Another day, another Dodgers bullpen shuffle.

On the surface, this one reeks of bad timing: Right-hander Juan Nicasio was placed on the 15-day disabled list with a left abdominal strain and right-hander Chris Hatcher was activated from the 60-day disabled list.

Nicasio’s injury comes on the heels of four straight scoreless appearances, which lowered his ERA to 3.06 and his FIP (fielding independent pitching) to 2.66. Apart from the occasional walk, Nicasio has given the Dodgers exactly what they expected when they acquired him from the Colorado Rockies last winter. He’s been one of the stingiest relievers in baseball in terms of home runs allowed while limiting opponents to a .223 batting average.

Hatcher, meanwhile, hasn’t given the Dodgers what they expected when they acquired him in the trade that sent Dee Gordon and Dan Haren to the Miami Marlins.

The 30-year-old right-hander had a 6.38 ERA in 27 appearances before he was sidelined by an oblique strain in June. When he finally did begin making rehab appearances — first with Single-A Rancho Cucamonga, then with Triple-A Oklahoma City — Hatcher had only two 1-2-3 innings among his eight appearances.

In Hatcher’s last appearance, Tuesday in New Orleans, he allowed a single but got through his only inning without allowing a run.

Dodgers manager Don Mattingly talked about Hatcher’s keys to success prior to tonight’s game against the Cincinnati Reds. More on that in a bit.