Dodgers News: Scott Van Slyke Limited With Right Hand Issue

It’s been a year full of injuries, major and minor, for the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2015. First, they lost two starting pitchers, Brandon McCarthy and Hyun-Jin Ryu, for the season, then Yasiel Puig and Carl Crawford were out for months, and now the team has four players sidelined by hamstring strains in Puig, Howie Kendrick, Jose Peraza and Kiké Hernandez.

In between those injuries, players have missed days here and there throughout the year. Despite that, the Dodgers are still in first place and are on the brink of their third straight NL West title.

One player that has avoided a long-term injury this season is first baseman/outfielder Scott Van Slyke. He had a disabled list stint earlier in the year with a back issue, but has remained relatively healthy. The right-handed slugger was not in the lineup against a left-hander on Tuesday and Wednesday, prompting questions about his absence.

Manager Don Mattingly explained the issue with Van Slyke before Tuesday’s game. “Scotty has a sore hand,” he said. “He’s got a little cyst or something that popped up. It started getting sore the last couple days. Just giving him some time.”

It doesn’t appear to be a big issue, but Mattingly did say that Van Slyke would be visiting a hand specialist and could be ready to go on Friday.

This season, the 29-year-old is hitting .246 with five home run and 28 RBIs in 87 games. However, he is hitting .263 with an .831 OPS against left-handers.