Chris Taylor has cortisone shot in neck, likely to miss final regular season games

Chris Taylor got a cortisone shot in his neck on Monday and is unlikely to play in either of the Dodgers’ final two games, putting his availability for the National League Division Series in question.

Taylor last played on Friday, and was a late scratch from Saturday’s lineup after injuring his neck during batting practice. If he’s not cleared to play by Wednesday, he’ll have missed the final five regular season games. Now the question is whether he’ll be ready for the NLDS, which starts on October 11.

“When you’re talking about the neck, there’s a lot of things — you have to be dynamic as a baseball player, defensively, offensively,” manager Dave Roberts told reporters before Monday’s game, as shown on SportsNet LA. “From what I understand, swinging hurts his neck, and there’s a lot of swinging going on, too, so I am concerned.”

Roberts added that if Taylor is cleared and feeling well, and his swing is not impaired, he’ll get the benefit of the doubt when it comes to determining his postseason availability. Taylor also dealt with neck problems last September, limited to one plate appearance in a seven-game stretch.

It’s been a struggle in the second half for Taylor, who also missed a month with a broken foot. Since returning from the injured list on August 5, Taylor is hitting .193/.278/.313 with a 35-percent strikeout rate in 44 games.

Links

• J.P. Hoornstra at the Orange County Register has more on Taylor’s neck injury.
• The National League Cy Young Award case for Julio Urías is made by Bill Shaikin at the Los Angeles Times, whose premise begins with this: “We also have heard enough about how Sandy Alcantara is the only rightful candidate for National League Cy Young award.”
• Alex Freedman, the director of communications and play-by-play broadcaster for the Triple-A Oklahoma City Dodgers, shared his thoughts on the 2022 season for OKC in a long tweet thread worth your time that starts here: