Dodgers place Teoscar Hernández on IL due to groin injury, call up James Outman
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MIAMI — The Dodgers put outfielder Teoscar Hernández on the injured list Tuesday with a left groin strain, a day after Hernández injured himself chasing down a fly ball in right field and left the game early.
James Outman was called up from triple-A Oklahoma City to replace Hernández on the roster.
According to manager Dave Roberts, Hernández was diagnosed specifically with a Grade-1 adductor strain. While there was no immediate timeline for Hernández to return, Roberts acknowledged that “he’s going to be inactive for a while.”
“It’s certainly [going to be several] weeks,” Roberts said. “But I just don’t know how long.”
Though Mookie Betts long ago returned to full health, as well as his typical 180-pound playing weight, he has only recently started to look more like his old self again at the plate.
In the third inning of Monday’s win over the Miami Marlins, Hernández broke hard for a line drive in the gap and stretched at full sprint to make the catch.
After returning to the dugout between innings, Hernández was removed from the game, reporting tightness in both his hamstring and adductor to the team’s training staff. He was sent for an MRI exam on Tuesday.
“He’s a guy that just doesn’t come out of games by way of injury,” manager Dave Roberts said afterward. “That’s a little concerning given the person.”
Back with the Dodgers this season after re-signing with the club on a three-year, $66 million contract as a free agent this winter, Hernández had been one of the lineup’s most consistent run producers early this year.
He was batting .315, well above his career .264 average. He had nine home runs, tied with Shohei Ohtani for most on the team. He’d collected 34 RBIs in just 33 games, most in the majors.
“He’s had a huge impact,” Roberts said. “He’s certainly going to be missed.”
Indeed, the Dodgers — who are also unlikely to get Tommy Edman back from an ankle injury before the end of this trip — now have yet another lineup hole to fill.
For now, Roberts said he expects “more of a platoon-based roster” as the team works around the two injuries. On Tuesday, Hyeseong Kim was playing second base (where Edman has seen most of his playing time this year) and Outman was in center (regular center fielder Andy Pages shifted to Hernández’s position in right field). Kiké Hernández and Chris Taylor can move around the diamond as well.
Outman is just two years removed from a third-place finish in National League Rookie of the Year voting, when he .248 with 23 home runs and 70 RBIs in 2023.
But last year, he struggled in brief stints on the big-league roster, batting .147 with only four home runs in 53 games. With Oklahoma City this season, he started the year a woeful 10-for-66, before heating up the last three weeks with a .359 average and five home runs in his last 17 games.
“It’s up to him to go out there and relax and know that and be comfortable in this environment and be free and go play,” Roberts said of the now 27-year-old outfielder, who tried to simplify his swing during spring camp. “The last couple weeks he’s been very productive, taking good at-bats. So hopefully that continues here.”
Hyeseong Kim makes his first start for the Dodgers and co-stars on a Shohei Ohtani home run during the fifth inning of a 7-4 win over the Miami Marlins.
Two other players joined the Dodgers from triple-A on Tuesday.
Reliever JP Feyereisen was called up, with fellow right-hander Yoendrys Gómez getting designated for assignment.
Starting pitcher Landon Knack also joined the big-league club, and will be activated to pitch in the series finale against the Marlins on Wednesday.
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