Teoscar Hernández drops six RBIs, the bullpen doesn't give an inch, and the Dodgers put eleven on Milwaukee — and somehow that still isn't the headline. Dodgers Daily — Kiké's got a return date, Lauer's got a mystery start, and somebody just handed the front office a perfect Tarik Skubal offer, so yeah, we're jumping in. We'll get to what Monday's activation actually means for the infield, because with Muncy's wrist still in question, Kiké coming back isn't just good news — it's a roster math problem. And if they're seriously kicking around Skubal packages while Lauer's first start date is still TBD, that tells you plenty about how this front office sees the rotation. CBS Sports writes:
Teoscar Hernández homered and matched a career high with six RBIs, and Los Angeles’ bullpen extended its streak of scoreless innings to 36 in the Los Angeles Dodgers’ 11-3 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers on Saturday night.
Eleven to three, Teoscar Hernández matching a career high with six RBIs, and the bullpen running the streak to 36 straight scoreless innings — longest by any major league bullpen since Cleveland's relievers threw 39 in September 2017. The offense heard the Milwaukee noise and answered it loud. Teoscar. Six. RBIs. The day after the Muncy scare and all that bullpen-meltdown talk, he goes nuclear and snaps Milwaukee's nine-game regular-season winning streak over us in the same night. I've been saying all week he's the engine when Ohtani draws the double-teams — last night was the proof. I'll take the win — and I'll also note that Roki Sasaki is 3-3 and needed four relievers to finish this game, so the rotation math hasn't changed. One blowout doesn't close that file. Can we have one night? Thirty-six scoreless innings from the pen, Cassidy. That's not a fluke — that's a historically good stretch. The Giants were the last team to score on this bullpen, and that was twelve days ago. Kiké's back Monday, which is great — but if Muncy's wrist actually keeps him out for real time, is this just a swap on the depth chart, or do they have a real third-base problem? It's closer to a real problem than a simple plug-in. Muncy took a hit-by-pitch to the wrist Friday against Milwaukee, left in the eighth, and the X-rays were negative, but Muncy himself said — and I'm quoting here — 'X-rays never come back positive immediately, it kind of forms a little bit,' so the Dodgers are monitoring it day-to-day and he's already expected to miss at least a few games per the initial report. Meanwhile, Kiké is coming off his rehab assignment at Triple-A OKC and gets activated Monday. He's been pain-free and ahead of schedule after offseason elbow surgery. But Kiké's profile is utility depth, not a third-base starter; he hit just .203 with a .621 OPS last year, though Roberts has consistently said he can play all over the infield and give the lineup a right-handed presence. And the roster crunch makes it messier — the Dodgers already had a crowded bench conversation around Santiago Espinal, Hyeseong Kim, and Alex Freeland, and with Kim also out Saturday, you're stacking absences on top of a depth chart that was already getting reshuffled when Mookie Betts came back from his oblique injury two weeks ago. So if Espinal is apparently winning the roster battle over Kim and Freeland, does Kiké's return bump somebody else off the 26-man, or does the Muncy injury buy them a little buffer? The Muncy injury almost certainly buys a short buffer — you'd expect the corresponding IL move to smooth over the immediate crunch — but the bigger question doesn't go away: if Muncy misses more than a week or two, Dave Roberts has to decide whether Espinal slides into a regular third-base role, Kiké gets extended run there even though he's not a natural fit, or the front office goes looking for something more. That's the transaction wire to watch over the next 10 days. From Noah Camras at Sports Illustrated:
Los Angeles Dodgers utility man Kiké Hernández, who opened the 2026 season on the injured list after undergoing offseason elbow injury, will rejoin the team this week for their series against the Colorado Rockies, manager Dave Roberts announced on Saturday.
Alright, let's close the loop. Dave Roberts made it official Saturday: Kiké Hernández plays his last rehab game tonight in Oklahoma City, flies home, and comes off the IL Monday when the Rockies series opens. So the 'when is Kiké back' question we've been sitting with for two weeks is answered. And now the timing actually matters instead of just being 'eventually.' Muncy's out through Milwaukee, Kiké's in Monday, so the roster math that was a triage problem yesterday turns into a real lineup decision Dave Roberts has to make against Colorado. Right, and that's where I want to slow down a little. Kiké hit .203 last year while hurt, and he's at .237 in eleven rehab games — that's not a plug-in at third base, that's a utility piece finding his legs after missing all of spring training. Roberts has options, but 'Kiké fixes the infield' is doing a lot of work. Cassidy, the man said it himself — last year was miserable, he was in pain every time he took the field. A healthy Kiké with a clean elbow is a totally different conversation than the guy grinding through 93 games on fumes. ClutchPoints, with Lorenzo J Reyna:
The Dodgers and Roberts opted to elevate Lauer into the lineup two days after the trade got complete. Right-handed pitcher Wyatt Mills became optioned in the process. With LA resting Lauer until Tuesday, he'll throw heat against the Colorado Rockies.
David Vassegh caught Lauer throwing a bullpen session Saturday — debut is Tuesday night against Colorado. So that abstract 'Lauer is the bridge' conversation we've been having all week just got a calendar date attached to it. Tuesday. And he's already talking trash about Toronto — 'if they used me how they should've, I would've been the best starter in baseball.' I love the confidence, but that's a guy who was buried on a Blue Jays staff. The Rockies are going to be the first real test of whether that's self-belief or self-delusion. The ClutchPoints piece hits the same day the Skubal trade speculation surfaces, which tells you something. The front office traded for a bridge starter on Sunday, and by Friday there's already reporting about chasing a top-ten arm. Lauer's Tuesday debut is the answer to right now; it's not the answer to October. That's exactly it. Lauer had seven strikeouts in five innings on 62 pitches down in Oklahoma City — the stuff is clearly fine. But the front office is already being pitched Skubal packages while this guy hasn't thrown a pitch in Dodger blue yet. That's not a knock on Lauer, that's the front office telling you what they think the rotation ceiling is right now. ClutchPoints, with Douglas Fritz:
It’s going to take quite a package to get Skubal. The Dodgers will probably have to make an offer, get rejected, and then add another player. It wouldn’t be shocking to see them have to give up three top-10 prospects.
ClutchPoints dropped a Tarik Skubal trade piece yesterday — two straight Cy Youngs, 34-12 over three seasons, 514 strikeouts. The catch is he's on the injured list after an elbow procedure, with a projected June return. So the front office is getting pitched the 'perfect offer' for a two-time Cy Young winner while Eric Lauer is still in Oklahoma City waiting to find out when he makes his first Dodgers start. That's the rotation situation in one sentence. I'd pump the brakes a little — this is a ClutchPoints columnist building out an ideal package, not a beat reporter saying talks are happening. But the Lauer-as-bridge framing we've been using all week does make Skubal the logical ceiling of that conversation, and now there's an actual name attached instead of just a category. Right, and if you're asking whether Ryan's path to the rotation got longer because the front office is eyeing a move like this, I think the answer is probably yes. You don't go shopping for a two-time Cy Young and then promote from Triple-A. If you like keeping up with L.A. sports every day, try Angel City Daily Podcast — a daily ACFC supporter briefing with match reaction, NWSL standings, roster moves, women's soccer in Los Angeles, and supporter buzz. Find it wherever you listen to podcasts.
You'll find links to every story we talked about today in the show notes, so if something caught your ear, you can dig in there. That's Dodgers Daily Podcast for today. This is a Lantern Podcast.