Dodgers recall Andrew Toles, place Yasiel Puig on DL

The Dodgers on Monday placed Yasiel Puig on the disabled list with a right oblique strain, and recalled outfielder Andrew Toles from Triple-A Oklahoma City.

Toles is in the starting lineup for the opener with the Padres.

Puig injured himself on a swing during his at-bat in the fifth inning Sunday against the Angels, fouling off the pitch. This will be the 27-year-old’s second trip to the DL this year after missing nine games due to a left hip contusion as the calendar flipped from April to May.

According to manager Dave Roberts, Puig has a Grade 1 strain and will miss “a few weeks.” This kind of injury can be tricky because it can take anywhere from a few days to a few months to recover. But Grade 1 is the least severe and missing a month is a reasonable guesstimate at this point.

Injuries never come at a good time but Puig has been hitting well since coming off the DL on May 9. The Dodger right fielder hit .303/.365/.576 with all of his 11 homers over that span of 52 games.

Toles last played in the big leagues in May of last year when he tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee, missing the rest of the season. The 26-year-old had made quite an impression at the end of the 2016 season and carried it over into 2017, earning a starting job in left field.

The Dodgers didn’t have a spot on the roster when they left camp this March, sending Toles to Triple-A Oklahoma City to begin the year. After dealing with a hamstring injury early on in the season, Toles had an .863 OPS with 16 extra-base hits for OKC, with 45 hits in 138 at-bats (.326).

In 79 career games at the major league level, Toles has hit .294/.341/.483 with eight homers and 12 doubles.