The Los Angeles Dodgers placed Kiké Hernández on the 10-day injured list with left elbow inflammation and recalled James Outman from Triple-A Oklahoma City.
It was part of a series of moves that also included Justin Wrobleski being optioned for Julian Fernández and CJ Alexander being designated for assignment.
Hernández has been dealing with an elbow issue for the past month that Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said reached its worse point on Saturday.
“Left elbow, inside, outside of it, so doesn’t affect the defense, but the swing has been compromised,” Roberts said. “Yesterday it really came to a head, as far as swinging, and so we stayed away from him again today.”
Hernández has appeared in 72 games this season while batting .195/.259/.367 with eight home runs, 22 RBI and 23 runs scored. He’s seen time at first base, second base, third base, left field, center field, and pitcher.
Over his last 30 days, Hernández has only hit .143, and that number dropped the more recent you make the cutoff time. In his last 15 games, he’s only hit .114, and in the last seven games, he’s hit just .091.
It’s unclear how long he will be out at this point, but the Dodgers needed to make a roster move to add a player to their already short bench with Teoscar Hernández and Tommy Edman dealing with injuries of their own.
James Outman back with Dodgers
Outman is back with the Dodgers for his third stint this season after starting the year on the roster for the Tokyo Series and then later being recalled when Teoscar Hernández landed on the IL.
He’s appeared in nine games, hitting .125/.222/.375 with two home runs, five runs scored and four RBI across nine games. He has struck out in nearly half of his 27 plate appearances while posting a 65 wRC+.
In Triple-A, Outman has been better, but still has some concerning trends with his game, mainly his 30.3% strikeout rate. But overall in Oklahoma City, Outman hit .289/.378/.592 with 20 home runs, 61 runs scored, 74 RBI and 14 stolen bases in 70 games.
Last season, he played 53 games for the Dodgers, clubbing four homers and driving in 11. He enters his fourth season with the Dodgers, slashing .227/.333/.407 with 30 homers and 88 RBI.
He should take over a bench role with the Dodgers given their recent injuries and gives them another option in center field, which they currently lack behind Andy Pages.
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