Dodgers Set to Activate AJ Pollock and Jimmy Nelson from Injured List in Atlanta
The Dodgers keep getting healthy and more roster changes are imminent as the team heads back out on the road. Before Wednesday night’s action, manager Dave Roberts confirmed that outfielder AJ Pollock and reliever Jimmy Nelson will rejoin the club on the upcoming road trip to Atlanta.
#Dodgers AJ Pollock and Jimmy Nelson will travel with the team on Thursday to Atlanta. Dave Roberts expects they will be activated Friday.
— Kirsten Watson (@kirsten_watson) June 2, 2021
Pollock has been on the injured list since re-aggravating a hamstring issue. The 33-year-old played in 4 rehab games with the Single-A Rancho Cucamonga Quakes where he hit a home run while testing that balky left leg.
Nelson last pitched on May 20th where he tossed 2 scoreless innings in a bullpen game. Soon after, he reported forearm soreness and the team erred on the side of caution with the right-hander. He faced hitters at Dodger Stadium this week and declared himself ready to go.
Manager Dave Roberts will have to be creative with the roster moves before the pair can be activated. The Dodgers have been carrying 14 pitchers on the active roster while waiting for starting pitcher Tony Gonsolin to complete his rehab from a shoulder issue. He starts Thursday night for Triple-A Oklahoma City and if all goes well, he’ll join the rotation next week.
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Not Roberts’ call on roster moves, Andrew Friedman will make those decisions. My guess, Mitchell White will be optioned to OKC, and Yoshi Tsutsugo is optioned to the alternate training site to work on his hitting mechanics.
That would also be my guess with White and Tsutsugo. On another page Roberts indicated that Dodgers will most likely return to 13 position players (5 for the bench) and 13 pitchers instead of 14, which has affected late inning decisions so as to avoid running out of position players.