Dodgers’ Yasiel Puig could remain sidelined for rest of regular season
Dodgers outfielder Yasiel Puig wipes his face during a game against the Athletics.
Yasiel Puig might not play again in the regular season, Manager Don Mattingly acknowledged Friday.
Puig was placed on the disabled list last week with a strained right hamstring. He is rehabilitating at the Dodgers’ spring-training complex in Arizona.
“We’ve got about a month and Yas has been out a few days, a week, maybe,” Mattingly said. “If it is a month, we’re pretty much right at the end of the year.”
Asked whether he would be hesitant to play Puig in the playoffs after a monthlong layoff, Mattingly replied, “I think we’d have to see a little bit. We just cross those bridges as we get there. I guess it would depend on what he’s able to do at that point.”
Puig strained his other hamstring earlier in the season and was sidelined for 38 games.
He has played in only 77 games this season and is batting .256 with 11 home runs and 38 runs batted in.
Mattingly said utility man Enrique Hernandez might also not return in the regular season. Hernandez landed on the disabled list Friday, because of a strained hamstring.
Getting close
Mattingly was considerably more optimistic about Howie Kendrick, saying he expected the second baseman to be activated this month “for sure.”
Kendrick has been on the disabled list since Aug. 10 because of a strained left hamstring.
“I think he’s running bases tomorrow and we’ll see where he’s at and going from there,” Mattingly said. “We feel we’re getting close with Howie.”
Kendrick could play in minor league playoff games to prepare for his comeback.
Mattingly said he still plans for Kendrick to be the team’s everyday second baseman when he is activated. In Kendrick’s absence, recently acquired Chase Utley has started most of the games at second base.
Staying the course
Yasmani Grandal is in a slump and A.J. Ellis is on a tear, but Mattingly said Grandal would remain the team’s primary catcher.
Grandal went into Friday night batting .159 with one home run and five RBIs since Aug. 1. Ellis was batting .309 with four home runs and nine RBIs in 19 games starting July 5.
“We have faith in Yas,” Mattingly said. “He’s an All-Star catcher. It’s just a matter of going through a little thing. We have to keep believing in him and having faith in him and expect him to bounce out of this.”
Extra bases
Joe Torre, the league’s chief baseball officer, called Mattingly to talk about a controversial sixth-inning call Thursday night that cost the Dodgers a double play and started a Padres comeback. Mattingly said he was “satisfied” with the conversation. … Andre Ethier, who has a bruised knee, could return to the starting lineup as early as Saturday. … Triple-A Manager Damon Berryhill was named the Pacific Coast League manager of the year. Berryhill’s team won the PCL American Northern Division.
Twitter: @dylanohernandez
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