The reigning National League champion Dodgers suffered a major loss Monday night.
Third baseman Justin Turner suffered a non-displaced fracture of his left wrist when he was hit by a pitch from A's pitcher Kendall Graveman during the teams' exhibition in Arizona. Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times reported Turner will be out until at least May.
BREAKING: Justin Turner suffers broken wrist after being hit by pitch in 1st inning.
— Chavez Ravine Fiends (@RavineFiends) March 20, 2018
(via @MLB) pic.twitter.com/7hSMYGOQdk
Turner left the game after being examined. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts told reporters after the game that Turner had suffered a break.
Roberts said Turner, who was hit by a pitch tonight, suffered a broken left wrist.
— Dodger Insider (@DodgerInsider) March 20, 2018
"It's part of the game. It's unfortunate. I'll do everything I can to get back as fast as I can," Turner told reporters, per Shaikin.
Turner, 33, is coming off a 2017 season in which he hit .322/.415/.530 with 21 home runs in 543 plate appearances. He missed time last year with a hamstring injury.
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If the Dodgers decide to stay within the organization to replace Turner, they could use Enrique Hernandez, Rob Segedin, Chase Utley or No. 3 catcher Kyle Farmer, a converted infielder, in something of a platoon. They could also shift second baseman Logan Forsythe to third and shift center fielder Chris Taylor, also a converted infielder, to second base.
LA also has utilityman Donovan Solano in camp as a non-roster player. Solano replaced Turner in the lineup Monday night.
UPDATE: Roberts said after the game, per Shaikin, that Forsythe will likely take over at third and that Taylor will remain in the outfield and work some as the backup to shortstop Corey Seager. That would leave Hernandez, Utley and Austin Barnes, normally a catcher, as the primary candidates to play second.
"It's going to create an opportunity for playing time for guys that maybe deserve more playing time than they were slated to get," Dodgers general manager Farhan Zaidi told reporters, per Shaikin.