SAN DIEGO -- After a week spent rehabbing with Triple-A Oklahoma City in Reno, Teoscar Hernández was just a drive down I-80 away from rejoining the Dodgers in West Sacramento. The club made that move official on Monday, activating Hernández from the IL ahead of its opener with the A's while optioning outfielder Ryan Ward to Oklahoma City.
The Dodgers fared fine without Hernández, who was sidelined for a month due to a strained left hamstring, going 18-10 in 28 games, but they are certainly looking forward to getting their starting left fielder back.
"The team is playing really good right now," Hernández said with a smile, "so I don't think they really need me in the lineup."
Here are a few things to know about Hernández's activation:
How will his return to play look?
Last year, when Hernández dealt with a strained left groin, he spent two weeks on the IL and played in just one rehab game, only to deal with the lingering effects from that injury for the rest of the season. He and the Dodgers have drawn on that past experience while mapping out his rehab and return from this year's hamstring strain.
Hernández appeared in four games in left field for the Comets, playing a full nine innings on Saturday. He got the day off on Sunday.
As Hernández returns to big league action, the Dodgers will ease him in, especially because they don't have a team off-day until July 9. He'll likely start four or five games in his first week back, then continue to build up from there.
How will his return affect the roster?
Ward, the Dodgers' No. 19 prospect, was the player the Dodgers chose to recall at the beginning of Hernández's IL stint. Left field was a platoon in Hernández's absence, with Ward, Alex Call and Tommy Edman all seeing time there. Hernández will take over once he is fully built up, shifting Call back to the fourth-outfielder role he filled earlier this season. Edman could still play the outfield as needed, but he will see more time at second base, also occasionally spelling Max Muncy at third base.
As for the lineup, Hernández should bat somewhere around the middle-third of the order. His bat could potentially provide a much-needed boost for L.A. Among the nine Dodgers with at least 50 plate appearances with runners in scoring position, Hernández's .862 OPS in such situations ranks fourth, behind Andy Pages, Freddie Freeman and Shohei Ohtani. Hernández batted fifth on Monday.
What can we take away from his performance in Triple-A?
Hernández may have gone only 3-for-14 (.214) in his four games with the Comets -- but all of those hits left the yard. The power is an encouraging sign, but somewhat to be expected in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League.
"I think Triple-A pitching is not comparable to big league pitching. I think we all know that," manager Dave Roberts said. "But if he's healthy, he's an easy guy to bet on."
The Dodgers would love to see Hernández pick up where he left off. He went 22-for-60 (.367) with seven extra-base hits in 18 games before going on the IL. But even if his return does not make an immediate impact on the field, his presence should help raise both the floor and the ceiling for L.A.
"It's really good," Hernández said of his swing. "Not the way it was before I got hurt, but it's really close. ... I was able to do that [with Oklahoma City], hit the ball and pitches that are in the strike zone and not swing at the ones out of the strike zone. I think that's for me, that's more important about my swing than anything."