Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder Scott Van Slyke has returned from Camelback Ranch in order to begin a rehab assignment with High-A Rancho Cucamonga on Sunday afternoon; he’s starting in right field and batting third for the Quakes.
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts previously estimated Van Slyke’s rehab assignment would last one week. Before the 2016 season began, the Dodgers were plagued by several injuries to starting pitchers but as the season got underway, the club saw outfielders forced to spend time on the shelf as well.
While Andre Ethier and Alex Guerrero opened the year on the disabled list, Carl Crawford and Van Slyke both suffered back injuries one week into the season and were placed on the DL, despite initial optimism neither would miss more than one or two days.
Crawford has since returned, but Van Slyke recovered at a much slower pace. That was in part due to his injury being worse than the back soreness he was initially diagnosed with.
Van Slyke didn’t participate in baseball activities until early May, and soon after was said to have made enough progress that a rehab assignment was imminent. He went 1-for-9 with a double and two RBIs in four games before hurting his back in April.
Thus far in 2016, the Quakes have hosted Guerrero (six games) and Hyun-Jin Ryu (two starts) on rehab assignments. Guerrero has since joined Double-A Tulsa, while Ryu is scheduled to start for Triple-A Oklahoma City on Wednesday.
