The Los Angeles Dodgers on Wednesday placed right fielder Andre Ethier on the disabled list with a strained left oblique, retroactive to June 28. Ethier suffered the injury on a check swing in San Francisco on June 27.
Ethier returned to taking batting practice with the team on Wednesday, the first time he has done so since suffering the injury. But with the All-Star break approaching and Ethier eligible to return for the Dodgers' first game after the break on July 13, the Dodgers were cautious. Manager Don Mattingly said Ethier would have likely sat on Sunday in Phoenix anyway with a day game after a night game after missing a week.
"The best case scenario was getting to be Friday," Mattingly said. "It didn't make any sense for him to come back for two games."
Ethier said he understood why the Dodgers put him on the disabled list, even if he didn't agree with it.
"I did everything short of begging and pleading not to put me on the DL and let me give it a go, but the decision was put above me to make that call," he said.
With Ethier shelved, the Dodgers activated second baseman Mark Ellis a day before they had originally planned. Ellis, who had been out since leg surgery on May 19, played four rehab games with Class A Rancho Cucamonga.
"The first day I didn't feel great, but then every day got a little bit better," Ellis said. "Yesterday I felt I was ready to go."
Ellis missed 42 games while on the disabled list, and is hitting .273/.373/.364 with 27 runs scored in 37 games this season. Ellis will be available as a reserve on Wednesday, and is expected to start on Thursday when the Dodgers open a four-game series in Phoenix against the Arizona Diamondbacks.
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