Dodgers manager Dave Roberts spoke to the media prior to Friday’s matchup with the New York Mets and said that rookie outfielder Alex Verdugo is still not participating in baseball activities and that it is very unlikely he will return in time for the NLDS. This is not what you want to hear.
Alex Verdugo will be in LA next week, but still not doing baseball activities. “Very unlikely†Verdugo will be active for first round of postseason, Roberts said.
— Ken Gurnick (@kengurnick) September 13, 2019
Verdugo has been on the injured list since August 6 with an oblique issue, but has since begun to deal with back issues as well. The news that he will not be available for the first round of the playoffs is entirely discouraging, but according to Dave Roberts, the team expects him to come back and make an impact in October:
Alex Verdugo will join #Dodgers in LA Tuesday but has not resumed workouts. Dave Roberts said it’s “very unlikely†Verdugo will be ready for NLDS “but we expect to be playing throughout October.â€
— Bill Plunkett (@billplunkettocr) September 13, 2019
The 23-year-old outfielder did not receive the news the Dodgers wanted nor he wanted, but if he can make a potential NLCS and/or World Series impact, you take that ten times out of ten.
Verdugo holds a .294 batting average and .817 on-base plus slugging in his rookie campaign and has been one of the best defensive outfielders in the league in 2019. The Dodgers are continuously mixing and matching at the top of their order without Verdugo and this will continue into the playoffs.
Expect Cody Bellinger, Chris Taylor, AJ Pollock, and Joc Pederson to take up most of the at-bats in the outfield down the stretch.
