After beginning the 2016 season with a staggering 10 players on the disabled list, the Los Angeles Dodgers lost Carl Crawford and Scott Van Slyke to the DL just seven games into the season.
Crawford and Van Slyke went down due to a back injury, which both initially believed would not require a DL stint. While Crawford has since managed to return, Van Slyke did not progress nearly as well in his recovery.
The injury was said to be more serious than initially believed, though specifics were not provided. After spending time limited to core exercises, Van Slyke was at last cleared to begin baseball activities during the first week of May.
At the time, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts indicated he did not envision the 29 year old returning until early June in a best case scenario. That changed soon after, however, with Van Slyke making notable improvement.
He’s now at the Camelback Ranch Spring Training facility in advance of beginning a rehab assignment, according to Jack Baer of MLB.com:
Scott Van Slyke (back) is working out at the Dodgers’ Spring Training facility in Arizona and will soon start a rehab assignment expected to be about seven days long.
It’s not yet been determined which Minor League affiliate Van Slyke will join. Hyun-Jin Ryu is making a second rehab start for High-A Rancho Cucamonga on Friday, while Alex Guerrero is continuing his rehab assignment with Double-A Tulsa after appearing in six games for the Quakes.
Mike Bolsinger, who was reinstated from the DL on Wednesday, made a pair of rehab starts with Triple-A Oklahoma City. As Guerrero and Van Slyke work their way toward a return, it will require the Dodgers to make corresponding roster moves, without there necessarily being clear-cut answers at present time.
