Dodgers Injury News: Yasiel Puig, Pedro Baez, Hyun-Jin Ryu

On Tuesday, it seemed as if the updates just kept coming and coming. The Dodgers announced updates on five players and their health. Probably the biggest takeaway was reliever Tom Koehler would require season-ending shoulder surgery.

Tom Koehler had season ending shoulder surgery.

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— AlaNNa Rizzo (@alannarizzo) July 24, 2018

Losing Koehler is a blow, especially for the bullpen. The 32-year-old is going to go the entire season without throwing an inning with the team.

Yasiel Puig

It looks as if Yasiel Puig will be returning sooner than expected. After going down with an oblique injury, many expected Puig to miss an extended amount of time.

.@YasielPuig is expected to join the team in Atlanta on Friday after playing in rehab games for the @okcdodgers this week.

— AlaNNa Rizzo (@alannarizzo) July 24, 2018

On the season, Puig is hitting .265/.325/.462. He has 11 homers and 35 RBI. Puig got off to a slow start, as he was hitting .200 in the middle of May. After a quick DL stint, something with Puig clicked. In May he hit .283 and slugged five homers. June was even better, as the 27-year-old had a slash of .303/.367/.517. He also added four more long balls.

In the first week of July, Puig looked as if he was ready to replicate his debut month from five years ago. Through the first seven games, Puig was hitting .348/.348/.739. He had two home runs and eight RBI. The injury couldn’t have come at a worse time.

Pedro Baez

Ah, the return of everyone’s favorite reliever. It looks as if Baez will be returning to the team on Thursday.

Pedro Baez will join #Dodgers in Atlanta Thursday

— Bill Plunkett (@billplunkettocr) July 24, 2018

Baez has missed the last month with bicep tendinitis. His last appearance with the ball club was on June 9. On the season, Baez is 3-3 with a 3.23 ERA. He has 36 strikeouts in 30 innings. He looked good over his last 15 outings, posting an ERA of 2.40. Though he has a bad reputation, when fully healthy, Baez is one of the better relievers on the Dodgers.

Hyun-Jin Ryu

By the time Ryu comes back, he will have missed around three months with left groin strain. Next week he will begin a rehab assignment. He previously injured it in May of 2016, but this time was much worse. Much like Puig’s injury, Ryu’s couldn’t have come at a worse time. The 31-year-old was off to his best start with the Dodgers. Through six starts, Ryu was 3-0 with an ERA of 2.12. His WHIP was 0.88, and his strikeout per nine ratio was the highest of his career, 10.9.

Analysis

It will be great to get everyone back. All season, the Dodgers have been dealing with injury after injury. Whether it’s the bullpen, the starting rotation or starting lineup, LA has faced injuries all season. Though it’s likely they won’t have a fully healthy team at any point this season, getting pieces back for the final stretch is crucial if this team wants to reach the postseason.