Teoscar Hernandez’s injury, return timeline sound more ominous than we thought

James Outman was spotted at loanDepot Park in Miami on Tuesday, the day after Teoscar Hernández was pulled early in the Dodgers' series opener against the Marlins, and Dodgers fans immediately assumed the worst. Hernández was set to undergo an MRI the same day, but Dave Roberts' characterization of the injury as "a little concerning" the night before was, actually, quite concerning.

The Dodgers made the move official on Tuesday afternoon; Outman was coming up for his season debut, and Hernández was going onto the IL with a groin strain.

Roberts said that it was a Grade 1 adductor strain, the mildest level out of three, but Roberts added that he didn't have a timeline to return and would be "inactive for a while." That seems to imply that the Dodgers will be shutting him down from baseball activities entirely for at least a week.

With Tommy Edman already on the IL, the Dodgers have now lost two of their most high-impact bats from the lineup. The Dodgers are hopeful that Edman will return as soon as his 10 days are up, at which point either Outman or Hyeseong Kim will go back to Triple-A, but it seems like Hernández is going to have a more complicated road back.

Teoscar Hernández diagnosed with a Grade 1 adductor strain, currently has no timeline to return

The lack of clarity on Hernández should create some competition between Kim and Outman as to who will get bumped when Edman comes back, but the odds do seem to be stacked against Outman. Kim made his starting lineup debut on Monday night and picked up his first hit, RBI, and second stolen base to make a good first impression, while Outman was given multiple chances in the majors that he couldn't take advantage of last year.

Outman coming up could also give the Dodgers an excuse to bench Michael Conforto, who just snapped a 0-for-32 hitless streak on Monday night, and give him a desperately-needed reset. Outman, primarily a center fielder, can take over there while Andy Pages shifts to left and Kim and/or Kiké Hernández take care of right and second base.

While the absence of a timeline for Hernández is frustrating, there's really nothing the Dodgers can do with a strain like that except get him some rest and wait. This represents a massive opportunity for Outman; maybe this time he'll actually seize it.