LOS ANGELES -- A crestfallen Kiké Hernández stood at his locker following Tuesday night's 15-6 win over the Rockies at Dodger Stadium. Just one day before, the utility man had spoken from the heart about his gratitude to be back on a big league field. But after just two games and four plate appearances, Hernández is headed back to the injured list.
Hernández was placed on the 10-day IL with a left oblique strain ahead of Wednesday night's finale against the Rockies. Infielder Alex Freeland was recalled from Triple-A Oklahoma City to fill Hernández's spot on the active roster and is expected to get the bulk of the playing time at second base against right-handed pitching, shifting Hyeseong Kim to a more limited role.
An MRI showed a "significant tear" in Hernández's oblique, manager Dave Roberts said. While the Dodgers are a bit hesitant to specify a timeline until Hernández is symptom-free, the thought is that he could miss around six to eight weeks, putting him in line to return in late July or early August.
"It's a bummer," Roberts said. "He's missed a lot of time and worked hard to get back, was in great shape, added that spark that we had hoped. … I just feel bad for him because he wanted to be back with us and worked hard."
Said Hernández: "Yeah, I mean, frustrating to say the least. … Not just because I missed time, but me coming back got somebody off the roster. Those types of things. I was only able to give the team four at-bats. Yeah, tough. I feel pretty defeated right now."
Hernández began the season on the 60-day IL while recovering from offseason surgery on his left elbow, which had hampered him for much of last season. He was activated just after his 60 days were up, but before making his season debut on Monday, he tweaked his side during batting practice.
Initially, Hernández thought it was "just weird tightness." He had not dealt with an oblique injury before, and he only felt discomfort while swinging, so he hoped he could play through it. After going 2-for-2 on Monday, Hernández homered in his first at-bat Tuesday, which felt "awful." At that point, he started feeling his oblique while making throws from third base and running the bases, and he knew he needed to stop playing.
"I was embarrassed because it didn't even happen in the game, it happened in BP," Hernández said. "So I just thought that it was a small tweak, and it felt tight. And I mean, compared to some of the things I've played through in the past, it was nothing. And yeah, it was a little more than nothing."
After Hernández was replaced on defense in the fifth inning, he was seen speaking to Roberts in the dugout. That was when Hernández first informed Roberts about what he was feeling.
"He understood how frustrated I was, and he was trying to get me to keep my head up," Hernández said. "Honestly, at that point I was kind of not there, so I'm not necessarily sure everything that he said to me. He said that he was sorry that this happened to me, and I told him I was sorry, too, for not being able to post and just play the rest of the year."
When Hernández spoke ahead of his season debut, he underscored how patience helped him through his months-long recovery from his elbow surgery. After his latest setback, it will take a little more patience until he can get back on the diamond once again.