Dodgers to place Dee Gordon on the DL with shoulder contusion

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And so the kid goes to the disabled list.

‘For the first time ever,’ said Dee Gordon, just in case you were skeptical about the history of his slight frame.

Gordon had an MRI exam Wednesday morning that Manager Don Mattingly said showed a bruised right shoulder.

‘He’ll go on the disabled list just as a precaution, just to make sure it totally goes away,’ Mattingly said. ‘He’ll be back to baseball activities in a few days.

‘We kind of thought he’d be a week, but we wanted to make sure he’ll be fine when he comes back.’

The Dodgers did not announce a corresponding move, but Mattingly said he wants to call up a shortstop.

Justin Sellers, who had been at second, has been playing shortstop for triple-A Albuquerque since Gordon was called up. Sellers is batting .304 with 14 home runs and 49 RBIs for the Isotopes.

Gordon originally injured the shoulder Saturday, diving to make a tag on Arizona’s Kelly Johnson. He missed two starts and then re-injured it Tuesday while fouling off a pitch.

He felt confident the injury wasn’t as severe as the first time, but given that it returned, admitted he was a bit apprehensive about the MRI exam.

‘I was a little bit nervous, I won’t lie,’ Gordon said.

Gordon, who was called up from triple-A to become the Dodgers’ daily shortstop when Rafael Furcal was traded to St. Louis, said he was relieved the diagnosis was not more severe and didn’t argue when the team wanted to place him on the DL.

‘The best thing for me is to just get healthy,’ he said. ‘They said it’s going to be OK once it heals.’

-- Steve Dilbeck