The Los Angeles Dodgers placed Kiké Hernández on the 10-day injured list with a left oblique strain and recalled Alex Freeland from Triple-A Oklahoma City as the corresponding move.
Freeland is back in the Majors after a two-week stint with the Comets. He was optioned to Oklahoma City earlier this month to make room on the Dodgers active roster for Mookie Betts’ return.
Freeland had mixed results during his brief stay in Triple-A. He found initial success by going 10-for-his-first-25 (.400) with two triples, three home runs, 11 RBI, three walks and eight runs scored in five games en route to Pacific Coast League (PCL) Player of the Week honors for the period of May 11-17.
However, Freeland went just 3-for-24 (.125) with a home run and three RBI over his last six games in OKC. He batted .265/.345/.592 with two triples, four home runs and 16 RBI in 11 total games with the Comets.
Freeland now returns to a Dodgers team that has seen its infield depth take somewhat of a hit with Hernández’s latest injury and Santiago Espinal recently being designated for assignment.
Freeland is expected to share playing time at second base with Hyeseong Kim and Miguel Rojas. The 24-year-old is hitting .235/.309/.337 with four doubles, two home runs and eight RBI in 33 games for the Dodgers this season.
Kiké Hernández back on injured list
Hernández’s return to the Dodgers lasted all of two games prior to going back on the IL with the left oblique strain. He went 4-for-4 with two doubles, one home run and two RBI during the span.
Hernández was removed from Tuesday’s game in the top of the fifth inning due to the injury. The SportsNet LA broadcast showed a replay of Hernández’s double in the bottom of the fourth inning, and he noticeably did not run out of the batter’s box with normal effort.
Hernández tried to conceal the oblique issue, but the condition worsened to the point where he had to inform the Dodgers despite doing his best to play through it.
“I was pretty embarrassed that I did that. I didn’t really tell anybody about it, because I just thought it was a small tweak, little tightness,” Hernández explained after the Dodgers’ 15-6 win on Tuesday. “But today it felt more than that.”
Hernández added: “I only felt it when I was swinging. But then after that homer, in between innings when I was throwing to first, I was feeling it. When I hit the double, it didn’t just hurt to swing, it also hurt to run. So I knew that it was time to stop.”
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