This story was excerpted from Sonja Chen’s Dodgers Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.
It will only be a matter of time before Teoscar Hernández is back to tossing sunflower seeds and manning left field for the Dodgers.
Hernández will begin a rehab assignment with Triple-A Oklahoma City on Tuesday, three and a half weeks after he was placed on the 10-day injured list with a strained left hamstring. The plan is for Hernández to play out the week with the Comets, making it into four or five games of the road series in Reno before likely being activated during the Dodgers' series against the A's beginning on June 29.
When Hernández sustained the hamstring injury, there was some initial concern that it was a more severe injury. But testing revealed that it was just a Grade 1 strain, and Hernández's rehab has proceeded right on schedule.
While Hernández's recovery has been smooth, the Dodgers have been mindful of giving him enough time to completely heal. Last year, Hernández dealt with a similar injury, a left groin strain that sidelined him for two weeks. He played in only one Minor League rehab game while coming back from that injury, which lingered throughout the season.
This week, Hernández should have ample time to get his legs under him and build up for his return to the Dodgers.
"I’m going to take my time. I want to deal with it," Hernández said at the time of his injury. "It’s early in the season. I’d rather miss a couple more weeks and be back 100%. Then I can give my best to the team the rest of the season."
From the Dodgers' perspective, it helps that they have the depth to account for a month-long absence from one of the key bats in their lineup. Hernández hit .367 with a 1.018 OPS in the 18 games leading up to his injury. Overall, he posted a .784 OPS in 51 games.
It's not easy to replace that level of production, but the Dodgers have gotten decent results by backfilling left field with Alex Call and Ryan Ward. Ward, the Dodgers' No. 19 prospect per MLB Pipeline, hit 9-for-40 (.225) in his first 14 games since being recalled from Oklahoma City in the wake of Hernández's injury, but seven of those hits went for extra bases (three homers and four doubles). Tommy Edman, who was activated from the IL last week, has also joined the left-field mix and made an early impact.
Hernández should provide a boost to an offense that has been better, but still a little inconsistent, of late. The Dodgers' position-player group is slowly but surely growing healthier, an important development for the back-to-back champions as they get deeper into the season.
Here's a rundown of some other key injury updates for the Dodgers:
C Will Smith (neck inflammation): Smith will not travel with the Dodgers on the upcoming road trip through Minnesota, San Diego and West Sacramento. He has been out long enough that he will likely need to go on a short rehab assignment before being activated, although that depends on how much progress he is able to make this week.
RHP Brock Stewart (left foot bone spur): Stewart is expected to be activated from the IL on Monday in Minnesota, where he played the previous three seasons before being traded to L.A. at last year's Trade Deadline.
RHP Edwin Díaz (loose bodies in right elbow): Díaz began a bullpen progression last week. Over the next few weeks, he will continue to ramp up in the bullpen before progressing to facing live hitters, which should put him on track for a return after the All-Star break, as planned.
LHP Blake Snell (loose bodies in left elbow): Snell threw off the mound to a standing catcher over the weekend, about a month removed from undergoing the NanoNeedle Scope procedure on his elbow. He could throw his first full bullpen session soon.
RHP Blake Treinen (right elbow inflammation): Treinen may not be sidelined for much longer than the minimum 15 days after imaging on his elbow did not show any structural damage. For the time being, he is only resting and getting treatment on his elbow.