Don’t Expect Jason Heyward to Return to Dodgers Anytime Soon

The Los Angeles Dodgers are expecting to be without outfielder Jason Heyward for the foreseeable future.

Heyward, who was placed on the injured list with back tightness during the first week of the season, hasn’t even started swinging a bat, per Dodgers manager Dave Roberts.

Roberts said on Tuesday that Heyward is “still a ways away,” but will meet the team in Arizona next week, their final stop of their nine-game road trip that bleeds into May.

“There’s some residual soreness that is starting to dissipate,” Roberts said. “We wanted to get rid of that so we can start moving forward with baseball activity.”

Heyward will need a rehab assignment before making a return, but won’t start one soon. Thus, it could be another few weeks before he returns to the L.A. lineup.

With Heyward out, that will continue to give rookie Andy Pages an extended run.

Pages got a hit in his first major league at-bat, and then went a little cold, before a conversation with fellow outfielder Teoscar Hernández got him back on track.

On the year, Pages is 4-for-22 with a home run, three runs batted in and nine strikeouts. The Dodgers are going to continue giving him everyday playing time to see what they have in their top hitting prospect.

As for Heyward, he’ll hope to nip this issue in the bud and get back to playing at the level he was in 2023. Heyward was one of the team’s biggest surprises last year, slashing .269/.340/.473 with 15 home runs and 40 RBIs, his most since 2019.

Photo Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports