The Los Angeles Dodgers removed Justin Turner from their first game out of the All-Star break with what they announced as abdominal tightness, and he has yet to be inserted back into the lineup on an everyday basis.
Turner has missed seven of the team’s last eight games despite playing well in the one game he returned to the Dodgers lineup. Nevertheless, manager Dave Roberts said Turner would miss the first two games of the series against the Colorado Rockies.
The team believes Turner is doing better and think the injury is behind him, but Roberts said they are still going to hold him out of the remainder of the Rockies series due to an abundance of caution, per Jack Harris of the L.A. Times:
“Just talking to him and the trainers, I think we’re out of the woods with his stomach, his side, his ab muscle, tissue situation,” Roberts said. “But I think where we’re at, we don’t want to take any chances on any backsliding. I don’t see him playing any games here in Denver. We’ll reevaluate when we get to San Francisco.”
Throughout the span of the injury, Roberts has stated that a stint on the 10-day injured list for Turner is unlikely, but he never completely ruled it out. While it may have made sense a week ago, if Turner truly has the injury behind him, they were able to manage it well enough.
In Turner’s absence, Max Muncy has become the regular third baseman. He’s continued to struggle at the plate but Roberts remains confident Muncy will turn the corner.
Justin Turner injury details
Roberts wasn’t sure of the exact diagnosis of the injury when he first ruled out an IL stint, but Turner explained to DodgerBlue.com last week that the discomfort was “just below my sternum, right on the inside of my ribcage.”
He first felt the pain when taking warmup swings before a third at-bat against the Giants last Thursday. Once it didn’t dissipate, Turner informed the trainers of the trouble and received treatment.
“Decided it wasn’t worth trying to push through it and making it worse,” Turner said. “Out of precaution, I shut it down.”
Having previous experience with oblique and intercostal injuries, Turner was relieved the latest injury has had a different feeling.
After finishing the weekend at Coors Field, the Dodgers travel to the Bay Area to begin a four-game series with the San Francisco Giants, when Turner hopes return to his everyday role.
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