Ryan Howard was placed on the 15-day disabled list with a left quadriceps strain after he was out of the starting lineup for the fifth straight game Saturday. The Phillies recalled catcher/first baseman Chris Coste from Triple-A Ottawa to take his roster spot. The reigning NL MVP is eligible to come off the disabled list May 25.
"For long-term reasons, we wanted to be cautious with this and let him heal," assistant general manager Ruben Amaro, Jr. said. "We fully expect him to be 100 percent and ready to go within 15 days." Howard has been off to a slow start after hitting .313 with 58 homers and 149 RBI last season. He's hitting just .204 with six homers and 23 RBI, and has 39 strikeouts in 98 at-bats. His pinch-hit grand slam helped the Phillies beat Arizona on Wednesday, but he hasn't played since.
The slugger has also been bothered by a sprained left knee. An MRI exam on his knee showed no structural damage and another MRI exam on his thigh revealed he had some internal bleeding. "Nobody wants to get hurt," Howard said. "Only way to get it better is to shut it down. If you keep playing, the worst case is you're out there playing and it gets worse and you're out for the rest of the year. The key is to get healthy." Greg Dobbs will fill in for Howard – he had a career-best four hits, including a go-ahead two-run triple in the seventh inning on Saturday.
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Roy Halladay is expected to miss four-to-six weeks after having an emergency appendectomy Friday, just another injury problem for the banged-up Blue Jays. The former Cy Young winner arrived at Rogers Centre on Friday looking pale and complaining of pain in his lower right abdomen. Trainer George Poulis recognized the symptoms and took Halladay to a local hospital for surgery. He was placed on the 15-day disabled list shortly afterwards.
"You've got to look at it as a chance for someone else to step up," general manager J.P. Ricciardi said. "We're not going to sit here and raise the white flag, say we're quitting. We've got some young kids who are going to get an opportunity now. We'll see who can handle coming up here and giving us those innings, giving us a chance to win."
Halladay is 4-2 with a 4.37 ERA in eight starts this season, but was roughed up his previous two starts. The Blue Jays just suffered through a nine game losing streak, leaving them in last place in the AL East. Victor Zambrano also landed on the 15-day disabled list with a strained right forearm last week to add insult to injury – no pun intended.
The Jays also announced that closer B.J. Ryan will miss the rest of the season after having Tommy John surgery on his left elbow Thursday. The southpaw closer, who signed a $47 million, five-year contract before the 2006 season, is expected to ready for spring training next year. "To lose him for the year is not something that we wanted but the reality is he gets it done now and he's ready to go for next year," Ricciardi said. "We'll have him for the next three years."
Ryan finished 0-2 with three saves and a 12.46 ERA in five games this season. Last year, he was 2-2 with a 1.37 ERA and 38 saves in his first season since leaving Baltimore as a free agent. Jeremy Accardo was appointed the team’s closer in his stead after Jeremy Frasor faltered in the role the past couple weeks.
Felix Hernandez (forearm) is ready to come off the disabled list and is scheduled to start Tuesday against the Angels. "It feels like it's been a year," he said. "It's not fun to sit down and do nothing." He left his start against Minnesota on April 18 after one-third of an inning, surrendering three runs, walking two and throwing a wild pitch before departing.
Before that, he had allowed just four hits in 17 scoreless innings - including a one-hitter at Boston. He’ll be limited to about 75-80 pitches on Tuesday. "He probably won't go (more) than 75-80 pitches," manager Mike Hargrove said. The 21-year old phenom was at bedridden Friday with a 102-degree temperature and flu-like symptoms. But was then able to throw an extended bullpen session less than 24 hours later to show he’s ready to come off the shelf.
The Mariners also placed Jeff Weaver on the DL Friday due to shoulder tendinitis. Seattle called up left-handed reliever Ryan Rowland-Smith from Triple-A Tacoma to take his roster spot. After signing a one-year, $8,325,000 contract this offseason, Weaver has gotten off to an 0-6 start with a 14.32 ERA in six starts. In 22 innings, he has allowed 50 hits and 35 earned runs. He will likely be out of commission until at least early June. He should be dropped in all leagues that don’t have DL spots, but don’t be surprised if he comes back strong. He’s been an infamously streaky pitcher throughout his career.
