With the calendar having turned to March, the Los Angeles Dodgers have just over three weeks until Opening Day of the 2020 season. It’s noteworthy in that injured players face a bit of a crunch to get healthy.
Over recent weeks that’s applied to Omar Estevez, Dustin May, Jimmy Nelson, Joc Pederson and Chris Taylor. Cody Bellinger briefly was part of that group as well, but he’s since recovered from a knot in his back that kept him out of Monday’s game.
Conversely, Estevez and May remain shut down, while Nelson just resumed a throwing program but is likely looking at a bullpen role to start the season.
Meanwhile, Taylor returned to play in two games last week after missing a stretch of days because of biceps and forearm irritation. However, he since has suffered a setback and will be held out until fully recovering, per Ken Gurnick of MLB.com:
Chris Taylor said he had a setback in his recovery from a sore right forearm and won’t play again until it’s 100 percent.
— Ken Gurnick (@kengurnick) March 4, 2020
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts later clarified that Taylor is actually dealing with a shoulder issue:
Taylor is out with a sore shoulder, not forearm, Roberts said.
— Ken Gurnick (@kengurnick) March 4, 2020
Taylor reached in all three plate appearances in his return to Cactus League action last week, but then went 0-for-3 in a loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks.
Although Taylor fills a key role for the Dodgers with his versatility, the club certainly will take a cautious approach with his recovery. If Taylor is to miss any time during the regular season, it would place more of an emphasis on Kiké Hernandez.
It could also create an opportunity for Zach McKinstry, who has played multiple positions and already is on the 40-man roster.
The Dodgers avoided an arbitration hearing with Taylor by agreeing to a two-year contract extension, worth a reported $13.4 million.
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