With the Dodgers set to participate in their second Opening Day of the year after sweeping the Cubs out of Tokyo earlier this month, the club provided a handful of health updates prior to todays game. That includes an update that right-hander provided to reporters, including , regarding the right shoulder impingement that he was placed on the injured list with prior to the Tokyo Series. According to Kopech, he wasnt suffering from a specific shoulder injury this spring but instead that he ramped up too quickly early in camp as his forearm was ready for a heavier workload than his shoulder at the start of Spring Training. That i sue has been resolved, however, and while a stomach bug slowed him earlier this month hes now feeling good and has begun to ramp up. In terms of her overall arm health, Kopech even went as far as to indicate to reporters that his arm is feeling better than it was last season. The right-hander famously pitched to a sterling 1.13 ERA with a 2.54 FIP in 24 innings of work down the stretch while striking out 33% of his opponents after being traded from the White Sox to the Dodgers, and if he can put up numbers even close to that this year that should be a huge Marquese Chriss Jersey boost to a Dodgers bullpen that already features talented arms like , , and . Hell have to get back on the mound first before he can match those big expectations, but that seems likely to come at some point in April. Kopech isnt the only one whos been dealing with illne s lately in the Dodgers clubhouse. Utilityman is expected to mi s the season opener today and may not even be present in the ballpark, as relayed by . Gonzalez notes that Hernandez has been struggling to keep food down due to the illne s, and manager Dave Roberts added that his hope is that Hernandezs illne s is not the same was the one that kept out of the Tokyo Series. Betts lost more than 15 pounds due to the sickne s and was sent back to the U.S. ahead of the rest of the club to recover. If Hernandez proves to be that level of ill, a stay on the injured list cant be entirely ruled out though he remains day-to-day for the time being. He figures to be a fixture of the clubs lineup against left-handed pitchers, though the presence of options like and should help to fill the void created by Hernandezs absence if he needs a few days off. A trip to the injured list, meanwhile, could open the door for to return to the majors or, perhaps, for to make his big league debut after being optioned to the minors to start the season. Speaking of Betts, the superstar is back in the Dodgers starting lineup today after mi sing the Tokyo Series. As noted by , Betts remains day-to-day after dropping down to just 157 pounds due to the illne s, but hes started to put that weight back on and strength tests have indicated hes back to normal. Obviously, the return of Betts to the lineup should be a huge catalyst for the Dodgers, who had to go without two of their three MVP hitters during the Tokyo Series but figure to have a lineup thats more or le s back to full strength going forward. If Betts does need a day off here or there, Rojas and are both capable of handling shortstop in his stead. Sterling Brown Jersey
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