Puig able to run during workout in Arizona
DENVER -- Dodgers outfielder Yasiel Puig, hampered by a strained left hamstring much of the season, was able to run on Monday at virtually full speed at the Camelback Ranch complex in Arizona, manager Don Mattingly reported.
Puig tweeted out word that he would be back on the field in a few days, presumably as part of a Minor League rehabilitation assignment. Puig already had one rehab assignment shut down with a flare-up of the hamstring.
The Dodgers will have played 50 games after Monday's series opener against the Rockies, but Puig has played in only 11. He has two homers and four RBIs, to go with only one homer and three RBIs from fellow corner outfielder Carl Crawford, who was transferred to the 60-day disabled list on Monday with a strained right oblique, meaning he will miss at least four more weeks.
Mattingly wouldn't give a timetable for Puig's return, but his club's prolonged offensive slump has lent a sense of urgency. Mattingly said the club has received solid production from Andre Ethier, Alex Guerrero and Scott Van Slyke in their absence. But Mattingly used the word "over-exposed" while expressing the hope that when Puig returns to right field, Ethier could move to left field "and take pressure off Scott and Alex, who have played against guys we don't think they match up against."
Mattingly said he started rookie utilityman Kiké Hernandez in left field on Monday night because, with lefty Clayton Kershaw facing a right-handed-heavy Rockies lineup, "it's a big outfield and I want to defense left field."