Rafael Furcal is put on the disabled list
Reporting from Philadelphia — Rafael Furcal will make the move he resisted. He is heading to the 15-day disabled list.
On his way out of the Dodgers’ clubhouse Tuesday night, Furcal said his surgically repaired lower back stiffened in a pregame workout, which included fielding grounders at shortstop.
Furcal hadn’t fielded grounders since he strained his back on a throw across his body Aug. 2.
“We decided it was probably the safest thing to do,” Manager Joe Torre said.
Torre said the decision was made during the game Tuesday night.
“It’s not a setback,” Torre said. “He got loose, but when push comes to shove, with a week invested and a week to go, it’s probably smarter to do this.”
Furcal will be eligible to be activated Aug. 17 for the start of the Dodgers’ next homestand.
The Dodgers are expected to replace Furcal on the active roster with veteran utilityman Juan Castro, whom they signed to a minor league contract late last month. Castro was taken out of triple-A Albuquerque’s game Tuesday night in the second inning as part of a double switch.
Belisario remains quiet
As he said he would, Ronald Belisario broke his silence on the day he was reinstated from the restricted list. But the hard-throwing reliever said nothing substantive concerning his month-long absence from the team.
“I can’t talk about it,” Belisario said, later revealing that he actually could, but didn’t want to.
The Times reported last month that Belisario was receiving treatment in a substance-abuse program. But with Belisario and his employers refusing to comment about his situation, questions remain about how or why he ended up in a treatment facility.
In addition to declining to confirm or deny the report in The Times, Belisario dodged questions about his whereabouts over the last month, including whether he left the country.
What the Venezuelan did say was that he didn’t think his issues would result in visa problems that would result in him reporting late to spring training next year, as was the case this spring when he had a lingering drunk-driving charge.
Belisario said he didn’t feel he had to address his teammates, noting, “I don’t really talk a lot.”
Belisario released a statement through the team that was equally unenlightening, as he said his issues “have thankfully been resolved” but that he wouldn’t talk about them because of their “personal nature.”
Belisario pitched the sixth inning Tuesday and gave up a home run to Domonic Brown.
Torre said that while the Dodgers’ recently added bullpen depth made it unnecessary for Belisario to be used in the eighth or ninth innings, he wouldn’t hesitate to use the reliever in crucial situations in the sixth or seventh innings.
Kemp on the bench
Center fielder Matt Kemp was out of the Dodgers lineup, and this time, it appeared to be related strictly to performance.
Kemp was six for 25 in the Dodgers’ recently concluded homestand and struck out four times Sunday.
“I see no patience whatsoever,” Torre said. “It feels like he’s reaching for stuff.”
Kemp, in his usual manner, tried to downplay his recent struggles.
“It’s baseball, man,” he said.
Kemp pinch-hit for Belisario in the seventh inning and singled.
dylan.hernandez@latimes.com
twitter.com/dylanohernandez
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