Dodgers: Dave Roberts Speaks on A.J. Pollock’s Recovery Timeline

Knowing when A.J. Pollock will return from elbow surgery is important. Simply put, Pollock isn’t just an afterthought in the Dodgers’ 2019 season plans. Despite his struggles, one must feel that Pollock still serves a role later in the long season.

So when Dave Roberts spoke with Bill Plunkett of the OC Register regarding Pollock’s recovery timeline from surgery, it’s important to file it away in the memory bank.

#Dodgers notes: AJ Pollock will be out for an extended period of time after surgery Thursday. "Extended Period" has not been defined by LAD.https://t.co/ww1kFwk5nv

— Bill Plunkett (@billplunkettocr) May 4, 2019

Therefore, rather than place a specific time on it right now; Roberts said it’s just a time to observe.

“I think now we just sit and wait,” Roberts said. “The timeline to return, that’s going to be contingent on the healing.

“Right now he’s got to heal up. At some point in time, he’s going to start playing catch and doing all those other things. That’ll kind of tell us more about when we’ll have him back. But right now, for the foreseeable future, he’s just in recovery mode.”

Andrew Friedman seemed to downplay the absence – highlighting the opportunity that knocks for others with Pollock on the shelf.

“It gives Verdugo more of an opportunity as well as Muncy,” Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman said. “We feel good about that aspect. But it would be ideal to add another right-handed bat. That said, we have a fairly high bar with our mindset being to giving our current guys more of a runway.”

Pollock joined the injured list with a .617 OPS, and the eight-year veteran was on pace for a career worst in batting average (.223).

Analysis

Friedman is correct – the Dodgers entered each night with a lineup card of an ‘odd man out’ while trying to play Pollock out of his slump. Now, the Dodgers have the opportunity to play Alex Verdugo and Max Muncy more regularly. Players like Chris Taylor have seen extended opportunity to work through troubles that normally they would not have had.

Moreover, the Dodgers have their hand forced of playing the best nine more often rather than falling into the trap of playing someone because of a veteran status. That cannot be a bad thing. Upon Pollock’s return, he may be come back to a more mature clubhouse that contains players with more seasoning.