The Los Angeles Dodgers have made significant progress on the injury front, with multiple players on the injured list moving closer to returning, including Kiké Hernández and Mookie Betts.
On the pitching side, Brock Stewart is set to be activated any day now, Blake Snell is likely to make one more rehab start before becoming an option, and Brusdar Graterol has begun a rehab assignment. With their position players, Betts and Hernández are both set to begin a rehab assignment soon, but Tommy Edman has continued to progress slowly.
Hernández is ahead of Betts, and he is expected to start his rehab this week.
“Kiké is going to be starting a rehab for OKC,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said on SportsNet LA. “Safe to say it’s this week. Could be [Tuesday], but it is this week.”
Hernández began the season on the 60-day injured list after undergoing left elbow surgery in the offseason. He has progressed significantly ahead of schedule and has been partaking in baseball activities at Dodger Stadium.
Betts has been on the 10-day injured list since April 5 with a right oblique strain. The recovery process has been up and down for him, as was expected with an oblique injury, but he’s been taking swings and working in the field.
Betts has one more check to clear before going out on a rehab assignment, and that final step will happen this week.
“Mookie is working on his bat speed, feels good,” Roberts said. “I would say he’s going to get out on a rehab soon. He’s supposed to do a simulated game, like a live BP, on Thursday. So if he does his live BP on Thursday and comes out OK, then you can sort of try to figure out where he goes next.”
Betts shouldn’t need a long rehab assignment when he begins, but hitters are eligible to be on rehab assignments for up to 20 days before teams need to decide to activate them.
Upcoming Dodgers roster crunch
The Dodgers have remained mostly healthy this season, so the returns of Betts and Hernández will create somewhat of a roster crunch. The easy options for them will be to option Alex Freeland and designate Santiago Espinal for assignment.
Of course, things can change up until the point of activating them, but that would make the most sense for the Dodgers at this moment.
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