Since being traded by the Boston Red Sox to the Los Angeles Dodgers in August of 2012, first baseman Adrian Gonzalez has been nothing short of consistent. Gonzalez hit .297/.344/.441 in 36 games post-trade, which was on par with his production that season in Boston.
While the five-time All-Star has cooled off recently, Gonzalez opened 2015 on a torrid pace as he led a Dodgers lineup that was without key 2014-contributors in Matt Kemp and Hanley Ramirez. With the Dodgers on the verge of clinching a third consecutive National League West title, Gonzalez is far from 100 percent.
According to Dylan Hernandez of the LA Times, the Gold Glove first baseman is suffering from a pinched nerve in his back that’s affecting the lower-left side of Gonzalez’s body:
“My whole left side — my hamstring, my calf, my quad — everything feels weak and kind of dead, in a sense,” he said. “When I’m hitting, I feel like I have no backside. When I’m running, I feel like I can’t really push off my left leg.”
Despite the issue, Gonzalez’s desire is to remain in the lineup in effort to sharpen up for the postseason:
“I’m trying to get to a point where I feel great going into the playoffs,” he said. “So I’m tweaking things every at-bat, every day, to look for that feel that I can carry into the playoffs.”
According to David Vassegh of AM 570, Dodgers manager Don Mattingly will not play Gonzalez in either of the club’s next two games against the Colorado Rockies:
Don Mattingly doesn't plan on playing Gonzalez tomorrow either
— David Vassegh (@THEREAL_DV) September 26, 2015
In 149 games this season, 142 of which have been starts, Gonzalez is batting .275/.352/.488 with 28 home runs, 33 doubles and 88 RBIs.
