Cody Snavely
The Los Angeles Dodgers have a plethora of players on the injured list, more so on the pitching side than the position side. However, one player is close to being activated off the 10-day IL, and that is 34-year-old veteran Jason Heyward, who has been sidelined since March 31st due to back stiffness.
Heyward stated he suffered the injury during the exhibition series against the Anaheim Angels during the Freeway series. Heyward attributed the injury to not being in a regular routine as a platoon bench bat, a role he specialized in with the Dodgers last season.
The Dodgers took a chance on the veteran left-handed hitting outfielder who was DFA’d by the Chicago Cubs that offseason. They ended up reaping the benefits as Heyward had a revitalized season in Blue, hitting .269/.340/.473 with a .813 OPS, a 116 OPS+, 23 2B, 15 HR, and 40 RBI while also playing substantial defense, ranking 91st in OAA (outs-above-average) which allowed Mookie Betts to shift between right field and second base.
The Dodgers rewarded Heyward after the 2023 season with a one-year $9 million deal very early in the 2023/2024 MLB offseason, hoping he would play a similar role as in 2023 but with more playing time, as Betts was converting into the Dodgers’ primary second baseman at the time.
So far, in four games in 2024, Heyward has been off to a sluggish start, batting .214/.200/.414 with zero extra-base hits. Perhaps the slow start could be attributed to his back, which landed him on the IL.
If all goes well over the next two days, we could very well see Heyward make his return during the Dodgers’ upcoming homestand against the Cincinnati Reds this Thursday. However, the Dodgers will need to decide who the odd man out is on the 26-man roster.
This past week, I wrote about who the candidates are as the decision boils down to Chris Taylor and James Outman. While the stats back up that Taylor should be the apparent choice here since the 33-year-old veteran is batting a measly .071 and is 4-for-56 until this point but sending him off is more complicated than we realize.
As mentioned in my previous article on the subject, Taylor has 10-5 rights, which let him veto any potential trade. Since he has more than five years of MLB service time, he cannot be optioned to the minor leagues without his consent.
On the other hand, Outman has less than five years of service time and still has multiple minor league options available, making him the more likely player to bite the bullet if Taylor does not end up on the IL himself.
Outman, who has also been struggling this season, batting .150/.248/.270 with an OPS+ of 48, has already seen reduced playing time against left-handed and right-handed pitching. With Andy Pages emerging as an everyday player and having a big league number (44) to showcase, he is not going anywhere.
Be sure to check our socials and here for further updates on Jason Heyward and the corresponding move.
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