The Los Angeles Dodgers will be without one of their biggest bats for the foreseeable future as AJ Pollock was placed on the 10-day injured list with a Grade 2 right hamstring strain earlier this week.
Pollock sustained the injury after he slid awkwardly into third base in the first inning of last Saturday’s matchup against the San Francisco Giants at Oracle Park.
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts initially speculated that Pollock would be out for a minimum of two weeks and stuck to that timeline when providing an update.
“He felt much better,” Roberts said of Pollock. “Like I said, a couple weeks is probably where we’re at and we’ll pick up from there. I still see him getting back this season at some point.”
While it’s encouraging that Pollock may return to the lineup by the end of the regular season, his absence in the meantime nonetheless stings. He had been in the midst of his best campaign since 2015, batting .297/.352/.861 with 16 home runs and 58 RBI across 107 games.
“He’s been a linchpin for our club. Offensively, defensively, on the bases, the consistency of at-bat versus right and left,” Roberts recently said of Pollock. “I don’t want to imagine where we’d be without him. He’s got big hit after big hit, he posts and plays. He’s all-in.”
With Pollock expected to be out until perhaps the final week of September, Cody Bellinger has effectively returned to the lineup on a regular basis. He previously had been relegated to a platoon role due to struggles against left-handed pitching this season.
Replacing Pollock
With Pollock unavailable, Trea Turner views picking up the slack as a collective effort.
“It stinks. Since I’ve been here he’s hit the ball really, really well. He’s gotten some clutch hits for us, so it’s going to be a blow,” Turner said. “I always say next man up, and that’s why you have a deep team. The next guy can step in and you don’t miss a beat.
“Hopefully he can come back as quick as possible, healthy and continue to do what he’s been doing to make a good run at it for the rest of the year. But we’re going to have to figure out ways to replace him for now, and that’s on each and every one of us.”
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