On the night the Los Angeles Dodgers activated Adrian Gonzalez from the 10-day disabled list, they saw Justin Turner, another cornerstone in their infield and lineup, exit early due to injury.
An MRI the following day revealed Turner suffered a hamstring strain, and he was put on the DL. While the loss was significant for the Dodgers, there was some comfort taken in the fact that Turner’s injury was classified as a Grade 1 strain — the most-mild case.
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts projected his third baseman would miss two weeks. While Turner, who suffered a similar injury in 2014, was hesitant to put a timeline in place, he believed Roberts’ estimate was sensible.
Just over one week into his DL stint, Turner expressed some surprise over the progress he’s made, and outlined what he expects to advance to so long as throwing from 90 feet on Thursday went well, per Rowan Kavner of Dodger Insider:
“Way better than I thought I was going to feel at this point,” Turner said Thursday.
“As long as that all goes good, I’ll probably pick up a bat for the first time and take some swings in the cage,” Turner said. “Probably just off a tee, though.”
Over 39 games this season, Turner batted .379/.453/.493 with 13 doubles, one home run, 17 RBI, a .414 wOBA and 160 wRC+. Shortly after Turner’s injury, Logan Forsythe returned from the disabled list after missing time due to a toe fracture and hamstring tightness.
Forsythe, Chris Taylor and Chase Utley are penciled to receive time at second base and third base in Turner’s absence. Though, Taylor’s services may now be more needed in center field in the wake of Joc Pederson landing on the seven-day concussion disabled list.
