Dodgers hope Cody Bellinger, Max Muncy return for Padres series

The Dodgers are aiming to put much of their lineup back together in time for a big three-game series with the Padres beginning on Monday. As of now, the hope is that Max Muncy and Cody Bellinger could both come off the injured list in time for at least part of that series, L.A. manager Dave Roberts told The Athletic’s Fabian Ardaya (all Twitter links) and other reporters.  Muncy (oblique strain) and Bellinger (hamstring tightness) both haven’t played since June 11 and are eligible to be activated off the 10-day IL on Tuesday. The duo each took part in a simulated game at the Dodgers’ Spring training facility on Saturday, Roberts said. Corey Seager (fractured hand) might not be too far behind them, as he is tentatively to begin a rehab assignment next week after being sidelined since May 15 due to a fractured hand.

The news isn’t as positive for Dodgers pitching prospect Josiah Gray, as Roberts said the right-hander is “a ways down the road” in being ready to return from a shoulder impingement. A consensus top-100 prospect in baseball, Gray made his Triple-A debut this season but pitched in only one game before getting injured. The 23-year-old had been projected to make his MLB debut later this year assuming things went well at Triple-A, but Gray might not have too long to get healthy and then make a good impression on the mound if he is going to factor into the Dodgers’ September call-up plans.

More from the NL West…

• Giants manager Gabe Kapler told reporters (including Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle) that Alex Dickerson and Darin Ruf were beginning minor-league rehab assignments Saturday.  Ruf was placed on the 10-day IL with a right hamstring strain on May 27, while an upper back strain sent Dickerson to the IL on June 9. With so many members of the first-place Giants playing well, Slusser thinks the impending returns of Dickerson and Ruf could create a bit of a roster crunch. Someone such as Mike Tauchman, for instance, couldn’t be easily moved off the roster since he is out of minor-league options, so the Giants would have to first expose him to waivers if they wanted to send him to Triple-A.
• The Rockies parted ways with assistant GM Jon Weil earlier this week, with The Athletic’s Nick Groke adding some more details about the front-office situation. Weil was told that the Rockies wouldn’t be renewing his contract, which ended Weil’s 16-year run in the organization. Between Weil leaving and VP of scouting Bill Schmidt being promoted to the interim GM job, both Weil’s and Schmidt’s former roles haven’t been filled, as Colorado has instead moved their responsibilities around to other current employees. In addition, the baseball operations department is being overseen by Rockies president of business operations Greg Feasel. This doesn’t seem like an ideal situation for a Rockies club that looks to be approaching a critical trade deadline and potential rebuilding period, — as Groke puts it, “a potential trade of [Trevor] Story and [Jon] Gray will be left to a business-minded president with no baseball experience, an interim GM with only two remaining lieutenants, and no true research department.”