The Los Angeles Dodgers are getting a key part of their lineup back. Teoscar Hernández has been activated from the injured list, the team announced on Monday.
Hernández, 32, sustained a left groin strain while chasing down a line drive in the outfield during the Dodgers’ game versus the Miami Marlins on May 6. At the time of his injury, he was batting .315 with a .933 OPS, 10 doubles and nine home runs, while leading MLB with 34 RBI in 33 games (136 plate appearances).
With Hernández’s return, outfielder James Outman was sent back down to Triple-A Oklahoma City. He was recalled from the minors to fill Hernández’s spot on the roster. Outman, 28, was batting .125/.222/.375 with two homers and four RBI.
The Dodgers may not be done making moves with their outfielders now that Hernández and Tommy Edman have been activated. The team released veteran utilityman Chris Taylor on Sunday, deciding to keep Hyeseong Kim (.452/.485/.581 in 33 PAs) instead. Andy Pages has also been playing very well, batting .280 with a .987 OPS, nine homers, 27 RBI and five stolen bases.
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts will likely opt to use Edman and Kim, in addition to Enrique Hernández, at multiple positions based on pitching matchups and the need for days off to keep players fresh. However, Michael Conforto could ultimately be pushed out of the outfield mix, carrying a .171//.305/.279 batting line with nine doubles and two home runs.
With just 44 games played, the Dodgers will probably give Conforto more time to turn his season around. But he only signed a one-year deal and thus may be viewed as expendable in a roster crunch. But moving Taylor and veteran catcher Austin Barnes off the roster shows that the Dodgers feel the urgency to make tough decisions as they face a tough race in the National League West.
Going into Monday’s MLB slate, the Dodgers lead both the San Diego Padres and San Francisco Giants by one game in the National League West at 29-18. The Arizona Diamondbacks aren’t far behind either, just four games back.
Of greater concern is the team’s pitching, which ranks 11th in the NL (and 21st in MLB) with a 4.18 ERA. Starters Tyler Glasnow, Blake Snell and Roki Sasaki are all on the injured list, in addition to relievers Blake Treinen, Evan Phillips and Kirby Yates. Clayton Kershaw made his first start of the season on Saturday, but looked like a work in progress after returning from multiple surgeries.
As Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman said on Sunday, building pitching depth is an endless chase.
“It’s like a game of Whack-a-Mole, and things keep popping up,” Friedman said, via the Los Angeles Times. “The definition of enough depth, I think is a fool’s errand. I don’t know what enough depth means. I think more is always better with pitching depth.”
Figuring out the team’s outfield mix is a luxury by comparison. That’s a problem the Dodgers will surely accept right now while there are far more pressing issues to address.
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