A new vitality will soon join the precarious LA Dodgers. Kim Hye-sung, who suffered a shoulder injury while exuding his presence as a "super utility", finally entered the actual countdown.
MLB.COM, the official website of the Major League Baseball, said on the 18th (Korea time) 'Kim Hye-sung will start a rehabilitation game at the Oklahoma City Comets (Triple A under the Los Angeles Dodgers) from the 20th.'" The rehabilitation game is the last test stage for players who have recovered from injuries to return to the Major League.
Going out here means that the treatment for the injury has already been completed. The focus is on reviving the sense of the game through actual games. Therefore, participation in the rehabilitation game will be completed within a week at the most. If it is proved early that there is no problem with the sense of practice, it may be called up to the big league after finishing the schedule faster. In other words, Kim Hye-sung could rejoin the LA Dodgers squad as early as this weekend.
Kim Hye-sung has been performing better than expected since the first season of this year's LA Dodgers. Unfortunately, he failed to enter the opening entry, but he has been doing his part as the team's 'super utility' since being called up to the big league stage in a surprise move on May 4.
Originally, the Dodgers expected Kim Hye-sung to play a role as a backup multi-defender capable of both domestic and foreign defense. However, Kim Hye-sung showed competitiveness not only in defense but also in hitting. He has played a vital role by not only stable defense but also hitting hits every time he plays in a game. Thanks to this, Kim Hye-sung was able to remain a built-in on the Dodgers' 26-man roster after the call-up in early May. Prior to the injury to his left shoulder, he played in 58 games and had a batting average of 0.304 (42 hits in 138 at-bats) with two home runs, 15 RBIs, 17 runs and 12 steals. The OPS was also good at 0.744.
However, Kim Hye-sung's 'Wise Big Leaguer Life', which continued smoothly, met an ordeal less than three months ago. Since mid-July, there has been a slump at bat. I thought it was a simple drop in the batting sense, but it turned out that there was an injury. Kim Hye-sung played without properly informing the team of his shoulder pain because he was ahead of his motivation for his first major league season.
In the end, there was a big trouble. A day after going 0 for 3 against Cincinnati on July 29, the Los Angeles Dodgers placed Kim Hye-sung on the 10-day injured list (IL). Left shoulder mucosal cystitis was diagnosed.
Since then, Kim Hye-sung has been resting and treating at the same time. As the shoulder pain eased, he began defense, running base, and batting training little by little. However, even after the IL period (10 days), he rarely returned. Mucocystitis is not a serious injury, but it generally takes at least three weeks to cure. Kim Hye-sung did not rush, but steadily built himself.
The rehabilitation process seems to have gone smoothly. On the 17th, he even completed live batting training. All that's left is to check it in real life. LA Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said, `Kim Hye-sung trained normally. Now, we will finally check the condition through a rehabilitation game." If there is no problem with the shoulder condition in the rehabilitation game, the re-registration of the big league is expected to proceed immediately.
Oklahoma City will play six consecutive away games against the Tacoma Rainiers (Triple A under Seattle) from the 20th to the 25th after taking a rest day on the 19th. The Dodgers will also play six consecutive away games against Colorado and San Diego during the same period. After that, he returned to his home ground in Los Angeles on the 26th and is scheduled to play six consecutive home games against Cincinnati and Arizona.
Therefore, Kim Hye-sung is likely to play at Oklahoma City until the 24th or 25th and then play his return match at home in LA on the 26th. Attention is focusing on how Kim Hye-sung, who will return from a shoulder injury, will contribute to the team's advance to the postseason.
This article was translated by Naver AI translator.
