The Los Angeles Dodgers lost a key player to injury this spring, as All-Star third baseman Justin Turner was hit by a pitch that fractured his left wrist. The team did not give a timetable for Turner’s return, but the belief is that he could miss anywhere from one month to 10 weeks.
After the Dodgers’ Opening Series against the San Francisco Giants, the plan was for Turner to return to Camelback Ranch to continue his rehab with the presumption that he was close to being able to swing a bat. He has been able to continue throwing while recovering from the injury.
But as for picking up a bat, Turner has not yet done so, and he isn’t certain of when he’ll be able to because of some tenderness in his wrist, per Ken Gurnick of MLB.com:
Dodgers third baseman Justin Turner said his fractured left wrist is still sore and he has not been able to begin swinging a bat.
“I don’t know when I’m going to [hit]. It’s just a matter of when the pain goes away,” said Turner, whose absence has been felt on offense and defense. “Is it hard not to [play]? Yeah, it stinks. Whether we were 9-0 or 0-9, it would stink all the same, not being out there.”
The Dodgers have struggled without Turner in the lineup, getting off to their worst start in decades at 3-6. Their lineup, in particular, has not been able to produce at their normal rate.
The team batting average of .213 ranks 29th in the Majors, their .293 slugging percentage ranks 28th and .219 batting average with runners in scoring position is 21st.
With runners in scoring position is where the team really misses Turner, considering he hit .300 in those situations in 2017 leading to 71 RBI in 130 games.
Turner looks to still be a ways from getting back as he will need plenty of cage work before facing live pitching, and then will need a rehab stint to see some game action before being activated from the disabled list.
