Los Angeles Dodgers Place Matt Kemp on DL

Matt Kemp has landed on the DL for the Dodgers, yet another bump in a season that hasn’t gone as planned. (Image Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports)

Having already missed a few games in the past week for “baseball reasons”, Matt Kemp appears set to miss some more time for the Los Angeles Dodgers as the team has placed the center fielder on the disabled list with a strained right hamstring. The injury occurred during Wednesday’s game, as Kemp was chasing down a double into the gap hit by Mike Trout.

While the team is optimistic that he won’t be out for a significant stretch of time, they are mindful of the fact that Kemp was forced to miss 51 games in 2012 with a strained left hamstring. Manager Don Mattingly is clearly trying to remain positive about the news (per Mark Saxon at ESPNLA.com):

"We don’t feel like it’s going to be three weeks or anything like that. With these things, you never know because they seem to linger. But he’ll be able to work on his stroke and do some things as time goes. It’s hard to say you don’t play for some days and actually get better, but it could be a fresh start for him."

Kemp is batting .251/.305/.335 with just a pair of home runs in 210 PA on the year. He’s also struck out 60 times already. It’s unclear if offseason shoulder surgery is still affecting his swing.

Los Angeles recalled catcher Tim Federowicz from Triple-A to replace Kemp on the active roster. Their regular catcher, A.J. Ellis, has been battling sore ribs. The team is expected to make another move before the weekend, likely to call up center fielder Tony Gwynn Jr.