Dodgers Injury News: Matt Kemp to Begin Rehab Assignment Tuesday

Matt Kemp was voted in by the fans as one of the three starting outfielders for the National League.  He

won’t be playing in the game, but he will be starting a rehab assignment that will the Dodgers hope will allow him to return to action after the All-Star break.

According to Arash Markazi of ESPN Los Angeles, Kemp will begin playing with the Class A Rancho Cucamonga Quakes on Tuesday.  Despite the fact that Kemp won’t be playing in the All-Star Game, the rehab assignment won’t be the only action he sees.  He has agreed to play in the Home Run Derby next week.

Kemp was having an MVP-type year when he first went down to a hamstring injury back in mid-May.  He missed 14 games, made a brief return appearance, then had to go back on the DL after aggravating the injury.  At the time of his second DL stint, Kemp was hitting .355/444/.719 with 12 home runs.  He was the best player in the league for over a month, but he will have a lot of ground to make up since he’s been sidelined since June 1st.

Since Kemp’s June 1st return to the DL, the Dodgers have seen a 4 game lead in the National League West turn into a 1.5 game deficit.  The Dodger hope and expect Kemp to provide a boost, but they aren’t stopping there.  The team was pursuing Carlos Lee to help their offense before Lee ultimately vetoed the trade.  They will be active at the trade deadline.  Kemp’s return will help, but Los Angeles will need more than just his offense to catch up with the pitching of the first-place San Francisco Giants, and to stay ahead of the surging Diamondbacks.

For more on the Dodgers, be sure to check out Lasorda’s Lair.