The Los Angeles Dodgers have reached the end of the 2019 regular season having secured home-field advantage through the National League Championship Series and guaranteed to finish with the second-best record in baseball.
Their seventh consecutive NL West title was clinched at one of the earliest points in franchise history, but they are heading into the postseason facing some injury concerns. While Joe Kelly is dealing with an unspecified ailment, Justin Turner has been held out of the lineup because of back trouble.
After Turner missed the final two games of the series against the San Diego Padres, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said he anticipated a return over the weekend. That was pushed back to Sunday, but now that has changed as well.
Despite Turner missing the final five games to finish the season, Roberts reiterated there isn’t any cause for concern, per Jorge Castillo of the L.A. Times:
“He really understands his mechanics, and I think for him, when he feels good, he performs,” Roberts said. “Tuesday, we’re going to have a workout, and we’ll do some simulated games and let pitchers throw to hitters. He’ll be a part of that. So to take at-bats, he can do that. So, no, it’s not imperative that he plays [Sunday].”
“If he wasn’t able to move around and swing the bat, then it’s probably a little bit more of a concern,” Roberts said. “But since he’s doing that, I feel confident that he’ll be fine.”
In addition to dealing with back tightness, Turner recently missed time because of a sprained left ankle. He’s maintained neither injury was serious and would not be issues that sidelined him if it were already the postseason.
With Turner due to miss Sunday’s series finale against the San Francisco Giants, he will finish the year batting .290/.372/.881 with 24 doubles, 27 home runs and 67 RBI in 135 games. He found a rhythm after the All-Star break and was particularly hot during August.
His 10 home runs over that stretch set a career high for a single month.
