In case you missed the bad news out of Chavez Ravine, the Dodgers’ lead off hitter, Andrew Toles, suffered a torn ACL and is scheduled for possible season-ending surgery in two weeks.
Last night, while trying to preserve Julio Urias‘ no-hitter, Toles lunged at a fly ball and slammed his leg against the base of the left field wall.
Toles immediately looked hurt, but he walked off the field (which gave us some hope). This morning Toles underwent an MRI, which revealed the torn ACL in his right leg.
The loss of Toles is a huge blow for the Dodgers, as the young left fielder was just coming into his own. Toles was batting .271 with 5 home runs and 15 RBIs. In the past week he had 7 hits, 2 RBIs and scored 3 runs.
The big question is, “Who will replace Tolesy?” There was speculation that Alex Verdugo would get the call-up. However, the Dodgers are expecting Logan Forsythe to return in a week, so that would add another infielder to the mix, freeing up Cody Bellinger to play in the outfield.
Besides all of that, the Dodgers have Scott Van Struggling in the minors. He plays outfield and first base (like Bellinger) so using him would be the conventional move.
David Vassegh reported via Twitter that Scott Van Saved from the farm was indeed spotted in the Dodgers clubhouse this afternoon, so it looks like Van Slyke will get one more chance to redeem himself.
Oscar Martinez
I was born in the shadow of Dodger Stadium and immediately drenched in Dodger Blue. Chavez Ravine is my baseball cathedral, Vin Scully was the golden voice of summer all my life, and Tommy Lasorda remains the greatest Dodgers manager ever. My favorite things are coffee, beer, and the Dodgers beating the Giants. I also blog about my baseball card hobby at All Trade Bait, All the Time.
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I have my doubts whether Forsythe makes it back on time.
Van Slyke and Eibner were called up. Liberatore sent back down. Bellinger goes deep again and the blind squirrel has 3 hits again.
Great job by Kenta today; keeps the pen fresh for 4 games in Colorado
Grandal looks to be on a streak now. Good timing with AGon, Forsythe and Toles down.
Can someone explain why’s Toles wasn’t immediately put on the 60 day DL?
No need to. The 60 Day DL is where they move them when they want them off the 40 Man Roster. Sometime in the near future they will need his roster space and they will move him to that roster at that time, and they can do it retroactively. As to why they didn’t do it now, I understand FAZ about as well as you do, and I don’t know. It is almost a certainty that they will do it eventually.
My observations after a night of little sleep:
The Hampton Inn in La Junta backs up to train tracks. Trains run on the hour starting around 2am. It’s raining and they apparently have a roof drain system that runs through the exterior wall. I feel like I’m in the movie My Cousin Vinny.
And here’s a tip – Unplug the refrigerator.
Grandal is within .017 of Seager. That’s as close as he will get.
Maeda got 8.1 IP. He won’t do that again.
Utley up to .145. He should get some All Star votes.
Bellinger is one of the few on this team worth buying a ticket to see.
“Churn churn ‘s the mission boys, its how we’re gonna stay alive. ” Elton Badger, 2017
Off to prison on a cold and rainy day. Feels like a small, dead town in Kansas here.
You pegged La Junta to a tee. Not much to see there. Of course a few hours up the interstate and you can take in a game at Coors Field. You are right about Cody, he is fun to watch, and he cranked one down the RF line that was () this much away from being his 2nd homer of the game. I doubt there has been a Dodger ever who had 3 two homer games in his first 2 weeks….Well they come into the launching pad tonight. So it will be interesting with all four of our starters this weekend being lefty’s. Yasiel Puig is perhaps one of the most entertaining players of all time. The guy is just must watch TV.
I suppose it’s because of what just happened to Toles, but I hate seeing Cody in the outfield. I figure he’s five times more likely to be hurt there than at first base. C’mon, FAZ, trade AGON for a good pitcher or something. Maybe throw in Pederson who is wearing his welcome out real fast. Show us what you got….
Jonah
Your not alone, I feel that way too.
I don’t understand why the Cubs moved Bryant around, when he was there best hitter.
I would keep Bryant at third base.
But Toles probably wouldn’t have got hurt, if Urias wasn’t throwing a no hitter, at the time.
He said he thought about just diving or making a sliding catch, but he only did that, for Urias.
We never see an outfielder, get that close to those ground rule doubles like Toles did.
Toles is the kind of guy that has to always give 110% effort because he has people who are against him and will jump all over him if he attempts to play it safe…
If he threw the way he bats, left, he would have caught that ball.
First off, A-gone would not bring much. Surely not a pitcher. Trading Pederson is not going to happen because the kid, like Puig, is one of the best at defense at his position. He is far from wearing out his welcome. He is doing everything the coaching staff and Roberts are telling him to do. You want to trade someone, trade Kike, he is worthless, and throw in Hatcher. Pederson has played 4 games since he came back. Until he gets 150 at bats, his average is going to fluctuate a lot. He had 2 hits the other night and one the day after. The only person preaching trading the kid is you.
Still preaching… Pederson has had time enough, he’s never going to get better than he is now. that’s probably true also of Puig and Grandal. Kike? Sure, trade him if you can, Hatcher, Baez, and Romo, too. You couldn’t get a bag of balls for the lot.
Well lets just put it this way Jonah, If the FO thought that was so they would have traded him already. Puig started out like a house on fire when he first came up, and because of his antics and the bad habits he had, he dug himself a pretty big hole. But you can see a real change in his attitude and work ethic. It might not show all the time to some fans, but you listen the broadcasters and analyst’s and they have nothing but good things to say. As for Joc, well 4 games off the DL and you expect the kid to come out raking. He has had good at bats. Not much result wise yet, but you cannot deny the kids talent, and he also is using a totally different approach and batting stance. It takes a while for that kind of change to work. You are way too impatient and not in a position to imply that he will not get any better. I have seen a lot of players who were in the same year of their development make marked improvement. And defensively, he is the best center fielder on the team, period, and the front office values that defense. I would much rather see him out there every night than Kike or someone else. Since they are facing a lefty tonight, Kike or Eibner will most likely be out there. I prefer Eibner since he is a natural outfielder, and Kike is worthless at either position. And by the way, time enough? says who? you? I doubt it. I have seen teams including the Dodgers give players 4 or 5 years before they give up on them and some, like Jeff Torborg, never become good hitters, and are kept for their defense. Padres had Ozzie Smith for 5 years or so before they traded him and he could not hit a lick. As or Grandal, well I think he is a mediocre fielder, has some HR pop, but will never hit for average. At this point you could probably get as much for Kike as you could for Gonzo simply because of Gonzo’s contract and age. Including Baez with Romo and Hatcher is ignorant of Baez’s year so far. He has been very effective. He has gotten out of any trouble he has gotten himself into, and has only allowed 2 runs this year in 13 innings. That’s damn good for any reliever. Both were on homers. But because he gave up 11 last year everyone panics every time he gives one up. I do not preach, I am saying what I have read and what I have seen. I watch every game. I know what my eyes are telling me and not what a bunch of stat geeks are saying. There were guys all over Twitter who were swearing that the Dodgers were going to call up Verdugo to replace Toles because he is hitting .320 at OKC. I told them they were nuts because the kid was not on the 40 man roster and bringing him up would require probably putting someone on waivers, and I was right. I am a believer in Joc and Puig, if they prove me wrong so be it, but going on the things FAZ values, there is no way either is traded prior to the deadline if they are traded at all. That’s just logic.