Dodgers Injury News: JD Martinez's Return Pushed Back Again

The Dodgers slugger won’t be back as early as expected.

After an April full of injuries, the Dodgers are finally nearing full strength. Once J.D. Martinez returns from the injured list, the Dodgers will be as healthy (and paternity-list free) as they’ve been all year long.

Their lineup will be fully loaded, and their rotation will be even healthier than it was when the year began, as Tony Gonsolin is back and slotted into that No. 4 spot.

However, that dream of a full-strength Dodgers will have to wait a little bit longer.

Martinez, who’s progressing from the back issue that forced him onto the injured list, had his recovery timeline pushed back. The Dodgers were initially expecting to have him for their three-game series in Milwaukee this week, but now, that won’t be the case. Instead, the Dodgers are expecting Martinez to return when the Dodgers come back home on Friday for a three-game series with the Padres.

J.D. Martinez will get live at-bats in Arizona this week and will likely be back in the lineup by next Friday against the Padres, Dave Roberts said.

— Fabian Ardaya (@FabianArdaya) May 7, 2023

Martinez is going to be taking live at-bats this week, and should be back in the lineup on Friday, according to Dodgers manager Dave Roberts.

The Dodgers will be happy to welcome their designated hitter back, who was really starting to hit the ball well before coming down with a back injury.

Martinez is slashing .250/.306/.534 this season with four home runs, nine doubles, two triples and 15 RBIs.

Since April 18, in his last six games, Martinez is slashing .304/.385/.783 with three home runs, two doubles and six RBIs. That makes for a very impressive 1.167 OPS in that time span.

The Dodgers will be very happy to welcome his bat back into the lineup, hopefully for Friday’s series opener against the Padres.

His return, however, will likely mean the end of Michael Busch’s time in the major leagues, at least for right now. If he keeps hitting the way he did in the 10th inning of Sunday’s game, though, he should be right back up sooner rather than later.