The Los Angeles Dodgers will be without star third baseman Justin Turner for a while.
According to multiple reports, Dodgers slugger Justin Turner has a broken his left wrist. The all-star third baseman was hit by a pitch from Oakland’s Kendall Graveman in the first inning of a Spring Training game Monday night.
Turner immediately ran out of the batter’s box after being hit and appeared to be in severe pain. The 33-year-old promptly left the game to have x-rays, which confirmed he had a broken left wrist.
This is a huge blow for a Dodgers team that is expected to win the National League West and make another deep postseason run. A timetable for Turner’s eventual return has not yet been announced. These types of injuries tend to vary when it comes to how long players need to sit out and recover. It could be just over a month, or it could be several months. The Dodgers will hope for the former.
Pedro Moura of The Athletic reports Turner may not need surgery.
Going into his age-33 season and fifth with the Dodgers, Turner was a late bloomer who found his groove upon arriving in Los Angeles in 2014. With the Dodgers, he’s slashed .303/.378/.502 with 71 home runs and 264 RBI. He earned his first All-Star appearance with the team last season.
It looks as if Logan Forsythe will be manning the hot corner in Turner’s absence. Forsythe was previously slated to be the team’s starting second baseman, so the trio of Chase Utley, Kike Hernandez and Austin Barnes will apparently all get some time in the middle infield.
Next: Who will save the day for each MLB team?
The loss of Turner will result in a pretty significant loss of power in the Dodgers’ lineup, at least temporarily. It will be interesting to see if the Dodgers make a trade of some sorts if it turns out Turner has to miss more time than expected.