Los Angeles Dodgers To Miss Yasiel Puig For Several Weeks Due to Strained Hamstring

The Los Angeles Dodgers will miss the services of outfielder Yasiel Puig for “at least a couple weeks” due to a strained left hamstring, according to manager Don Mattingly.

The Los Angeles Dodgers will be without outfielder Yasiel Puig for at least the next two weeks. 

This was what Dodgers manager Don Mattingly told MLB.com’s Ken Gurnick on /4/13. More specifically, Mattingly said Puig will be out “at least a couple weeks” due to a strained left hamstring. 

“He’s going to be a little bit, at least a couple weeks,” Mattingly told ESPN Los Angeles’ Mark Saxon on Wednesday. “So, we’ll kind of let it rest for a couple days until he gets it going.” 

Dodgers manager: Yasiel Puig out at least another couple of weeks with hamstring injury. http://t.co/AHObZ0nMGQ pic.twitter.com/VgPzXTrhkI— theScore (@theScore) /4/13, 2015

Gurnick says Puig first strained his hamstring on April 13. He then sat out four of the Dodgers’ next five games before the team put him on the disabled list on April 26. 

Puig was scheduled to return on Sunday, but he aggravated the injury while playing for Class A Advanced Rancho Cucamonga on /4/8. An MRI exam three days later confirmed the injury has not fully healed, per MLB.com. 

Mattingly dubbed Puig “a rehab guy at this point,” per Gurnick. The Dodgers outfielder will continue to undergo therapy without taking the field for practice. Once doctors clear him to go back to the field, he will restart a rehab assignment to further strengthen the hamstring.

.@Dodgers stop Yasiel Puig’s rehab after MRI reveals setback with left hamstring: http://t.co/Ue9BM3hhJ6 pic.twitter.com/YTGLeTlsBh— MLB (@MLB) /4/13, 2015

Andre Ethier has taken over for Puig in right field since he came down with the injury and has hit .329 during that span, per MLB.com. In a /4/13 update, Gurnick says Ethier is one of six Dodgers who have batted above .300 during the 2015 MLB season. 

He joins teammates Alex Guerrero, Scott Van Slyke, Howie Kendrick, Adrian Gonzalez and Yasmani Grandal. 

Ethier continues to impress as he went 5-for-5 to go along with a home run in an 11-1 win over the visiting Miami Marlins on Tuesday, per MLB.com. 

Ethier had been the subject of several offseason trade rumors due to declining health (including a broken finger, knee surgery and a hairline ankle fracture) and the rise of Puig, per Gurnick. It turned out center fielder Matt Kemp was the one who would eventually be dealt to the division rivals San Diego Padres.

Tuesday’s Player of the Night is the @Dodgers Andre Ethier for going 5-5 with a HR and 3 RBI. pic.twitter.com/30ifASxqzC— Baseball Tonight (@BBTN) /4/13, 2015

Now that Ethier is here to stay with the Dodgers, he told MLB.com on Tuesday he’s happy to take the good with the bad:

“You can complain about any situation, but sometimes you just grin and bear it. I knew the type of player I was capable of. Not everything goes the way you want. You have to grind through things. You have to figure ways to ride them out.”  

Saxon notes the Dodgers have gone 12-4 since Puig went on the disabled list. In a separate ESPN update, Saxon says Puig is one of several injured players in the Dodgers’ lineup. Among the other sidelined players are Carl Crawford and pitchers Brandon McCarthy, Hyun-Jin Ryu and Joel Peralta.  

Nonetheless, the Dodgers have strung together five straight wins through /4/13. Los Angeles also boosted its league-best home record to 15-2 after the rout of Miami on Tuesday, per Gurnick. 

The Dodgers are undefeated in 19 games this season when they score at least four runs, per Gurnick. 

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