Dodgers: Watch Cody Bellinger Take Live BP Recovering From His Injury
It’s no secret at this point that the Dodgers offense is in need of a boost. Entering Friday night’s game, they’ve tallied just 10 runs in the last 5 games. And while part of that can be attributed to good pitching, it’s clear there is an issue.
Injuries certainly haven’t worked in the Dodgers’ favor early on. That much was clear when Zach McKinstry and Chris Taylor were a late scratch on Thursday with back soreness. Having your former NL MVP out of the lineup doesn’t help either.
But the good news is that Cody Bellinger is slowly working his way back. The Dodgers outfielder took a big step in his recovery prior to Thursday’s game by taking live batting practice on the field with the team.
Proof of life — #Dodgers Cody Bellinger taking BP on the field pic.twitter.com/IzSB2AP7wI
— Bill Plunkett (@billplunkettocr) April 22, 2021
Bellinger admitted before the game Thursday that he can’t quite do all baseball activity yet. Recovering from a hairline fracture in his tibia, Bellinger can’t quite run without feeling some discomfort. The Dodgers are obviously playing it as safe as possible this early in the year.
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Bellinger wasn’t exactly tearing the cover off of the ball when he was healthy, but the Dodgers desperately need a boost. Having so many guys fighting injuries at one time makes it really difficult to win any series. But they have found a way thus far.
Get well soon Cody, we need you out there.
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I honestly don’t think Bellinger coming back is going to automatically fix the Dodgers offensive issues.
Turner is going to settle in at his usual place around .300. Mookie is going to be fine also. But when you have Max, Lux (before the DL), Will, and Corey all falling precipitously, Edwin hovering around .200, and AJ around .220; it is time for a batters meeting to try and right the ship. Granted, our pitching has been solid. But these guys should be able to carry more of the load. Hit against the shift. Bunt. Choke up with 2 strikes. Play some small ball. And the hits will start falling. Remember Cody in his MVP year and how he slapped the ball the other way. Bunted against the shift. And he did a LOT of that in April. His small ball attitude with 2 strikes carried him to an MVP. He got away from that as the year progressed. Never quite understand why he stopped playing the small ball. But our hitters need to work that into their at bats right now and that will help get them out of their collective slumps.