MLB PLAYER NEWS

Rockies put LF Dickerson on DL

The Sports Xchange

May 20, 2015 at 2:07 am.

Corey Dickerson is headed to the DL. (Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports)

DENVER — The Colorado Rockies placed left fielder Corey Dickerson on the 15-day disabled list, hoping the plantar fasciitis in his left heel will calm down with rest and ending for now the day-to-day uncertainty about whether he was able to play.

First baseman-outfielder Ben Paulsen was recalled from Triple-A Albuquerque to take Dickerson’s spot on the roster.

Dickerson said the plantar fasciitis arose in the final week of spring training. He was able to play but required rest and said stopping and starting was when his heel bothered him most. Dickerson did just that on the warning track Saturday night at Dodger Stadium when he pulled up quickly to let center fielder Charlie Blackmon make a catch.

“When I stopped on my toes, it felt like a tearing sensation, a burning, like somebody lit your heel on fire,” Dickerson said before the Rockies beat the Philadelphia Phillies 6-5.

Dickerson pinch hit on Sunday and Monday before the decision was made to put him on the disabled list. Manager Walt Weiss said, “It’s tough to play short-handed. He’s pinch hit, but the extent of it. I knew we were nearing a decision on Corey.”

In 33 games, Dickerson, who turns 26 on Friday, is hitting .306 with five doubles, two triples, five homers and 16 RBIs along with a .342 on-base percentage and a .523 slugging percentage. Entering Tuesday, Dickerson ranked third in the National League in both home batting average (.389) and hitting with runners in scoring position (.462).

He has been able to play through the inflammation in his left heel, but after the injury flared up with that sudden stop on the warning track Saturday, Dickerson realizes the disabled list is now the best option.

“It’s time to let it rest,” he said. “I was spending five hours in the training room; I just don’t have the recovery that I should. I need to give it a break and let it heal to make it manageable again.”

There is no certainty that Dickerson will be ready to play when he is eligible to come off the disabled list June 3, but Weiss is hopeful that will be the case.

“It’s reasonable to think he’ll be ready by the end of the DL stint,” Weiss said.

Dickerson will wear a walking boot for two or three days and continue with treatments before resuming baseball activity.

“It’s going to kill me to not be playing,” he said. “But I can bring more to the team when it does heal. It’s so short — in a month, we won’t remember it.”

A first baseman by trade, Paulsen can also play the corner outfield positions. In 36 games at Albuquerque this season, he is hitting .256 with three homers and 15 RBI, 34 strikeouts and 15 walks, a .340 on-base percentage and a .424 slugging percentage. Paulsen, 27, made his major league debut last year when he had four stints with the Rockies and in 31 games hit .317 with four homers and 10 RBIs.

Paulsen gives the Rockies a left-handed alternative to Wilin Rosario at first base. Regular first baseman Justin Morneau, a left-handed hitter, is on the seven-day concussion list and is not expected to be activated when he is eligible to return Saturday.

Weiss said Paulsen brings “versatility and thump from the left side.”