With the Los Angeles Dodgers are starting Howie Kendrick at third base on Monday against the Cleveland Indians, he becomes the fifth different player to start at the hot corner in as many games this spring.
The shuffling at third base is in part due to the Dodgers electing to ease Justin Turner back into game action as he continues to recover from offseason microfracture knee surgery. Turner is expected to join the Dodgers lineup this week and should be full-go by Opening Day in San Diego.
Los Angeles has also adjusted their starting rotation a bit after losing Brett Anderson for the next three to five months due to arthroscopic surgery for a bulging disk in his back.
In other news, Hyun-Jin Ryu’s recovery from last May’s shoulder surgery hit a big of a snag as he felt shoulder discomfort following a bullpen session.
Ryu was temporarily shutdown, though the Dodgers maintained the time missed should not be viewed as a setback. According to Ken Gurnick of MLB.com, Ryu resumed throwing on Monday:
Ryu resumes throwing today.
— Ken Gurnick (@kengurnick) March 7, 2016
Meanwhile, Andre Ethier, who is expected to be the starting left fielder during the regular season, was expected to miss a day of hitting due to a hand contusion, per Alanna Rizzo of SportsNet LA:
Dave Roberts said Ethier has a contusion on his bottom hand & will be held out of hitting today. #Dodgers
— Alanna Rizzo (@alannarizzo) March 7, 2016
However, the soon-to-be-34-year-old participated in batting practice, via Gurnick:
Ethier's hand healed fast. He's taking batting practice.
— Ken Gurnick (@kengurnick) March 7, 2016
As for Turner, he’s expected to get at-bats on the Minor League side on Tuesday:
.@redturn2 still not playing in @MLB games during ST, will pick up some ABs on the minor league side, tomorrow. #Dodgers
— Alanna Rizzo (@alannarizzo) March 7, 2016
Alex Guerrero started at third base in the Dodgers’ 2016 Cactus League opener and went 2-for-3, including hitting the club’s first home run of the spring.
Guerrero, who has experience as an outfielder, is expected to primarily play third base during Spring Training. He was slated for a second start on Saturday, but was scratched due to knee soreness.
According to Bill Plunkett of the OC Register, Guerrero resumed activities and Dodgers manager Dave Roberts indicated he’s likely to return the lineup on Tuesday:
#Dodgers Alex Guerrero (knee) back to baseball activities today. Roberts said he will probably DH tomorrow
— Bill Plunkett (@billplunkettocr) March 7, 2016
Beginning Tuesday, the Dodgers play three consecutive road games in which they’ll face the Chicago Cubs, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim and Oakland Athletics.
