LOS ANGELES _ Los Angeles Dodgers' first baseman Adrian Gonzalez could be headed back to the disabled list after he said his back "started locking up" on him over the weekend.
Gonzalez said he would undergo an MRI examination Monday. He said he is playing with a herniated disk. "I know what I have," he said. "We'll see if it's gotten any worse."
He said he first felt discomfort Saturday and told manager Dave Roberts about it after three hitless at-bats Sunday. The Dodgers removed him from the game. "I just told Doc, 'I'm not helping the team right now,' " Gonzalez said.
Gonzalez, 35, played through the back injury as well as elbow, forearm and triceps injuries before going on the disabled list last month for the first time in his 14-year career. If he returns to the disabled list, Roberts said the team could recall Joc Pederson from a minor league rehabilitation assignment. In that scenario, the team could shift Cody Bellinger from left field to first base to replace Gonzalez, then install Pederson in center field and move Chris Taylor to left.
Gonzalez is batting .255 with one home run in 49 games. His .339 slugging percentage ranks 108th among the 114 National League players with at least 150 plate appearances.
Roberts said he had seen "better swings" from Gonzalez lately and would provide him a fair chance to reclaim his role when healthy, but the manager would not guarantee that the veteran would remain in the cleanup spot, or even in the starting lineup, all season.
"When you're playing well and you're hitting well, you're going to get more opportunities, whether that's playing time or where you hit in the order," Roberts said. "And if you're not playing well over an extended period of time then, yeah, I'm open to doing what's best for our ballclub."
