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.
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.
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While many fans of the Dodgers were hoping that the team’s general bill of health would begin to improve heading into the first full week of May, the injury report continues to be a revolving door of wounded players. With a bit of luck, though, a few may conceivably return relatively soon as the club hopes to avoid yet another week of double digits on the disabled list.
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By the time the Dodgers head into San Diego this weekend for a three-game divisional series, the team’s 25-man roster may have a bit of a different look, most specifically with the return of three position players — Franklin Gutierrez, Joc Pederson and Logan Forsythe.
We are now fully one month into the Dodgers‘ season, and it ended up a little better than some might have thought a week ago. A four game winning streak, including one pretty epic comeback victory to end the month, will do that for you. The Dodgers sit at 14-12, third in the NL West, two games out of first. Not bad, considering.
After Saturday evening’s come-from-behind, walk-off victory against the Phillies, many who are close to the Dodgers, including skipper Dave Roberts himself, believe that the monumental win has potentially infused a bit of momentum, and conceivably could be the one contest that may spearhead a new direction for the squad.
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In the greater scope of things, there’s probably not enough room on the Dodgers‘ 25-man roster for both Scott Van Slyke and Rob Segedin, especially if the majority of the club’s key contributors are 100% healthy. However, with lefty killer Franklin Gutierrez still nursing a tender hamstring and veteran southpaw Rich Hill back on the shelf for an undetermined amount of time, the team turned to Segedin on Monday with hopes of creating a jolt of offensive energy against left-handed pitching.
While there are still a few lingering issues that have affected the general makeup of the big league 25-man roster, injuries have not had a significant impact on the overall performance of the Dodgers so far in 2017. Veteran lefty Rich Hill is prepared to be reinstated from the 10-day disabled list to face the Diamondbacks on Sunday afternoon, and with a little bit of good fortune, one or two other players may soon follow in his footsteps.