Still without All-Star third baseman Justin Turner, the Los Angeles Dodgers now won’t have the services of his primary backup, Logan Forsythe. He was removed in the sixth inning of Saturday’s game due to right shoulder discomfort.
Forsythe underwent an MRI, which revealed right shoulder inflammation. He was placed on the 10-day disabled list and in his place, the Dodgers recalled Breyvic Valera from Triple-A Oklahoma City.
While arm injuries could often be serious, it doesn’t appear that Forsythe’s is. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts expects him to be back after the minimum 10 days. “I would say there’s inflammation obviously in the shoulder. It’s not severe, which is good,” Roberts explained.
“So to see that he’ll be ready once his 10 days are up is feasible. It’s just something that there was fatigue, inflammation in there but no structural damage.”
Roberts added that the shoulder trouble is something Forsythe has suffered from since Spring Training. “It just kind of tightened up on him and he just said there was some fatigue in there so we wanted to get him out of there and get some pictures (MRI). It’s something that actually he’s battled for the past six weeks.”
This now marks a second consecutive season Forsythe has suffered an injury in the middle of April. Last year, he fouled a pitch off his big right toe and suffered a fracture.
The injury was considered relatively minor but it wound up affecting Forsythe for the duration of the season. Moreover, he encountered hamstring tightness while on a rehab assignment. With his base compromised, Forsythe struggled to meet expectations at the plate.
One factor for his latest issue is believed to be a move to third base. “It is a different throw. When you lengthen your arm out, for me, my shoulder takes the brunt of it,” Forsythe explained. “If I have tightness, sometimes it’s usually more just on shorter throws from second and it kind of works its way out.”
He isn’t traveling with the team to San Diego for the start of a three-game series on Monday, and will be on a throwing program. “Once we build up, we’re going to have a clean slate and build from there,” Forsythe said.
“I think four to five days, maybe start throwing, but it’s day-to-day. It’s feeling good, it’s progressing well. After 10 days we’re thinking it’s going to be OK.”
Forsythe said the discomfort could be felt while batting, but dismissed that as a reason he’s batting .174/.224/.283. Of his eight total hits, three have gone for extra-bases (two doubles; one home run).
And to be clear, the general descriptor of discomfort isn’t quite what Forsythe is feeling. “Pain, definitely,” he answered, when asked for clarification.
