The Los Angeles Dodgers staged a simulated game prior to facing the Washington Nationals in the finale of a three-game series at Dodger Stadium. Its purpose was to serve as a final test for Joc Pederson and Justin Turner.
Both players got through the early-morning action without issue. Now Friday looms as the next important date. Assuming Turner doesn’t experience any setbacks with his hamstring after doing plenty of running and fielding drills, he’ll likely be activated.
For Pederson, he’s expected to begin a rehab assignment. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts previously indicated that could be somewhat of a prolonged stretch.
He reiterated that sentiment while providing further insight on the plan ahead for Pederson. “Joc’s path back is going to be a little slower,” Roberts said. “Because it’s an every-other-day-type thing. They want to monitor how the concussion is affected by workload.”
In addition to overcoming a concussion, Pederson is still dealing with limited range in motion when turning his neck to the right. The young center fielder was diagnosed with a neck sprain the night of his collision with Yasiel Puig.
It wasn’t until the following day that Pederson was diagnosed with a concussion and placed on the seven-day concussion disabled list. He only began participating in baseball activities this week, and was said to still be experiencing concussion symptoms as recent as last week.