Less than a week removed from placing Max Muncy on the 10-day injured list due to a right oblique strain, the Los Angeles Dodgers did the same with Cody Bellinger on Wednesday as he continues battling left hamstring tightness.
The initial hope was that Bellinger would avoid an IL stint, but he had trouble testing his hamstring with running drills earlier in the week, making the decision an easy one for manager Dave Roberts.
“We just felt that as we kind of got together with the training staff, got together with Cody, to take it out of everyone’s hands and not prolong it,” Roberts said. “Rip the Band-Aid off, get him on the IL, get him back to health whenever that is.
“We want to make sure his hamstring — when he does come back — that there’s no regression. We’re going to need him healthy the rest of the way.”
That the Dodgers are being cautious with Bellinger shouldn’t come as a surprise. He previously missed 46 games between April 5 and May 29 after suffering a hairline fracture in his fibula a handful of days into the season.
Roberts is expecting a much shorter stint on the IL for Bellinger this time around. “I think the retro is second day in San Diego,” Roberts said. “So the hope is no, but if it’s a couple days more, the most important thing is Cody feels 100% when he comes back.”
Having played in only 16 games, Bellinger has not yet had an opportunity to heat up at the plate this season. Roberts felt he was on the cusp of doing so, as the 2019 National League MVP reached base safely in five of last nine plate appearances prior to landing on the IL.
Dodgers decided on being cautious with Muncy
Similar to Bellinger, the Dodgers originally believed Muncy could avoid an IL stint and return to the lineup after getting a couple of days off. That wound up not happening, but the team is hopeful they got ahead of his oblique issue before it potentially turned into something bigger.
“It was one of those things where talking to Max and the training staff, if it was going to be a six or seven days, to just err on the side of caution, put him on the 10-day and see where we’re at,” Roberts explained.
“If it progresses like we hope and he’s ready on that 11th day, that’s great. We all felt to kind of play both sides just didn’t make as much sense and (Luke) Raley has performed well. … I think we got it early. He’s done it before in the past, and it’s not as significant as before.”
Have you subscribed to the Dodger Blue YouTube channel? Be sure to ring the notification bell to watch player interviews, participate in shows and giveaways, and more!
