LOS ANGELES -- The Los Angeles Dodgers activated center fielder Matt Kemp from the 15-day disabled list before their game with the San Francisco Giants on Tuesday night, giving them their healthiest team since the first few weeks of the season.
Kemp missed 24 games with a strained right hamstring. The runner-up for the 2011 MVP award, Kemp was batting .251 with just two home runs and 17 RBIs in 191 at-bats before he went on the DL on May 30.
"I didn't do too well in the first month, month and a half of the season," Kemp said. "For me, this is a new season."
Kemp played three rehab games for Triple-A Albuquerque, going 2-for-11 with six strikeouts and playing seven innings in center field Monday. He underwent shoulder surgery last October and hit just one home run in spring training, leading to speculation his shoulder also was still bothering him before this DL stint.
"There's nothing wrong with my shoulder, I promise you," Kemp said.
The Dodgers have used the DL 20 times on 15 different players this season, but Carl Crawford, Josh Beckett, Chad Billingsley and Ted Lilly are the only players who remain on the DL. The Dodgers were uncertain about the health of Billingsley, Crawford and Lilly going into the spring.
Also, they have gotten ample production from their outfield since the arrival of Yasiel Puig, who is batting .442 with seven home runs in 20 games. The Dodgers, with a National League-record $217 million payroll, are in last place, nine games under .500 entering Tuesday's game.
With Kemp's return, Andre Ethier will move back to right field and Puig will move to left, somewhat nullifying his powerful arm.
"We really don't have any more excuses in terms of injuries," manager Don Mattingly said.
