The Los Angeles Dodgers on Tuesday afternoon traded right-handed pitcher Chris Hatcher to Oakland for international amateur signing bonus pool space and reinstated infielder/outfielder Rob Segedin from the 60-day disabled list.
While most of the recent injury news surrounding the Dodgers has been centered around the prospective return of staff ace Clayton Kershaw, there are a few other players close to activation who may impact the squad down the stretch of the season — most specifically veterans Adrian Gonzalez and Andre Ethier.
Despite the disabled list having been in double digits for a huge portion of the season, the Dodgers still continue to rack up the wins at a fantastic rate, and seemingly write new chapters in the MLB history books with each occurring victory. If you haven’t done so already, please take a few minutes to check out Todd’s outstanding editorial analysis outlining how several key injuries early in the season set the stage for the club’s current run of success.
As it’s been nearly 10 days since we’ve put together our last injury report, there hasn’t been any changes to the disabled list of the Dodgers, outside of several cases of improvement to a few players who could contribute to the club down the stretch run of the season.
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It’s really not that difficult to inadvertently overlook the injuries of the Dodgers considering the club’s most recent string of success; however, looking ahead, the overall health of the squad could become a critical factor during the stretch run of the regular season and into the playoffs.
(Mandatory Credit: Joe Camporeale/USA TODAY Sports)
While it’s probably not the most ideal time to begin a discussion about the Dodgers bullpen considering the way the offense has been producing over the last month, the 2017 non-waiver trade deadline is now a mere four weeks away, and it would be very surprising if the club did not try to upgrade with at least one quality arm.
Fans of the Dodgers breathed a sigh of relief earlier this week as Corey Seager‘s injury was not quite as bad as it could have been, allowing the shortstop to avoid the disabled list. Seager returned to the lineup Thursday night in Anaheim and went 0-for-4. He was replaced in the sixth inning by Enrique Hernandez to give him a rest. It was a week ago when Seager first felt tightness in his hamstring after a swing, and he exited that game after two innings. He spent this week testing his hamstring on and off the field, and was said to be available off the bench, although he was never used. Before the injury, he was sporting a .329/.433/.605 slash line with six doubles and five home runs in June alone.
If there’s one secondary detail that’s currently being overshadowed by the scorching hot play of the Dodgers right now, it’s the fact that there are still several serious injuries to players which don’t appear to be improving anytime soon. In most cases, the tremendous organizational depth of the club covers just about any type of potential ailment, yet in the case of one certain shortstop, fans everywhere are hoping for just a very minor hiccup.
So, it just might be that these Dodgers are pretty good. After sweeping a four-game series with the Mets, they head into a series with the second place Colorado Rockies riding a seven game winning streak. They’ve won 13 of their last 14 games.