The Los Angeles Dodgers placed Jason Heyward on 10-day injured list with a left knee bone bruise following his removal from Thursday’s game against the Arizona Diamondbacks.
The decision was made after Heyward underwent an MRI on his knee to determine the extent of the injury.
“It’s a left knee contusion, kind of aligns with hyperextension. So meniscus, ligament intact,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “So it should be a week to two weeks, but just to be safe, IL. Obviously, we brought James (Outman). So I think we dodged a bullet with Jason.”
Heyward sustained the knee injury during the first inning of Thursday’s game when he tried to rob a home run. He felt pain in the knee after landing back on the ground and remained squatted down for a brief stretch. Heyward took an at-bat in the bottom of the first and also played the field in the second inning.
However, he continued to deal with discomfort and was concerned that remaining in the game would potentially cause further injury.
Although Heyward seems to have avoided a season-ending injury, only time will tell how the healing process will unfold.
This is not Heyward’s first time on the IL this season as he previously missed six weeks due to lower back tightness. He had some success early on following his return in the middle of May but had been inconsistent across multiple weeks.
In a corresponding move, the Dodgers recalled James Outman from Triple-A Oklahoma City to fill in. Outman found a lot of success in the Minors after he was sent down on May 17. In 147 at-bats with Oklahoma City, Outman had a .279 batting average to go along with .924 on-base plus slugging percentage, eight doubles and nine home runs.
Jason Heyward’s 2024 stats
Heyward enjoyed a resurgence last season with the Dodgers with a .269 average, .813 OPS and 15 home runs in 124 games. It was enough for the Dodgers to bring him back again for the 2024 season, but the results have not been the same. He is batting .203/.299/.398 this season, which is more reflective of his 2022 and 2023 campaigns with the Chicago Cubs.
