Alex Verdugo appeared in all of one game with Rookie-level Ogden before having his rehab assignment come to a halt. Verdugo started Monday but was out of the lineup the following night and won’t play for the Raptors moving forward because of soreness in his back.
“He didn’t re-injure himself, it was more the back couldn’t get loose,” Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said Wednesday. “Potentially, maybe get him to Arizona to take at-bats. We’ll see. Right now we’re in a holding pattern.
“I’m going to reach out to him and have a conversation about the best course of action.”
Verdugo has been sidelined since Aug. 6 with a right oblique strain. That roster move came one day after he was scratched from the lineup due to back soreness that Roberts initially did not believe would require a stint on the injured list.
Verdugo was slow to begin baseball activities at Camelback Ranch because of lingering discomfort in his oblique. Now the back trouble resurfacing is more of an issue. “The oblique is in good shape,” Roberts explained.
“But the back, I think early on he hurt it in Tampa initially and it’s sort of been lingering and he’s played through it. The oblique is initially what put him on the IL but the back is something we’re trying to get past.”
Verdugo was expected to spend the week playing for the Raptors and join the Dodgers for their upcoming road trip. Now facing some uncertainty, that possibility has been ruled out but the Dodgers are maintaining optimism Verdugo will return prior to season’s end.
“There’s still time as far as getting ready to finish out the season, but to see him playing a game in Baltimore is not going to happen,” Roberts said.
If or when Verdugo manages to come off the IL, he’s a candidate to receive playing time at either corner outfield position. The Dodgers have recently taken to playing Cody Bellinger in center field more regularly, which has bumped A.J. Pollock to left field.
