The Los Angeles Dodgers placed Kiké Hernández on the 10-day injured list earlier this month due to left elbow inflammation that he had been dealing with for several weeks.
Hernández sustained the injury when he slid awkwardly into home plate during a game against the Cleveland Guardians in late May.
The utility man initially attempted to play through the injury before disclosing it to the team. Hernández was clearly impacted by the discomfort as he went just 8-for-his-last-59 at the plate before landing on the IL.
Unfortunately for the 33-year-old, manager Dave Roberts relayed he is still feeling the effects of the injury and recently underwent a pair of nonsurgical operations to help alleviate some of the elbow pain, via Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic:
Hernández has still been dealing with discomfort, Roberts said, so much so that he has undergone a pair of nonsurgical “procedures” to help alleviate pain in the area.
Hernández initially treated the elbow issue with a cortisone injection, with the hope that rest would allow him to return shortly after the All-Star break. However, he is still experiencing discomfort and has yet to make much progress.
“He’s not doing any kind of baseball activities,” Roberts said last week. “I don’t know a timeline, I don’t think Kiké knows a timeline,” Roberts said.
“I think the time he’s going to be down, not doing baseball stuff, there’s a buildup to get him back to playing with us, which would obviously mean a rehab assignment. I just don’t know a timeline so we’re sort of in a holding pattern until he gets pain-free.”
Hernández is in the midst of an overall down year as he’s batting just .195/.259/.367 with five doubles, eight home runs and 22 RBI across 186 plate appearances (71 games). While he has struggled offensively, Hernández has continued to provide value with his versatility, appearing at six different positions this season.
Kiké Hernández injury creating need for Dodgers
Hernández’s elbow issue, coupled with Tommy Edman and Hyeseong Kim dealing with their own injuries, has left the Dodgers thin on infielders for the time being.
While Max Muncy began a rehab assignment with Triple-A Oklahoma City on Tuesday, the team needed to call up Alex Freeland because of Kim going on the IL with left shoulder bursitis.
The Dodgers could also look to acquire another infielder before the July 31 trade deadline, with St. Louis Cardinals All-Star Brendan Donovan among the possibilities.
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