1 hour ago
3
NEW YORK — When the Dodgers open a three-game series at home against the Mariners on Tuesday, they will do so with utilityman Kiké Hernández on their active roster.
A day later, they will get back closer Edwin Díaz.
Also this week, Blake Snell is scheduled to make his final minor-league start before he is activated from the 60-day injured list.
“Nice trade deadline, huh?” first baseman Freddie Freeman said, equating their returns to midseason acquisitions.
The Dodgers are closer to becoming whole.
They dropped an 8-3 decision to the Mets on Sunday at Citi Field but collected six victories on their three-series, nine-game trip coming out of the All-Star break.
The Dodgers returned to Los Angeles with a major-league-leading 67-39 record.
The other teams with championship ambitions should be concerned. The Dodgers have spent most of their season banged up. If they could win 63% of their games with several key players sidelined, how many will they win as they approach full strength?
“It’s exciting,” Freeman said. “[Those] are some real quality reinforcements coming for us.”
More than wins and losses, the Dodgers’ priority will be to prepare the players for October.
That includes the team’s healthy players, some of whom are dealing with injuries or working their way through slumps.
Shohei Ohtani has to be front of mind.
The two-way player has been shut down from pitching due to a lingering knee problem. Ohtani has said his left knee doesn’t bother him when he’s hitting, but he’s batted just .184 with 10 strikeouts in 41 plate appearances since the All-Star break.
Mookie Betts and Kyle Tucker also have to make themselves factors on offense.
Slowed down by an early-season oblique injury, Betts batted .292 in the 16 games leading up the All-Star break, only to hit just .181 since.
Tucker remains stuck in a season-long slump, but he showed signs of promise in the Mets series by homering in each of the first two games. He previously hadn’t homered in consecutive games with the Dodgers.
“I feel a lot better,” Tucker said. “Need more of that.”
The $240 million right fielder admitted that maintaining his confidence was a challenge.
“You just gotta do your best at forgetting what happened in the previous at-bats and the previous games and just move on,” Tucker said. “So it can be tough at times.”
Unlocking Betts or Tucker, or both, could transform the lineup.
Díaz’s comeback Wednesday could have that kind of effect on the bullpen.
The $69 million newcomer saved only four games for the Dodgers before he underwent surgery to remove bone chips from his right elbow.
Even without Díaz, the Dodgers’ bullpen performed well — for the most part.
But the group started to crack on this trip, as two of the team’s three losses were charged to right-hander Evan Phillips. Will Klein was also roughed up, as he gave up six runs in three appearances, including four in the defeat Sunday.
“It’ll be good to get Edwin back,” manager Dave Roberts said.
Roberts said Díaz would move back into his customary role as the closer. Tanner Scott, who was the team’s primary ninth-inning option in Díaz’s absence, will now be free to be used by Roberts in a wider range of late-game situations.
Hernández’s return will complete a makeover of the infield that began when Tommy Edman was activated from the injured list in mid-June.
Santiago Espinal was designated for assignment when Edman came back. Alex Freeland is expected to be optioned to Triple-A Oklahoma City when Hernández joins the active roster.
Edman has settled in as the team’s first-choice second baseman, with veteran Miguel Rojas occasionally spelling him. Hernández will provide another veteran presence in the infield.
The greatest concern on the team remains catcher Will Smith, who has been sidelined for the last month and a half with an inflamed disk in his neck. Roberts reported that Smith is pain-free and has started “moving around.”
As for the rotation, the Dodgers are taking their time with their sidelined arms.
The plan is for Snell to pitch four innings in the next start of his minor-league rehabilitation assignment. Roberts said the Dodgers would “read and react” with Snell, which makes it possible for him to return to the rotation next week.
Roberts was also optimistic about Tyler Glasnow, who started throwing to hitters while the Dodgers were on the road. Glasnow figures to be nearing a minor-league rehabilitation assignment.
Ohtani skipped his final start before the All-Star Game and hasn’t pitched since. He threw a bullpen session in Philadelphia last week, but a follow-up session planned for Saturday had to be scrapped as he experienced what was described by Roberts as “regression” in his problematic knee.
Asked if any recent developments with Ohtani would reshape how the Dodgers view the Aug. 3 trade deadline, Roberts replied. “I don’t think so. I really don’t.”
The Dodgers will add several high-profile players, but they happen to already be on the team.
English (US)