Dodgers Place Kemp On DL With Shoulder Trouble
PHOENIX (AP) — The Los Angeles Dodgers placed center fielder Matt Kemp on the 15-day disabled list Monday with joint inflammation in his troublesome left shoulder.
Manager Don Mattingly said Kemp tried to take early batting practice before Monday night's game at Arizona but experienced more soreness and, with the All-Star break coming up, it didn't make sense to play short-handed while Kemp heals.
The move is retroactive to Saturday. Kemp was injured while swinging the bat against San Francisco on Friday night and hasn't played since. He received a cortisone shot Friday night but it hasn't helped much.
Mattingly said the team doesn't think the problem is related to the shoulder surgery Kemp had in the offseason.
"It's kind of a separate issue," Mattingly said. "It is that shoulder, though."
The Dodgers recalled outfielder Scott Van Slyke from Triple-A Albuquerque to take Kemp's roster spot.
Los Angeles also placed right-hander Stephen Fife on the 15-day DL with right shoulder bursitis and added newly acquired right-hander Ricky Nolasco to the roster.
Nolasco, obtained in a trade with Miami, will start Tuesday night. Mattingly said left-hander Chris Capuano would take Fife's next scheduled start. Fife could be back for a scheduled start after the break.
Kemp will return to Los Angeles on Tuesday to see team doctor Neal ElAttrache. It's Kemp's second stint on the DL this season. He missed 24 games from May 30 to June 25 with a right hamstring strain.
Kemp was clearly frustrated.
"It's going to take more than a couple of days," he said. "I just want to play and I want to be 100 percent when I play. I'm not good when I'm 70-80 percent. I may be all right, but I want to be more than all right."
Mattingly said the team had expected the cortisone shot to help more than it did.
"He had a shot earlier this year that seemed to make everything go away for a long time. I think that was maybe April or spring or something," the manager said. "So that's why I think we expected this thing to be gone by today.
"I think we're being a little cautious. He probably would be able to play before the break, but it didn't seem to be worth it."
Kemp is hitting .254 with four homers and 24 RBIs in 61 games. Van Slyke was optioned to Albuquerque last Friday but did not appear in a game there. In Monday night's lineup, Andre Ethier moved from left field to Kemp's spot in center, with Carl Crawford inserted in left.
Fife also is on the DL for the second time this year. He missed 33 games from April 22 to May 30, also with right shoulder bursitis. Fife is 3-3 with a 2.76 ERA in eight starts.
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