As the Los Angeles Dodgers made their final push for the postseason, they did so while absorbing injuries to key players.
Yasmani Grandal (left shoulder) and Justin Turner (left knee) battled lingering injuries, while Kiké Hernandez missed all but two games in September due to a hamstring strain that forced him to the disabled list on Aug. 31.
Grandal and Turner underwent surgery once the Dodgers were eliminated from the National League Division Series by the New York Mets.
Hernandez had arthroscopic surgery in November to clean up his right shoulder. All three players were projected to recover for Spring Training at the time of their respective operations.
While there have not been reports of a setback for any of the three players, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts told Ken Gurnick of MLB.com Turner will be brought along at a slower pace than Grandal and Hernandez:
“It’s a little more touchy with microfracture surgery,” he said of Turner. “Kiké and Yasmani are tracking to be healthy at the beginning of camp. With Justin, we’re going to take our time with him. You can always get at-bats in the spring. We’ve told him there’s no rush, just be healthy, whatever that day is.”
Turner took over as the everyday third baseman last season, which led to the Dodgers trading Juan Uribe to the Atlanta Braves. Turner played in a career-high 126 games, batting .294/.370/.491 with 16 home runs, 26 doubles, 60 RBIs, a .371 wOBA and 141 wRC+.
Grandal was named to his first National League All-star team and Hernandez, who was the team’s utility man, eventually became their everyday center fielder as Joc Pederson struggled in the second half.
Both Turner and Grandal recently avoided arbitration by agreeing to respective one-year contracts. They may be joined in the lineup on a regular basis by Hernandez, who is expected to play plenty of second base this season.
Dodgers position players are expected to report for Spring Training by Feb. 24, with the first full-squad workout scheduled for the following day.
