Roster crunch coming
Taylor, Hernandez are set to return off the IL on Tuesday, forcing the Dodgers to shuffle.
ATLANTA — Dodgers utility players Chris Taylor and Enrique Hernandez are scheduled to come off the injured list Tuesday, manager Dave Roberts said Sunday before the series finale against the Atlanta Braves.
Taylor, 28, was put on the injured list with a left forearm fracture July 15. He has played three games on rehab assignment with Class-A Rancho Cucamonga, going five for 10 with a home run through Saturday. Taylor played shortstop Thursday, was a designated hitter Friday and played second base Saturday.
Hernandez went to Arizona for a rehab assignment with the organization’s rookie league team. He played Friday and Saturday, one game in center field and another at second base. He went two for seven with a home run. The 27-year-old Hernandez has been on the injured list since July 29 because of a left-hand sprain.
Their returns will create a roster crunch for the Dodgers until rosters are expanded Sept. 1. Jedd Gyorko, another right-handedhitting infielder, was activated from the 60-day injured list Sunday, and rookie Edwin Rios was optioned to triple-A Oklahoma City despite a strong showing in the majors. The Dodgers could create room on the roster by placing someone on the injured list. Kristopher Negron, another right-handedhitting utility player, doesn’t have minor league options remaining, so the Dodgers would risk losing him to another organization if he doesn’t stay on the roster.
Kyle Garlick and Matt Beaty have options and are possibilities to get sent to Oklahoma City until rosters expand. Beaty, however, has been a revelation as a 26year-old rookie. The left fielder and first baseman is batting .318 with a 1.081 onbase-plus-slugging percentage and eight home runs in 27 games for the Dodgers since the All-Star break.
“As a lot of our young players have done, is they’ve grown in their approach,” Roberts said of Beaty. “The mechanics, the ability to hit a fastball has always been really good. Now you’re hunting soft stuff and playing the game of cat and mouse, and taking a base hit when you need to do that, staying on some sliders against some left-handers. So I think that really he’s starting to understand.”