Dodgers' Dave Roberts gives ominous Teoscar Hernández injury update after HBP

The Los Angeles Dodgers have had to deal with a litany of injuries this year, which have held them back considerably from reaching their projected peak. Yoshinobu Yamamoto is finally returning to the mound after a lengthy absence, and unfortunately the concerns over Tyler Glasnow's injury history proved to be valid. Adding to LA's roster dilemma in the final month of the season, Gavin Stone was placed on the IL Friday after spending all season as the one rotation arm that had managed to stay healthy.

Regrettably, the bad news did not end with Stone's scans this weekend.

In the first inning of Friday night's matchup with the Guardians, Teoscar Hernández took a slider right off his foot/ankle from left-hander Matt Boyd and was forced to leave the game, which eventually became a disheartening 3-1 loss.

Not only would the Dodgers go on to lose despite a strong start from Landon Knack, but manager Dave Roberts provided an update on Hernández after the game that strongly hinted that the Dodgers may be without one of their better hitters for a while.

Dodgers' Teoscar Hernández likely to be heading to the injured list after HBP

While Roberts didn't completely close the door on Hernández avoiding an IL stint, his comments were pretty telling when he said, "Not great. He's as tough as they come and could barely move his foot, so I don't see how it's not gonna be an IL, but I'm sure we're gonna give it a couple of days to kind of see how he comes out."

This is pretty much the last thing the Dodgers needed this season. Aside from the overwhelming wave of pitching injuries they've been forced to endure, LA's lineup doesn't have an overwhelming amount of depth this year, especially with Will Smith struggling like he has lately. Hernández has been the team's clutch bridge between the MVPs and the bottom of the order all year, and his .819 OPS has proven to be critical to the Dodgers staying atop the NL West. If he is out for a significant period of time, the Dodgers' four-game lead in the division could be in jeopardy, coinciding with the Padres' and Diamondbacks' latest surges.

The good news is that Hernandez's X-rays were clean after the game, which should rule out some of the worst outcomes (though you never know how thin hairline fractures can be). He was also able to walk off the field.

Needless to say, the results of his follow-up exams and his improvement over the next couple of days are going to determine whether the Dodgers are going to have to find a way to weather the stretch run without their middle-of-the-lineup power threat.

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