{"id":124665,"date":"2026-06-27T21:24:21","date_gmt":"2026-06-28T01:24:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/?p=124665"},"modified":"2026-06-27T21:24:21","modified_gmt":"2026-06-28T01:24:21","slug":"dodgers-left-fielder","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/2026\/06\/27\/dodgers-left-fielder\/","title":{"rendered":"Dodgers Affable Left Fielder Returns Monday"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Los Angeles Dodgers are getting a boost to their lineup soon. Left fielder Teoscar Hernandez<\/a> will be joining the club when they reach Sacramento to play the Athletics, according to Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic. \u00a0The fan-favorite has been on the injured list<\/a> with a strained hamstring for about a month. Hernandez is currently on a rehab assignment with Triple-A Oklahoma City. Apparently, the veteran has already got his timing back at the plate. He has launched a couple of prodigious home runs in just a few games.<\/p>\n

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Hernandez Returning<\/h2>\n
\n

Dave Roberts said the plan is for Teoscar Hern\u00e1ndez to be activated off the IL on Monday in Sacramento.<\/p>\n

\u2014 Fabian Ardaya (@FabianArdaya) June 27, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Easing Into the Flow<\/h3>\n

Los Angeles plans to ease Hernandez into playing time. They play 13 games in 14 days before the All-Star Break<\/a>. As such, he will start three or four times a week in order to manage his work load. They would prefer not to repeat his injury history.<\/a> Last year, the veteran was on and off the I.L. battling various ailments. Hernandez was never fully healthy in 2025. It showed both in the field and at the plate. The increase in errors and strike outs was notable. This year, the Dodgers caught the injury early, and they hope that rest and recovery will mitigate the risk of recurrence.<\/p>\n

With Hernandez back, it not only lengthens the lineup, but it increases the team’s versatility. Tommy Edman<\/a> will primarily play second base and occasionally slide to third base which will give Max Muncy<\/a> a breather against left-handed pitching. In this case, Alex Freeland<\/a> will play second.<\/p>\n

The Butter and Egg Man<\/h3>\n

Since his arrival in 2024, Hernandez has delivered in the clutch for the Dodgers. Whether regular or postseason, the left fielder has had some big hits for the Dodgers, particularly with runners in scoring position. This year, he was hitting for a .350 batting average in the month of May before the injury bug bit. Los Angeles \u00a0could certainly benefit from some timely punch at the plate right now.<\/p>\n

\"Teoscar
Apr 11, 2025; Los Angeles, California, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder Teoscar Hernandez (37) singles during the sixth inning against the Chicago Cubs at Dodger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kiyoshi Mio-Imagn Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Proceed with Caution<\/h3>\n

There is a chance<\/a> that catcher Will Smith<\/a> won’t return until after the All-Star Break. He has a neck issue that was originally diagnosed as day-to-day. However, Smith’s response to treatment has been slow.<\/p>\n

With an eight-game lead in the National League West, the Dodgers can afford to be patient…for now.<\/p>\n

Main Photo: Kirby Lee- Imagn Images<\/em><\/p>\n

<\/h4>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Los Angeles Dodgers are getting a boost to their lineup soon. Left fielder Teoscar Hernandez will be joining the club when they reach Sacramento to play the Athletics, according to Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic. \u00a0The fan-favorite has been on the injured list with a strained hamstring for about a month. Hernandez is currently […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5226,"featured_media":100481,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33,1071,35],"tags":[29076,2240,1198,3899],"class_list":["post-124665","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-dodgers","category-mlb","category-news","tag-alex-freeland","tag-max-muncy","tag-teoscar-hernandez","tag-tommy-edman"],"modified_by":"Andrew Willis","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/124665","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5226"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=124665"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/124665\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":124673,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/124665\/revisions\/124673"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/100481"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=124665"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=124665"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=124665"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}