The injury bug has begun to hit the Los Angeles Dodgers in recent weeks, with Justin Turner the latest to go down after tweaking his hamstring while sliding into second base in the seventh inning of Friday’s loss to the Texas Rangers.
Turner initially was thought to have potentially suffered a cramp and was going to be considered for a return to the lineup in the series finale after being held out Saturday. However, that changed.
“Doing better (but) I don’t see it as a one-day thing,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “He’s going to go with the rest and recovery, treat it up, and probably do the same [Sunday]. Come in on the off day — Monday — treat it up, get moving and we’ll see where we’re at for Tuesday.”
With a day off on Monday before beginning a series against the Arizona Diamondbacks, that would give Turner three full days to rest his hamstring. While the Dodgers hoped Turner merely experienced a cramp, he does appear to have suffered an injury, albeit minor.
“I would say a low-grade strain,” Roberts noted. He wasn’t certain if the injury was related to Turner being hit by a pitch in his hamstring last weekend, though acknowledged “there’s a lot of muscles that are kind of tied together.”
Turner has dealt with hamstring injuries before and has proven plenty capable to play through pain, but Roberts said he understands the need to take some time off now to get 100% healthy for the postseason run.
“He does have a high pain tolerance, he wants to be out there, but he’s very good at self-evaluating and understanding there’s a governor in there and he can play to the speed that he needs to but he doesn’t ever put himself in jeopardy to make it worse,” Roberts said.
“I think we’re all in agreement, where the next couple days have him down, use that off day and then we’ll see where we’re at on Tuesday.”
Though, if Turner does return Tuesday, Roberts said being in the lineup as designated hitter is a “best-case scenario.”
Universal DH allowing Turner to stay fresh
Turner is the oldest everyday player on the Dodgers at 35 years of age. Outside of this hamstring issue, he has been able to remain healthy this season and get rest due to the addition of the universal designated hitter.
“This injury notwithstanding, I think he’s considerably more fresh,” Roberts said. “He does a great job taking care of himself, I think we’ve done a great job as far as getting him off days and DH days. I think we’ve done a good job.”
If Turner is not ready to play the field by Tuesday, then it is possible he is in the lineup as the DH for a couple of days until he is fully healthy.
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