What was shaping to be a healthy month of September for the Los Angeles Dodgers has taken a turn of late with Alex Verdugo suffering a setback in his recovery and Justin Turner dealing with lingering soreness in his left ankle.
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts first revealed the minor injury Turner is dealing with on Sunday when explaining why the third baseman wasn’t in the lineup. Turner was deemed available off the bench, though did not appear in the game.
He was then scratched from Tuesday’s lineup and held out the following night. Turner is set to undergo an MRI on his left ankle after an X-ray didn’t produce any conclusive results.
As the club awaits additional testing, Roberts explained why he isn’t overly worried about the situation, as seen on SportsNet LA:
“Not very concerned. I think if there was an incident that kind of happened, maybe more so, but he really can’t recount what led to the discomfort when he woke up in the morning a few days ago with the soreness. Just kind of trying to gather more information, but right now with where we are at, obviously to push it doesn’t make a whole lot of sense.”
While the Dodgers have secured a seventh consecutive National League West title, playoff seeding and the potential for finishing with the best record in baseball remain in the balance.
Having Turner in the lineup would be a boon to the Dodgers’ odds of holding off the Atlanta Braves and possibly catching the Houston Astros and New York Yankees, but Roberts has made it clear health will take priority for the remainder of the regular season.
With Rich Hill returning Thursday and Max Muncy due to be activated off the 10-day injured list Friday, the Dodgers can count on some reinforcements. Muncy’s return would help offset production lost in the event Turner requires additional time for discomfort in his ankle to subside.
Since Aug. 1, Turner is hitting .302/.364/.621 with four doubles, 11 home runs and 21 RBI in 31 games (30 starts). His 10 home runs in August set a career high for most in a single month. Turner recently enjoyed success off the field as well by winning the appeal of his one-game suspension, which DodgerBlue.com was first to report.
