The Los Angeles Dodgers’ postseason run ended in the National League Division Series against the New York Mets, and catcher Yasmani Grandal will reportedly undergo left shoulder surgery with an eye on returning to health next season.
Continue below for updates.
Grandal Expected Back by Spring Training
Tuesday, Oct. 20
The Dodgers noted Grandal will undergo the arthroscopic surgery on his AC joint Wednesday and confirmed he should be fine by spring training.
That is a relief for Los Angeles because he hit .234 with 16 home runs and 47 RBI in 115 games. The 26-year-old made his first All-Star Game appearance in his first year with the team.
However, Grandal hit a dismal .070 in September with one home run and only notched a single hit in 10 at-bats in the postseason. His shoulder likely bothered him as the season progressed, but he stayed in the lineup for a team that had World Series aspirations as the National League West champions.
While Grandal’s willingness to play for his teammates was admirable, Molly Knight—author of The Best Team Money Can Buy: The Los Angeles Dodgers' Wild Struggle to Build a Baseball Powerhouse—questioned why the catcher was even in any of the divisional-series games against the Mets given the injury and lack of production.
Because of those late issues, Grandal was hard-pressed for playing time late in the year. He appeared in three of the Dodgers' five playoff games against the Mets.
He spent the first three seasons of his career with the San Diego Padres and was part of the Matt Kemp deal that sent the outfielder to San Diego. Despite the late struggles, his 16 home runs marked a career high.
Ideally for the Dodgers, Grandal will match his early production from this season with a healthy shoulder rather than his late numbers once 2016 starts.
Stats courtesy of Baseball-Reference.com.
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