The Los Angeles Dodgers placed Kiké Hernández on the 10-day injured list at the beginning of the week, retroactive to July 6, due to left elbow inflammation.
Hernández has been dealing with his elbow issue for the past month and initially hid it from the team in an effort to play through the injury.
He sustained the elbow injury during a game against the Cleveland Guardians in late May on an awkward slide into home plate.
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts’ initial expectation is a brief IL stint for Hernández and a return after the All-Star break, according to Bill Plunkett of the Southern California News Group:
After an MRI revealed the inflammation, Hernandez received a cortisone injection for the pain. Roberts said the expectation is the utility man will be ready to return “shortly after the All-Star break.”
The injury didn’t affect Hernández while playing defense, but was a hinderance whenever swinging the bat. Hernández has only collected eight hits in his last 59 at-bats since suffering the elbow injury against the Guardians.
James Outman was recalled from Triple-A Oklahoma City as the corresponding move to Hernández’s trip to the IL. It is Outman’s third stint with the Dodgers this season, and his first since a nine-game stretch in May.
Kiké Hernández among injured Dodgers
Injuries have been a major theme for the Dodgers in 2025, but they had disproportionately affected the pitching staff until the past week or so.
It began with Max Muncy suffering a bone bruise in his left knee on July 2 that’s going to keep him out roughly six weeks. Then it was revealed that Teoscar Hernández, Tommy Edman and Kiké Hernández were dealing with injuries of their own.
Teoscar Hernández and Edman avoided being placed on the injured list despite their respective issues.
Edman has a small fracture in his right pinky toe after being hit by a pitch. He missed three games before returning for the series finale against the Milwaukee Brewers on Wednesday.
Hernández is dealing with a bone bruise after fouling a ball off his left foot, but scans came back clean with no signs of a fracture. Hernández also missed three games before making a pinch-hit appearance on Wednesday, and he’s started both contests against the San Francisco Giants thus far.
Fortunately for the Dodgers, the All-Star break came at the right time and should offer the team a breather heading into the second half of the season.
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