Dodgers: Joc Pederson placed on 7-day DL, Kenta Maeda activated

The Dodgers placed center fielder Joc Pederson on the 7-day Disabled List on Thursday afternoon following Tuesday night’s collision with Yasiel Puig.

Pederson has landed on the DL for the second time this season for the Dodgers. He was on the DL during the middle of April with a groin injury after running out a groundball. Pederson missed ten games in his first DL stint, and it’s still unkown how long Pederson will be held out by the MLB concussion protocol.

In a move to replace Pederson on the active roster, Kenta Maeda was activated off the DL and will make his start on Thursday night in the rubber game against the Cardinals. Maeda was placed on the DL with a “hamstring” injury after his best start of the season. Maeda pitched 8 1/3 innings and allowed only two earned runs with five strikeouts in his last start against the Pirates back on May 10th.

Analysis

Pederson took a pretty brutal hit with Yasiel Puig in extra innings on Tuesday night.

As if getting hit by Puig wasn’t bad enough, we can see Pederson slide into the home run wall head first, hitting his head where there’s little to no padding. Pederson left the game following the incident and did not appear in the game last night, leaving fans expecting a DL transaction.

It’s good to see Dave Roberts taking the precautionary road with Joc because you never want to mess with concussion injuries. Whether Pederson misses a week or even two, the truth is an achy Joc Pederson is no use to the club and could affect his future moving forward. Which is really priority number one for the Dodgers.

Team doctors have requested that Pederson stays away from his phone and the TV until they continue to complete more test.

Joc was having a tough time at the plate before these two injuries. Pederson is hitting .200, with a pair of homers and 11 RBI in 35 games. Perhaps the biggest concern over Pederson’s early season production was the dip in OBP and SLG, which currently sit at a career low .309 and .314. It could be a good thing for Pederson and the Dodgers for Pederson to spend some time away from baseball and take a trip down to Oklahoma City when he is ready to return to the diamond. A rehab assignment could help Pederson get back on track at the plate when he is cleared to play.

The injury to Pederson now leaves an open spot in center field. Although Pederson lacked in production, he still was starting nearly every day, who emerges yet to be determined? Since Pederson was removed from center field, Dave Roberts has put Chris Taylor out in center field during those innings.

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For me to see Taylor get two consecutive starts in center over Kike Hernandez is pretty surprising. I know Taylor has been one of the Dodgers most consistent hitters this season. But a big reason why he didn’t make the club out of spring training was his lack of experience playing the outfield.

Taylor has no doubt earned a spot in the lineup. But playing center field? That’s questionable for me. But hey, I’m all for whatever works for the offense as we get ready to play the toughest stretch of games so far this season. I’ll admit when Pederson went down the first time I was suspect about Andrew Toles playing center field. It turned out he held his own, and I’m sure Taylor will too.

I’d be more comfortable with Cody Bellinger playing center field and Chris Taylor playing left. Bellinger got some work in center this season in the minors, and with the exception of a ground ball last night, he has played a perfect left field.

Taylor has already made five errors on the season. Granted they have been at second and third base, but his fielding has been suspect this season. I just worry about putting a lot of responsibility on a player that has never played that position before. We saw what lack of communication could do on Tuesday. There’s no doubt he should be in the lineup every day, just wondering if center field is the best place.

Kenta Maeda rejoining the rotation now pushes out Hyun-Jin Ryu from the rotation. Where does this land Ryu? Well, that’s still up in the air, but it’s realistic to think he’s working his way to move into a long relief role out of the bullpen. Ryu has already spent time on the DL this season and also could decline any options to the minors. It’s looking like he will switch to a role he’s never done in his career before.

Next: Is it time to panic with Urias?

It seems like Roberts doesn’t mind risking games by putting players in positions they aren’t experienced at, but it’s only May, right. Well, the truth is, wins in May count just as much as wins in September, and with the Dodgers facing the difficult road ahead, this better work.