Kevin Millwood left Monday’s start after he aggravated his left hamstring and the Rangers are not sure when he’ll be able to pitch again. "I kind of misstepped, actually to the first batter in the game," he said. "It got sorer as I went on. In the second inning, I couldn't get out over my front leg. It's not easy to pitch that way." It sounds as if Millwood might land on the disabled list with this recent injury. Bruce Chen or John Koronka are options to take his place in the rotation in his stead.
The Royals placed Luke Hudson on the shelf with right biceps tendinitis Sunday and recalled right-hander Brian Bannister from Triple-A Omaha. Bannister is scheduled to start Tuesday against Oakland. He is 0-2 with a 4.60 ERA in three starts for Kansas City this year. Hudson made his season debut Thursday against the Athletics, allowing five runs and four walks in two innings of a 17-3 loss. "The soreness was pretty significant the day after," Hudson said afterwards. The right-hander could be facing at least a month on the DL after this latest setback.
Milton Bradley was activated from the 15-day DL Friday and then went 3-for-9 against the Indians in a three-game series. Bradley went down on April 23 with a strained left hamstring when he was batting .263 with one HR and three RBI in 11 games. To free up the roster spot, the A's optioned OF Danny Putnam to Triple-A Sacramento. He hit .214 with a home run and two RBI in 11 games with the A's.
Juan Encarnacion was activated from the 15-day disabled list on Sunday by the St. Louis Cardinals. Encarnacion had not played for the Cardinals this year following offseason wrist surgery. The 11-year veteran promptly went 0-for-3 in his season debut against the Padres, but is definitely still worth picking up in all leagues.
Dave Roberts has decided to have surgery on his troublesome left elbow, keeping him out at least a month. The veteran outfielder made the decision after being examined by acclaimed orthopedist Dr. Lewis Yocum on Thursday in Los Angeles. San Francisco placed Roberts on the shelf and designated Todd Linden for assignment. They recalled Fred Lewis and Dan Ortmeier from Triple-A Fresno to take their roster spots. San Francisco has up to 10 days to trade Linden or place him on waivers or he would be sent outright to Fresno.
Linden was batting just .182 with no homers and three RBIs in 30 games thus far. In his third start since being called up, Lewis hit for the cycle and drove in four runs Sunday as the Giants pummeled the Rockies 15-2. The rookie went 5-for-6 and is now 7-for-14 with seven RBI since taking over for Roberts. He's likely to play fairly regularly until Roberts comes back, so he’s worth picking up in NL-only leagues.
Joel Zumaya will miss three months after having successful surgery Wednesday to repair a ruptured tendon in his right middle finger. Zumaya was placed on the DL on May 3. He went 1-1 with a 3.63 ERA and 17 strikeouts in 13 appearances this season. The flame thrower was 6-3 in 62 appearances during his rookie season and ranked third among American League relievers with 97 strikeouts.
Eric Milton was stashed on the DL with an inflamed elbow Wednesday. The southpaw told the team about his sore elbow after he pitched 5 1/3 innings on Tuesday night. A medical test on Wednesday detected inflammation. The Reds activated reliever Jared Burton from the disabled list to take his spot. Burton has been sidelined since April 8 with a strained hamstring. Milton is 0-4 with a 5.17 ERA in six starts this season, and is 16-27 in three seasons as a Red. Milton had season-ending surgery to clean out the left elbow last Sept. 22. He had given no indication of a problem until after the game Tuesday.
Moises Alou is likely to go on the disabled list because of the strained left quad he suffered Saturday. "I’m not very optimistic," Alou said. "It’s not a good feeling. Unfortunately, I had my knee that was bothering me so I couldn’t work on my leg for a couple of weeks." Carlos Gomez, who led the PCL with 19 stolen bases, was called up to take over for Alou, but Endy Chavez is expected to see the brunt of action in Alou’s place.
Jeremy Hermida (knee), Laynce Nix (ribs), Jon Lester (cancer) and Bob Wickman (back) are expected to return this week. Lester will take Julian Tavarez’s spot in the starting rotation, Nix will be a backup outfielder, Wickman will replace Rafael Soriano’s spot as the Braves closer and Hermida will regain his everyday right fielder job once again.