Yasiel Puig misses second straight game with thumb injury
By Hayden Kane
The Los Angeles Dodgers will not have mercurial outfielder Yasiel Puig in the lineup for the second straight game on Tuesday night. The reason for his absence is without controversy, however, or at least that’s the case for now.
The same thumb injury that held Puig out on Sunday night will also keep him out of the lineup on Tuesday night. Per Earl Bloom on MLB.com:
"Yasiel Puig was not in the Dodgers lineup for the second game in a row Tuesday night because of a left thumb injury, but manager Don Mattingly said the outfielder ‘is still kind of day to day’ and might be available in some capacity against the Tigers at Dodger Stadium.Mattingly said Puig, who also missed Sunday’s game against San Francisco, was going to be fitted with a splint so he could do baseball activities.”"
The Dodgers already have enough injury problems in their outfield with Matt Kemp and Carl Crawford. This thumb injury probably will not be a big deal, though a finger injury eventually lampooned the season of Colorado Rockies’ star Carlos Gonzalez in 2013 so this cannot be discounted completely.
As long as Puig is back in the lineup soon, this likely will not be something that lingers. And say whatever you will about Puig and his attitude or whether or not he “gets it,” the Dodgers cannot afford to have him struggling with injuries this season.