Prior to camp beginning, the Los Angeles Dodgers endured injuries to multiple pitchers. More have gone down in the time since, and they’ve been joined by a growing list of position players.
On Tuesday, the Dodgers announced Andre Ethier is expected to miss 10 to 14 weeks after a bone scan revealed a fractured right tibia. Ethier sustained the injury on Friday after fouling a ball off his shin.
X-rays taken that day didn’t reveal any broken bones, and Ethier was listed as day-to-day with a lower leg contusion. Others on the Dodgers roster have been more fortunate.
Namely, Corey Seager, who suffered a left knee sprain and is already making progress toward recovering in time for Opening Day on April 4. Howie Kendrick (groin) and Justin Turner (offseason knee surgery) have also made successful recoveries during Spring Training.
However, the jury is still out on Yasmani Grandal. He missed some time in early March due to a right forearm contusion and went one week between appearing in a Cactus League game. The 27-year-old catcher started behind the plate on Monday, but was removed after two innings due to soreness in his left forearm.
According to J.P. Hoornstra of the LA Daily News Group, Grandal was sent for further testing on his right forearm:
Meanwhile, the Dodgers ordered further tests on catcher Yasmani Grandal’s sore right forearm. “One day he feels great,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “The next day he doesn’t feel good, and not well enough to finish a game. It’s a little disconcerting, but he wants to play and get his at-bats.”
The results of those tests were not made available as of Wednesday morning. He’s batting .375/.412/.688 with one home run, two doubles and three RBIs in 17 plate appearances over eight games this spring.
Last season, Grandal led all catchers at All-Star break with a .401 on-base percentage, .927 on-base plus slugging percentage, and was second with 14 home runs. He was slowed in the second half by a nagging shoulder injury that required offseason surgery.
Grandal hit .234/.353/.403 with 16 home runs, 47 RBIs, 92 strikeouts, 65 walks, a .335 wOBA and 115 wRC+ in 115 games during his first season with the Dodgers.
