Yasiel Puig won’t travel to Milwaukee when the Dodgers begin a four-game series there Monday, and could begin his rehabilitation assignment next week.
Puig is on the 15-day disabled list with a strained left hamstring. He’s eligible to be activated a week from Sunday, the final day of the Dodgers’ seven-day road swing through Milwaukee and Denver.
“I don’t know if we can do that, for one day there, but right now it seems like we’re on track,” manager Don Mattingly said Friday. “I’m not sure exactly when (his rehabilitation assignment will begin), I just know that everything’s going good right now. I don’t think he’s going to Milwaukee, so it could be during that period of time that he has a chance to play.”
Single-A Rancho Cucamonga plays home games Monday through Thursday next week. Dodgers pitcher Kenley Jansen will also be rehabbing there.
If the Dodgers choose to go the Oklahoma route with Puig, Double-A Tulsa plays eight straight home games beginning Tuesday. Triple-A Oklahoma City plays four straight at home beginning Monday.
For what it’s worth, the Dodgers own their Triple-A club. As of last September, Puig’s jersey was the fifth-most popular among baseball fans. A rehab stint in Oklahoma City could serve Puig as well as the club’s marketing department.
Puig has two home runs and is batting .279 with a .380 on-base percentage in 11 games this season.