The Dodgers’ Matt Kemp was having a really, really, really good year.
Then he got hurt. Hamstring issue.
Then he came back! The season can pick up where it left off, right?
Whoops. Hurt again Wednesday night, Kemp is now back on the 15-day disabled list:
Alex Castellanos is being called up from AAA to replace DL-bound Matt Kemp, sources tell me and Kevin Baxter: lat.ms/JUGR9v
— Dylan Hernandez (@dylanohernandez) May 31, 2012
To replace him, the Dodgers are calling up someone who is hitting a ton even by Pacific Coast League standards. Castellanos is absolutely destroying PCL pitching: .379/.476.759 in 105 plate appearances, which includes 19 extra-base hits in 22 games (10 doubles, four triples, five home runs). He’s also stolen nine bases in 11 attempts.
Castellanos was acquired by the Dodgers from the Cardinals in the Rafael Furcal trade last July. Originally drafted as an infielder, he’d been playing the outfield for the last two seasons, but the Dodgers moved him to second base this year. With the injury to regular second baseman Mark Ellis, and that batting pedigree, Castellanos should get some regular playing time. It’s his first time on a major league roster.
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