Injuries have been an issue for the Los Angeles Dodgers throughout the season, but things have been trending in the right direction for them as of late.
The club is now running out their full lineup, with only Austin Barnes on the injured list among their position players. Freddie Freeman is dealing with a hairline fracture in his right middle finger, but he has remained active, despite some time on the bench the past two games.
On the pitching side, Yoshinobu Yamamoto began his rehab assignment, while Tyler Glasnow remains more limited in his build up. Brusdar Graterol was able to avoid a season-ending hamstring injury despite initial fear he suffered a complete tear, and Tony Gonsolin could also be a possibility to return this season, even if it’s more of a long shot.
Shohei Ohtani has also continued his rehab as a pitcher, throwing his second bullpen session on Wednesday, Aug. 28. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts has said Ohtani is progressing well, but he is still not an option to pitch this year.
Dodgers injury updates
Tyler Glasnow
Just one day after Roberts had a pessimistic view on Glasnow’s recovery, he’s now more optimistic about things, and Glasnow is expected to begin throwing again this week.
“He is getting better today,” Roberts said. “I think he’s going to resume throwing on Friday, so he’ll travel with us to Phoenix, and he’ll resume his throwing program. So at that point in time, if it goes well, then we’ll see where he’s at.”
Glasnow previously started throwing but he didn’t come out of it feeling well after his first session, which caused the Dodgers to slow down his recovery.
“That’s what it was, yeah,” Roberts said. “He played catch a few days ago, didn’t come out of it great. So we feel that all the stuff that he’s done, the treatment, Friday is a good day for him to resume.”
The process is still expected to be a slower one for Glasnow, but he should return this season.
Jack Flaherty
The Dodgers had a major scare when Jack Flaherty was hit on the wrist by a comebacker during his start on Tuesday night. He stayed in the game after assuring the Dodgers he was fine, and expressed more confidence he would be ok after the game.
That remained true on Wednesday, and there is no concern about it affecting him moving forward.
“I saw him briefly, and the wrist is sore, but swelling is minimal,” Roberts said. “So I don’t think it’s going to affect his side session or his next start.”
The Dodgers could still opt to give Flhaerty an extra day before his next start, but if that happens, they would need to call up another pitcher.
“I’m not sure,” Roberts said. “I don’t want to speak today yet, because if so, it calls for a drop in. And so we’re kind of talking about that right now. So I don’t want to kind of address that.”
Brusdar Graterol
Graterol suffered a hamstring strain that was first believed to be season-ending in his first game pitching this year, but it turned out to be more minor than initially thought.
Graterol has been working his way back and should soon take the final step before he’s able to return to the Dodgers bullpen.
“I think Brusdar should be going on assignment soon,” Roberts said. “It was a grade one hamstring strain. He’s been sprinting. The bullpens are good, velocity, good, so I just don’t see why we can’t send him out soon and him be a real conversation here in a week to 10 days.”
Austin Barnes
Barnes has been dealing with a fractured big left toe, but the Dodgers expect to activate him on Thursday, Aug. 29. Barnes has been taking live at-bats and building back up.
Roberts believes Barnes is still on track for that plan, but if he’s unable to return, they could end up pushing that back to Friday.
“He’s doing well,” Roberts said. “There might be some discomfort, but my expectation is he’s going to be in the lineup tomorrow. So if he’s not in there, he can’t go, then we’ll push him to another day and have Feddy start.
“But my thought is that he’s going to be in the lineup tomorrow.”
Yoshinobu Yamamoto
Yamamoto began his rehab assignment on Wednesday, throwing two innings for Triple-A Oklahoma City. He is expected to make another rehab start within a week, and after that could be an option to return.
“And then after that, five or six days later, he’ll do a three-inning situation,” Roberts said of Yamamoto’s first rehab start. “And then from that point on, I think it’s a conversation if four innings to start for us makes sense, or will he need another start.”
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