While the Dodgers wait to announce the results of an MRI on Justin Turner’s right hamstring, a source with knowledge of the situation said the team is recalling outfielder Brett Eibner from Triple-A Oklahoma City for Friday’s game against the Miami Marlins.
If Turner goes on the 10-day disabled list, he’ll become the 18th different Dodger to go on the DL this year.
Turner went 2 for 3 and scored a run in the Dodgers’ 7-2 win over the Marlins on Thursday. He was trying to score in the sixth inning when he suffered the injury rounding third base. Turner limped to home plate and was tagged out, then had to be escorted to the dugout by a trainer and manager Dave Roberts.
Roberts said the injury hit Turner’s right hamstring just above his knee.
“The strength was there still, which is a positive,” Roberts said after the game.
Turner leads the Dodgers in batting average (.379), on-base percentage (.453) and doubles (13). He’s batted third and played third base in 37 of the Dodgers’ 42 games.
An extended DL stay would force the Dodgers to get creative. Of the five games Turner didn’t start this year, Kiké Hernandez (two games), Logan Forsythe (two) and Chris Taylor (one) have split the time at third base.
Forsythe hasn’t played since he suffered a fracture in his right big toe April 18. Slowed further by a right hamstring injury, Forsythe is expected to play a rehab game Friday night for Single-A Rancho Cucamonga. He said Thursday the duration of his rehab assignment remained to be determined.
Regardless of Turner’s MRI results, Forsythe was expected to be activated during the Dodgers’ current 10-game homestand.
Eibner has played five games for the Dodgers this season, seeing time in left, center and right field. He has three hits in 10 at-bats, including a home run in his most recent appearance Saturday in Colorado. At Triple-A, Eibner was batting .258 with three home runs and 10 RBIs in 21 games.