The Isotopes are about to get stronger, courtesy of the Dodgers

The Albuquerque Isotopes are about to get a lot stronger, and it's not necessarily a bad thing for the Dodgers.

Obviously getting the potential league MVP back is always a plus, but it also allows the Dodgers to give the young-ins the appropriate playing time -- in Triple-A.

Matt Kemp and Juan Rivera at set to make rehab appearances there Sunday and Monday, it means a flurry of roster moves are set to take place.

Kemp can come off the disabled list on May 29; Rivera can be activated at any time.

Jerry Hairston is playing his last rehab game there tonight and will likely take the place of Justin Sellers, who's leg will probably cause him to take his obligatory turn on the 15-day DL. At this rate, it seems as if every Dodger position player will spend some time on the DL this season.

Have fun in New Mexico, Scott.

With Kemp and Rivera coming back, the two most likely candidates to pack their bags are Scott Van Slyke and Jerry Sands.

Van Slyke, despite Sunday night's heroics, is 3-for-18 (.167) in his first 11 big league games. Sands is sitting at 4-for-16 (.250) in six games.

It's been nice to see the funky lineups Don Mattingly has to come up with in the wake of these injuries, but guys like Van Slyke and Sands should be playing every day -- no matter what level of professional baseball. Sitting on the bench isn't going to do either of them any good.

Yes, it sucks that Rivera is going to take the spot of a potentially more talented player, but that's what happens when a guy like that is signed to a $4.5 million deal.

The 'Topes have played .500 ball since losing Van Slyke to the Dodgers on May 9. The offense is filled with a bunch of Four-A players (Josh Fields, Jeff Baisley, Luis Cruz) and older, not-so-good prospects (Brian Cavazos-Galvez, Matt Angle, Tyler Henson). Albuquerque should welcome back these two thumpers with open arms.

But it's nice for them -- especially Van Slyke -- to get a taste of the majors in preparation for another assignment or a September call-up.

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My latest piece at Chad Moriyama is on another former Isotope who should be safe from a demotion, for now.

"When Elian Herrera was recalled to the Dodgers more than a week ago, I’m sure almost no one, besides maybe Christopher Jackson of the Albuquerque Examiner, knew who he was.

Now, after eight games, he’s making his mark on an injury-riddled team and he might not be the one taking the first flight back to Albuquerque when the rest of the infield gets healthy (starting potentially with Jerry Hairston, Jr. this weekend). He has a .346/.393/.462 line in those eight games, and while there’s absolutely no way he keeps that kind of production up, he’s off to a nice start in the majors."

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From Ken Gurnick at Dodgers.com: Matt Guerrier has been shut down, which means we get to see more of Todd Coffey. However, it might not be too long as Blake Hawksworth (remember him?) is getting closer to a return.Well, at least he'll pitch against real competition for the first time since last season.

Guerrier is experiencing pain in his elbow, which originally landed him on the DL. Hawksworth is still in Arizona at Camelback Ranch and recovering from two elbow surgeries.

Mark Ellis, poor guy, had another emergency surgery on his leg after it became swollen. The initial prognosis was six weeks, but I'd be shocked if Ellis is back any time before September. Perhaps I'm being pessimistic, but he's gone through a lot for a seemingly innocuous play.

Photo credit: EephusBlue