getting good news on the Teoscar Hernandez front, he’s far from the only player to be battling injury concerns.
The most notable of those is the injury to superstar Shohei Ohtani. He would be pulled from a game while pitching after he started dealing with swelling in his left knee. He’s been able to hit at the plate like normal, but there were concerns he wouldn’t pitch. Dave Roberts put that to bed, though, and Ohtani pitched on Wednesday.
There was more concerning news about catcher Will Smith. Roberts admitted that while Smith is going to be eligible to be activated from the IL on Friday, he won’t be ready yet. It’s still up in the air when he will be activated.
In all of that, the Dodgers have now won three games in a row. Their next game is on Friday, at home against the Baltimore Orioles.
Dodgers Injury Update: Dave Roberts Shares Positive Teoscar Hernandez News