5:08PM: Roberts confirmed Pollock was headed to the IL, telling reporters (including J.P. Hoornstra of the Southern California News Group) that Pollock will miss “a couple weeks minimum.” Right-hander Edwin Uceta is being called up to take Pollock’s spot on the 26-man roster.
8:18AM: Dodgers outfielder AJ Pollock exited their win over the Marlins on Friday with a left hamstring strain, the team announced. He’ll likely require a stint on the 10-day injured list, manager Dave Roberts told Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic and other reporters.
Pollock has dealt with a laundry list of injuries throughout his career, though he has largely stayed healthy since missing a significant chunk of the 2019 season because of elbow surgery. He appeared in 55 of the Dodgers’ 60 regular-season games in 2020 and has played in 32 of their 38 contests this year.
As was the case last season, Pollock has put up easily above-average offensive numbers in 2021. Through 102 trips to the plate, Pollock has batted .277/.333/.457 (117 wRC+) with four home runs and a pair of stolen bases. On the defensive side, the 33-year-old has seen time in left field and center (almost exclusively the former).
If Pollock does go on the IL, he’ll join fellow outfielders Cody Bellinger and Zach McKinstry on the shelf. Both Bellinger and McKinstry have been out since April, but they’re close to embarking on rehab assignments, per Juan Toribio of MLB.com.
Show me a healthy OF who plays a full season (Gwynn, Aaron, Betts, etc…), they’ve become such a rarity in today’s game.
This is why im scared Conforto will be priced out of the Mets especially with Boras as his agent. Since bcoming full time he is out there pretty much every game. His 2nd and 3rd years he was sharing an outfield with Cespedes, Granderson, Bruce and to a lesser extent defensive whiz Lagares. If it wasnt for the top 3 there i think year 3 he would have been the full season starter to start the season.
He plays everyday and is a solid to good hitter and not a liability in the field with a little versatility, I dont want him playing center everyday but in a pinch for a day to day injury he can cover it.
Also not sure why the knock on Garnder outside of i think 1 season he is out there or available everyday for pretty much his what 16 seasons and produced as an avg bat, good speed, and good def at all the of positions.
I’m not sure why outfielders are more likely to get injured today than at any other time in history. If anything the playing surfaces have gotten better and the walls more forgiving.
Probably because players today do more lifting and less conditioning. All the muscles, ligaments, and tendons tighten up and are prone to injury.
Because teams are more cautious with players now because we understand the human body better. Lifting weights does not make you less durable. It does the opposite.
Weight lifting and supplements
Maybe Albert can fill the void in left for a couple weeks. Ahahahaha!
Definitely one of those sick puppies “let the bodies hit the floor” kind of seasons.
In other news, the sky is blue.
Just not enough attention was paid to the consequences of 2020 on position players; for some reason, it kind of ended with pitchers. But asking any athlete to jump from 60 games to 162 one year to the next is going to have ramifications. This is especially true for those who have financial (i.e. free agency, arbitration) consequences attached to their 2021 results.
It’s likely to continue all year long, and there may not be any cures except depth.
Somewhat agree Bob that the 60 game season has impacted position players, but not sure why it would. The rash of injuries to pitchers makes sence, not t sure how 2020 affected health of position players. They got lazy in training over the covid winter?
It’s tough to see so many injuries to the younger OFers like Pache, Jimenez, Robert,….Soto was down for a while, etc.., In fact, seems like most teams are missing 2/3 of their opening day OF now.
If the injury problem is due to going from a 60 game season to 162, why are there so many injuries in the first 40 games? Intuitively, it seems like the problem would manifest itself in the later half of the season. Will the number of injuries increase as the games played climbs past 60?
Say you routinely warm up for 60 minutes before every game. If one day you warm up for only 10 minutes there’s a much higher likelihood you’ll get injured, and that injury is MUCH more likely to come earlier in the game than later.
It’s the same concept
Using your example, its seems like if you play 60 games vs 162, you should be more rested early the following season and less prone to injury. But if you only warm up for 10 minutes vs 60, you are not loose and more prone to injury. I think I may have missed your point.
Sometimes randomness can be explained, sometimes not. In this case, not.
He came back too soon because the team is so shorthanded because of injury. They were talking on the broadcast about how it’s almost unheard of to have a grade 1 hamstring pull and be playing a week later. Then not 2 min later he came out of the game.
Big surprise
West Coast Aaron Hicks
There’s something fishy here.
Your comment gave me a haddock.
Oh cod, stop.
Stop being so shellfish!
Mckinstry plays two games in the OF and now he’s a fellow OF
He’s played 14 games in the majors as an outfielder for a total of 94 innings.
Pollock plans his summer vacations in the offseason around his annual DL trips….think he’s hitting Southern Belize this year.
Then, in the fall (playoffs), you’ll usually find him hiding in the dark corner of the bench somewhere planning his Thanksgiving travels. Very efficient fella, and well traveled of course
Take the 5 million free clams next year and walk away AJ
This is the same hamstring he hurt earlier in the year, but because they were so banged up, he tried to play thru it with rest. Just let em heal
McKinstry is starting his rehab assignment today/tomorrow. Bellinger next week. Both should be be back 05/21 for the Dodgers series against the Giants
Hopefully they can stay off the IL for an extended period of time, the injuries to all these great players on pretty much every team have just been insane.
Pujols in a blueish hue uniform will need to learn how to play center field
Tsutsugo going to LA according to the mlb app. Another guy to fix with interesting potential