The Los Angeles Dodgers recalled Yonny Hernández from Triple-A Oklahoma City and placed Chris Taylor on the 10-day injured list due to right knee soreness.
Taylor’s IL stint was backdated to June 22, which makes Sunday, July 2, the earliest he can be activated. “It’s not completely healed and you can just see he’s compensating,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said of the bone bruise in Taylor’s right knee.
Taylor originally suffered the injury on June 16, when he was removed in the fourth inning. Subsequent testing revealed the bone bruise and what Roberts described as “cartilage wear and tear.”
It was treated with a cortisone injection, which left the 32-year-old unavailable for a small stretch of games while the shot took effect.
Taylor was limited to pinch-hitting during the Freeway Series last week but the Dodgers expected he would be capable of starting against the Houston Astros. Not only was Taylor not in the lineup for the first two games of the series, but he didn’t appear off the bench.
If there’s some silver lining, Taylor’s injury hasn’t worsened.
“It just hasn’t gotten any better,” Roberts explained. “So just the value of having him take an at-bat but not play defense, as opposed to giving him more time, made more sense. … The swinging doesn’t affect him. I think swinging and throwing the baseball is fine, and hopefully just time makes it feel better.”
Yonny Hernández back with Dodgers
Hernández was on the Dodgers taxi squad for a stretch last week as the team mulled a potential roster move with Taylor. He eventually returned to Oklahoma City and appeared in just one game before rejoining the Dodgers.
This marks Hernández’s second stint on the Dodgers roster, with the first only entailing a pinch-hit appearance against the New York Mets on April 19.
Hernandez has hit .260/.407/.385 with 11 doubles, two triples, two home runs and 25 RBI over 47 games with OKC this season. He’s previously been up in the Majors with the Texas Rangers (2021) and Arizona Diamondbacks (2022).
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