Let’s be honest here. The Dodgers not only want Justin Turner back in their everyday lineup, they need Justin Turner back in their everyday lineup. So, too, with Logan Forsythe. But the cold, hard truth is that expecting the extremely popular heavily-bearded Dodgers third baseman, and the lightly-bearded veteran second baseman to return from the disabled list and suddenly propel the (very) near-last-place Dodgers to the top on the National League West is unreasonable, unfair, and is simply not going to happen.

“It is, I agree,” said Dodgers manager Dave Roberts, when asked about the unreasonableness of expecting his 33-year-old All-Star third baseman and unofficial team captain, and his 31-year-old veteran second baseman to return from the DL and immediately swing a hot bat. “The voice if you’re playing and you’re active is stronger number one. Number two, the defense, the presence in the order is a better variable.

“You can’t count on production – you don’t know what it’s gonna be – but I think that when you see their names in the lineup, it makes your lineup look better, it does. Yeah, two good players,” Roberts added.

Roberts said that it is unreasonable to expect Justin Turner and Logan Forsythe to return from the DL and have an immediate offensive impact. He does, however, believe that they will both make his struggling team better. (Video capture courtesy of SportsNet LA)

When it was mentioned to Roberts that both Turner and Forsythe had said on Saturday night while rehabbing with the team’s Advanced Single-A Rancho Cucamonga Quakes that they do not feel any added pressure to get back and rescue the team (so to speak), and that both had said that the Dodgers clubhouse is ‘tight’, the Dodger skipper acknowledged this by saying that it is every bit a team effort and does not rest solely on the backs of two guys coming off the DL.

“Yeah, two guys, three guys, whatever it is, it’s the whole body of work, the whole sum of the part,” Roberts replied. “And I’m the first man at the top step saying that these guys, you can’t expect things to just magically turn around because they get activated. It ain’t gonna happen.

“Everyone’s gotta do their part, myself included,” Roberts continued. “We all gotta do our part, coaches, and remain steadfast and keep going. But yeah, we are a better ball club with those guys active.”

Although Turner’s and Forsythe’s rehab numbers haven’t been all that impressive, they both hit the ball extremely hard during Saturday night’s rehab game with the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes.
(Photo credit – Ron Cervenka)

But what about inside that ‘tight’ clubhouse? What does Dodgers first baseman and 2017 NL Rookie of the Year Cody Bellinger think about Turners and Forsythe’s pending return?

“That’s great news, offensively obviously but also defensively,” said Bellinger. “Having JT at third is a huge blessing for us, he’s a Gold Glove-caliber third baseman. Logan’s got great leadership skills outside of the clubhouse and inside the clubhouse, so to get those two veterans back who can definitely help us win ball games is going to be huge for us.”

As far as that added pressure thing, the young Dodgers first baseman mirrored the comments of his manager.

“They’re probably feeling it, I hope they don’t feel it,” Bellinger said. “I hope they don’t have to come here and feel like they have to hit seven home runs in order to help us win. I think that just their presence in the lineup is going to do enough for us.

“We made a lot of progress in the cage yesterday too. With their presence coming back, I think it’s going to make a huge difference. But I hope they don’t feel the pressure in order to produce.”

Dodgers left-hander Rich Hill, who suffered the loss on Sunday afternoon (not to mention another small blister on his left middle finger) also echoed what Roberts and Belly had to say about JT’s and Forsythe’s (presumed) return on Tuesday.

“I think it’going to be a huge boost. Guys are, from what I’ve heard, their rehab has been going really well,” Hill said. “It would be a good shot for us.”

But here again, and I cannot emphasize this enough, it is unreasonable to expect Turner and/or Forsythe to return from their respective injuries and immediately tear it up. Keep in mind that Forsythe hasn’t seen major league pitching in a month and Turner hasn’t since March 19, when suffered a non-displaced fracture to his left wrist when he was struck by a pitch during a spring game only days before the start of the regular season.

Even if the pair does somehow manage to magically return to the Dodgers lineup smoking hot (again, an unreasonable expectation), neither can do a thing to help what is currently one of the worst bullpens in all of baseball right now; or help a starting rotation the rarely goes longer than five innings.

But regardless, welcome back @redturn2 and Logie Bear. Heaven knows that your teammates – and every Dodger fan on the planet – need you now more than ever.