It always seemed overly optimistic that the Dodgers would get Tommy Edman back as soon as his 10-day IL stint was over, even if that was the narrative Dave Roberts kept pushing until he couldn't. Edman initially went onto the IL on May 3, retroactive to April 30, with ankle inflammation after a minor sprain.
He was supposed to come back on Saturday, during the Dodgers' three-game series against the Diamondbacks but then was delayed until their return home to face the Athletics. Now? It's really anybody's guess.
Edman and Teoscar Hernández will both face live pitching against rehabbing pitcher Emmet Sheehan on Wednesday, but Roberts said that Edman's ankle isn't responding the way the team had hoped, and he briefly backslid when he reported lingering pain while running.
Hernández went onto the 10-day IL on May 6 with an adductor strain and is eligible to come off of it on Friday, but Roberts said: "I'm hopeful for Teoscar, but we'll see how it goes. Maybe later this weekend, something like that. I think at the end of the day we have to make sure that when we do activate these guys, we don’t have any setbacks."
Dodgers Injury Updates: Tommy Edman's return delayed even further, Teoscar Hernández to take BP
The Dodgers made it out of their series against the Diamondbacks with a split, but they returned home and dropped their opener against the Athletics to the tune of 11-1. Landon Knack got the start for LA on the same day Roki Sasaki went onto the IL with a shoulder impingement, adding yet another Dodgers pitcher to the ever-growing list of injured players; Knack gave up five runs while the only run the Dodgers' bats could muster was on a Mookie Betts grounder that scored Chris Taylor because of a fielding error.
LA is somehow still cobbling together the second-best record in baseball, but it feels like things are hanging on by a thread. With Sasaki out, the Dodgers are back down to three starters (though Clayton Kershaw will return on Saturday). Edman and Hernández's replacements — Hyeseong Kim and James Outman — have been underwhelming.
The Dodgers are holding things together for now, but none of this is sustainable and there's still a lot of season to go. It's understandable the team would want to exercise caution and not push players before they're ready, but it sort of feels like we're just waiting for the other shoe to drop.