Teoscar Hernández suffered a left hamstring strain at the end of May that forced the Los Angeles Dodgers to place him on the 10-day injured list.
But Hernández is now moving closer toward his return. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts stated Hernández will go out on a rehab assignment after taking at-bats and playing in a simulated game at Dodger Stadium.
“He’s taking batting practice [Thursday],” Roberts said. “He’s going to do a simulated game here, and then I would assume he goes out on rehab early next week.”
It’s unclear which affiliate Hernández will join or how long he will be on rehab. Position players can be on assignment for up to 20 days, but it’s unlikely Hernández will need that full stint.
Hernández suffered the injury while running to first base on a groundout and walked slowly back to the dugout before he was replaced the following inning.
The Dodgers were optimistic Hernández avoided a more major injury after he underwent manual testing, and an MRI confirmed it was the best-case scenario.
Still, Hernández was expected to miss at least a few weeks, as the average recovery time for a grade 1 hamstring strain is three weeks.
The Dodgers were also not going to rush Hernández back, and the left fielder learned the importance of taking his time to get right after playing injured last season.
“I’m going to take my time,” Hernández recently said. “I want to deal with it. It’s early in the season. Miss maybe a couple more weeks, and then be back 100% and just give my best to the team all the way through the end of the season.”
Roberts added that the team would be “very mindful” of how they manage Hernandez while he’s on the IL. “As you get into the summer, if you have a setback, it could be more costly,” he said. “Where right now, it’s not as costly.”
The 33-year-old was in the midst of a rebound season before landing on the IL. He was hitting .276/.348/.436 with seven home runs, 31 RBI and 30 runs scored while stealing two bases and posting 1.1 WAR.
Teoscar Hernández All-Star voting
When MLB released its first update for All-Star voting totals, Hernández ranked fifth among National League outfielders with 507,625 votes.
Andy Pages leads all NL outfielders with 800,496 votes. Ronald Acuña Jr. of the Atlanta Braves is in second place (693,472) and the Philadelphia Phillies’ Brandon Marsh (668,191) is currently tracking to start as well.
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