The Los Angeles Dodgers placed Hyeseong Kim on the 10-day injured list on Tuesday due to left shoulder bursitis.
Kim had been playing through the issue for about one week and had gone 3-for-24 in his past nine games. The Dodgers continued their road trip to Florida to take on the Tampa Bay Rays, but Kim flew back Los Angeles to receive a cortisone injection in his ailing shoulder.
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said Kim wanted to continue playing through the injury but the team decided against it and are hopeful he’ll make a quick return, according to Sonja Chen of MLB.com:
“Hopefully it’s going to be shorter term,” Roberts said. “But you know Hyeseong — this guy is tough, tough as nails. He could have kept going. But … looking at the imaging, it’s best for him.”
The Dodgers promoted their No.3 overall prospect Alex Freeland to fill in for Kim in the meantime. Freeland collected his first Major League hit in his debut, added two more on Friday against the Rays and another Saturday in a third consecutive start.
The Dodgers’ position players, particularly the infield group, has fallen on hard times of late in terms of overall health. Kiké Hernández and Max Muncy are both on the injured list with left elbow inflammation and a left knee bone bruise, respectively.
Tommy Edman is also dealing with right ankle trouble, but has remained on the active roster.
Kim has appeared in 58 games for the Dodgers this season, batting .304/.338/.406 with six doubles, one triple and two home runs. He has also stolen 12 bases this season without being caught.
Dodgers trade acquisition joins active roster
While the Dodgers will be without Kim for what they hope is a short amount of time, they have added another new face to the offense besides Freeland.
One day after being acquired from the Washington Nationals at the trade deadline, Alex Call was added onto the roster prior to the series opener against the Rays. He filled the open roster spot created by trading James Outman to the Minnesota Twins for Brock Stewart.
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