Dodgers’ Chris Taylor Out Of Friday’s Lineup And Knee Update

The Dodgers suffered a huge loss on Wednesday when Dave Roberts announced that Adrian Gonzalez would be shut down for the remainder of the season. Then, in the bottom of the first inning of Wednesday’s game, Chris Taylor slipped on first base and suffered a minor knee injury. Dave Roberts told reporters that it was a bone bruise and that he expected Taylor to return to the lineup on Friday

With that said, Chris Taylor is not in the starting lineup on Friday and Curtis Granderson will be playing center field instead. Luckily it seems like it is just a bit of extra rest because Taylor told reporters before Friday’s game that his knee feels good.

Chris Taylor is running sprints in the outfield to test his injured knee.

— Andy McCullough (@ByMcCullough) September 29, 2017

Chris Taylor said his knee feels good. He expects to get the day off today, but figures he'll be in the lineup tomorrow.

— Andy McCullough (@ByMcCullough) September 29, 2017

Losing Chris Taylor would have been absolutely detrimental to the Dodgers and their run in the postseason. September has been a pretty dreadful month for Taylor, hitting just .204/.250/.355. This is especially astonishing when you look at his month of July, where Taylor hit .394/.412/.660! This is not to say that he is the only one who has had a rough last month of the season but, unlike others, he hasn’t shown signs of breaking out of his slump just yet.

Sitting Taylor for an extra day of rest is definitely the right call, whether his knee is 100% healthy or not. There is no need to rush him back, and having Friday off still gives him Saturday and Sunday to work on his mechanics at the plate. The Dodgers would not be where they are at now without Chris Taylor. Getting him right, and healthy, will be vital to their success in October.