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Teoscar Hernández is expected to be activated from the injured list on Monday, per MLB.com. That gives us a specific timeline now — and it’s about as soon as we could have hoped for. He’s been on a rehab assignment working his way back, and all signs point to him rejoining the big league club when the Dodgers return home.

Hernández has been sidelined with a hamstring injury that landed him on the IL earlier this month. Before going down, he was putting together a solid if somewhat uneven first half — flashing the kind of power that made him one of the most coveted free agents two winters ago. When he signed his extension with the Dodgers after a stellar 2024 postseason run, the expectation was that he’d be a cornerstone of this lineup for years. The hamstring issue interrupted what had been a productive stretch, and his absence has been felt in an outfield that’s been pieced together with fill-ins.

During his rehab stint, reports indicated Hernández looked healthy and was swinging the bat well. That tracks with the team’s willingness to move quickly on his activation. Hamstring injuries can be tricky — especially for a player who relies on explosive movements in the outfield and on the basepaths — so the fact that there haven’t been any setbacks during rehab is encouraging.

Getting Hernández back gives Dave Roberts a legitimate middle-of-the-order bat and stabilizes an outfield alignment that’s been in flux. With Kyle Tucker working through his own offensive struggles (even as he showed signs of life in the recent Padres series), plugging Hernández back in alongside him creates a much more dangerous lineup from top to bottom. The Dodgers have managed to tread water during his absence, but there’s a clear difference between this team with and without him in the three-hole.

I’d expect him to slot right back into right field and his usual spot in the order. Monday can’t come soon enough — this lineup needs all hands on deck as we push toward the second half, and Hernández is the kind of bat that changes opposing pitchers’ game plans entirely. If he’s healthy and moving well, this is one of the more impactful returns we’ll see before the All-Star break.

Source(s): Staff (MLB.com) | First reported: June 28, 2026 8:13 PM UTC

God Bless and Go Dodgers