Whether Andrew Toles, Max Muncy or Alex Verdugo, the Los Angeles Dodgers have received a steady dose of contributions from players who joined the club from Triple-A Oklahoma City, and this year Matt Beaty and Will Smith have been added to the list.
Beaty received his first call-up at the end of April in a corresponding roster move to A.J. Pollock being placed on the 10-day injured list. However, Beaty was only with the team for four games, appearing in two of them, before being optioned back to OKC when Travis d’Arnaud was signed.
Beaty returned in the middle of May when Kenta Maeda was placed on the IL, and has not only remained with the team but received more opportunities to play. That’s particularly held true over the past four games in which Justin Turner has been out of the lineup due to right hamstring tightness.
With Max Muncy sliding over to play third base, Beaty has received the bulk of starts at first. He was in the lineup for Sunday’s series finale against the Philadelphia Phillies but was replaced by David Freese after five innings.
According to Alanna Rizzo of SportsNet LA, Beaty was removed due to a hip flexor that isn’t believed to be serious:
Matt Beaty removed from game with mild hip flexor suffered on his last swing. Not serious.
— Alanna Rizzo (@alannarizzo) June 2, 2019
Freese was on deck to bat for Beaty in the bottom of the fourth inning but his spot did not come up. Beaty suffered the injury on a groundout to second base in his first at-bat of the day.
Sunday’s game was Beaty’s 17th game played and 10th start for the Dodgers. Manager Dave Roberts praised him over the weekend for earning his way into more at-bats. “If you perform and I feel you give us the best chance to win, you’re going to be in there,” Roberts said.
“Matt, to his credit, the at-bats that he’s taken, he’s earned that. The thing is for me, for the most part he swings at strikes. And when he does get out of the strike zone, he has a good ability to adjust within the at-bat. Doesn’t punch much, hits velocity and uses the whole field.”
