Let’s take a look at this morning’s injury news and notes:
David Price – Tampa Bay Rays – According to Roger Mooney of The Tampa Tribune (click here for the post), “Rays pitcher David Price left today’s 8-5 win against the Red Sox after pitching four innings for precautionary reasons with a bruise on his upper right chest.” Mooney went on to say that, “Manager Joe Maddon said Price will be sore but he expects him to make his next start.” Price’s next start will come against the Blue Jays, who he is 3-1 with a 2.08 ERA in four starts against this season. He appears to be a safe play in all formats.
Adrian Gonzalez – Boston Red Sox – Brian MacPherson of The Providence Journal has a quote from Terry Francona saying, “’ Gonzi has been taking BP every other day on the field for about a month and a half,’ Francona said. ‘When Fox comes in and announces that, they could have announced it in July, and then I have to answer it. That’s not any big surprise. He’s backed off for a long time.’” It doesn’t seem like this is anything that should concern owners, considering he continues to pound the baseball. It’s just worth noting.
Justin Morneau – Minnesota Twins – Joe Christensen (via Twitter) is reporting that, “Tomorrow, Morneau will have surgery to remove cyst from left knee and a bone spur from his right foot.” His season has come to a disappointing end as he played in just 69 games (.227 with 4 HR and 30 RBI). He had already been out for nearly a month due to a concussion, the second consecutive season that he’s missed significant time. The knee is just the latest setback, though it shouldn’t affect him come Spring Training 2012. He clearly has become a significant injury risk for fantasy owners, though he shouldn’t be completely ignored next season. He could easily be a steal on draft day, as many will likely want to keep their distance.
Ryan Howard – Philadelphia Phillies – According to David Murphy of the Philadelphia Daily News (click here for the post), “The twist here is that Charlie Manuel showed up at Citizens Bank Park before last night’s nationally televised game against the Cardinals fully intending to start the National League RBI leader; the injection isn’t scheduled until this morning. The plan changed after the manager talked to Howard and found out that he hurt his right big toe in Saturday night’s game.” The toe injury is on top of his injured ankle, which is the injection he is scheduled for this morning. If you are in a weekly format consider him a tough play for the final week and a half (depending on your alternative). It is no guarantee that he is back on Thursday, as expected, and could be used tentatively down the stretch.
Eric Thames – Toronto Blue Jays – According to Gregor Chisholm of mlb.com (click here for the article), “Eric Thames was removed from Sunday afternoon’s game against the Yankees in the seventh inning after fouling a ball off his left eye. Thames swung at a 2-2 pitch from Scott Proctor and the ball ricocheted off the bat directly into his face. The impact sliced open the outfielder’s eyelid but vision tests came back normal. Thames is currently listed as day to day.” While he may miss a day or two, this does not appear to be a serious concern. Monitor the pregame lineup for now.
Tim Stauffer – San Diego Padres – Corey Brock (via Twitter) is reporting that, “Tim Stauffer won’t start Wednesday. Anthony Bass will start. Stauffer will likely pitch again.” He was always going to be a risky play for the coming week. At this point, consider Stauffer completely unusable in all formats.
Chone Figgins – Seattle Mariners – According to mlb.com’s Greg Johns (via Twitter), “Wedge says Chone Figgins being shut down for year as he’s still not feeling 100 percent with hip.” He was considered a potential option for fantasy owners heading into the season, though he used up everyone’s patience before long. He’ll likely be waiver wire fodder heading into 2012, but if he gets regular playing time he could turn back into a viable option. Time will tell.
Scott Baker – Minnesota Twins – Rhett Bollinger (via Twitter) is reporting that, “Scott Baker also threw a bullpen and is scheduled to come off the DL on Tuesday.” He’s not likely to get a start the rest of the year, so he’s not worth using the rest of the way.
Dontrelle Willis – Cincinnati Reds – According to Mark Sheldon (via Twitter), “scratch Willis today with back spasms. Maloney moving up to start today.” There’s no word yet as to when Willis may take the mound. It’s not like he has been pitching well this season, anyways. Leave him on your bench in all formats.
Angel Pagan – New York Mets – Adam Rubin (via Twitter) is reporting that, “Jose Reyes day off Sunday. Angel Pagan out too, with quadriceps issue. Both back Tuesday, after team off-day. Pagan slowed in OF by injury.” It doesn’t appear to be a major issue, but it is worth tracking over the final 10 days of the season.
Jason Repko – Minnesota Twins – Rhett Bolinger (via Twitter) is reporting that, “Jason Repko said the CT scan came back OK. He had a headache but is doing fine.” Repko was hit in the head by Justin Masterson during yesterday’s game and should be considered to day-to-day at this point.
Carlos Guillen – Detroit Tigers – According to Jason Beck of mlb.com (click here for the article), “If the Tigers needed a reason for concern about injuries down the stretch now that they’ve clinched a division title, Carlos Guillen gave them a pretty good example. The veteran switch-hitter and part-time second baseman left Sunday’s game against the A’s with a right calf strain.” Consider him day-to-day, with Ryan Raburn and Ramon Santiago continuing to share the bulk of the time at 2B.
Erik Bedard – Boston Red Sox – Evan Drellich of mlb.com (click here for the article) is reporting that, “Erik Bedard, who’s been sidelined because of lat and knee injuries, was previously a candidate to start in the early game, but he’s scheduled to pitch on Tuesday night. Josh Beckett then goes on Wednesday night, carrying the Red Sox into an off-day Thursday.” It’s nice to see him back, but it is impossible to trust him in his first start off the DL.
