Mattingly: Hernandez will definitely return to Dodgers in regular season
While the Los Angeles Dodgers aren't very confident right fielder Yasiel Puig will return from a hamstring injury this season, they are expecting with certainty another key player who also suffered a hamstring strain to rejoin the team in the regular season.
The Dodgers have been ravaged by hamstring injuries this season, and while second baseman Howie Kendrick recently returned to the team after straining his hamstring, Puig and rookie speedster Jose Peraza aren't expected to return in 2015 after suffering hamstring injuries within the last few weeks.
However, utility man Kiké Hernandez, who has been an integral component to the Dodgers this season, is expected to return before the regular season expires and be ready for what Los Angeles hopes will be a deep postseason run.
"Kiké for me, 100 percent, he's going to play this season," manager Don Mattingly said. "Unless he has a setback in these next few days. He's been running at full speed, or really close to it, three or four times and bounced back and recovered every time."
Hernandez, who is hitting .308/.350/.492 with six home runs and 21 RBI in 71 games this season, has missed over three weeks of action since straining his left hamstring in a game against the Chicago Cubs at Dodger Stadium on Aug. 30.
When the 24-year-old returns to the Dodgers, they'll likely ease him into action, as hamstring injuries tend to recur and can be hard to bounce back from.
"Just like we found out with Howie, Howie thought he'd be able to jump back in there and play every day," Mattingly said. "But after that first day, he felt like he got hit by a truck. Getting back to game intensity is harder than it looks."
(h/t MLB.com)
