Carl Crawford activated from DL by Dodgers

The Dodgers have activated left fielder Carl Crawford from the DL and assigned Scott Van Slyke to Triple-A Albuquerque, reports Ken Gurnick of MLB.com.

The Dodgers had been without Crawford since June 2 thanks to a hamstring injury. He completed a successful four-game rehab stint with Single-A Rancho Cucamonga on Wednesday, going 5-13 with a double and a stolen base during the assignment. Los Angeles did not place Crawford in the starting lineup for its game against the Giants on Friday night.

Crawford’s return leaves the Dodgers with four outfielders for three starting spots, thanks to the stellar play of rookie Yasiel Puig during Crawford’s absence. Puig is hitting .430 with eight home runs since being called up in the wake of Crawford’s injury. Puig may have injury concerns of his own, however, after colliding with the outfield wall on Wednesday night and bruising his hip. Manager Don Mattingly told Gurnick that will Puig continue to play as long as he is physically able to produce at at a high level.

If Puig remains healthy and effective, the Dodgers could shop the man who began the season as their everyday right fielder, Andre Ethier. With Crawford and center fielder Matt Kemp both on the DL in June, there was ample playing time for both Puig and Ethier. Now that Crawford and Kemp have returned, the 31-year-old Ethier could be the odd man out in LA.

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