Turner goes on DL; Machado to play third

PHILADELPHIA -- Justin Turner is on the disabled list again and Manny Machado is a third baseman again.
The Dodgers hope that arrangement will be short-lived, but they finally shelved Turner on Monday because of a right groin strain that has hobbled him for nearly two weeks and tabbed Machado to take over after seeing a few shaky games from Max Muncy at third base.
Outfielder Alex Verdugo was recalled from Triple-A Oklahoma City to replace Turner on the roster, but the intriguing news came from manager Dave Roberts, who said Machado agreed to play third base while Turner is out, even though Machado had been outspoken before last week's acquisition that he wants to play shortstop.

"Third base has been in my back pocket the whole time," Machado said after the Dodgers' 7-6 win over the Phillies on Monday. "It's all about winning games, just doing whatever's possible to win games. Whatever's best for the team at the end of the day. I came here for a couple months to help this team whatever way I could, if it's third base, outfield, second, wherever it is."
Machado, a four-time All-Star, won two Gold Gloves at third base. Chris Taylor started at shortstop on Monday.
"To replace Turner with Manny and not compromise the defense, that's big for us," said Roberts. "Manny was traded here to be a shortstop, and we understand that. The conversation I had with Manny last night was easy. He wanted to do whatever it was that helps the ballclub win. In this situation, it makes a lot of sense to have him play third. I can't say enough about Manny and his willingness to do whatever asked for the ballclub."
The Dodgers were hoping Turner could avoid the disabled list with an injury he suffered before the All-Star break. He missed six starts and returned to the lineup on Sunday in Milwaukee, only to feel it again when he doubled. He left the game the next inning.

Turner missed the first six weeks of the season with a fractured left wrist suffered in Spring Training. An All-Star last season -- when he hit .322 with 21 homers and 71 RBIs -- Turner is batting .259 with five homers and 20 RBIs this year.
Roberts said he wasn't sure when Turner will return, but it sounds like it will need more than the minimum 10 days.
"Even if we had put him on the DL, he wouldn't have been ready today, tomorrow or the next day," said Roberts. "We tried to play the slice and have him available. It's not that it set him back another week. We played shorthanded, but I don't think it impacted any of the games."
Roberts said Verdugo was recalled instead of Andrew Toles, in part because Toles had a hamstring cramp, in part because Verdugo has been the hottest hitter at OKC.
This is Verdugo's second callup this season. The organization's No. 1 prospect, according to MLB Pipeline, Verdugo recently had a 13-game hitting streak for OKC and was batting .349 with eight homers and 37 RBIs at Triple-A.