Chipper Jones was eligible to come off the disabled list for the Braves on Friday, but instead he was happy just to have his hands and wrists free from braces for a few minutes. He took batting practice Sunday and is hoping to come off the DL for Tuesday's game. The veteran injured both wrists in a May 11 collision with Jose Bautista while running the bases. Manager Bobby Cox said Jones won't need a minor league rehab stint when he's ready to play. That's fine with Jones, but he says he expects his timing to be off after not swinging a bat for two weeks.
The Twins activated All-Star Joe Mauer from the disabled list Friday after he missed more than a month because of a strained left quadriceps. Mauer became the first AL catcher to win a batting title when he hit .347 last season. He went 1-for-9 in his first two games back, then got a day off Sunday.
Milton Bradley was placed on the 15-day disabled list this week for the third time already this season. He came off his second DL stint May 30 after recovering from a strained left hamstring only to injure his right calf three days later. He hadn't played in the last five games, getting scratched Wednesday night against the Red Sox after testing his legs before the game. Bradley, who is in a contract year when players hope to be putting up some of their best numbers, first was shelved from April 23 to May 10, then again May 15-29. Since his latest return, the right fielder had batted 5-for-11 (.455) with two doubles and an RBI. Teammates Rich Harden and Huston Street each had productive throwing sessions before the game. Harden (shoulder) made 65 throws with 15 of those on flat ground from 60 feet - just shy of the distance from the mound to the plate. "From where he's come a week ago, he's doing very well," pitching coach Curt Young said. "He has been throwing good."
The Diamondbacks activated Chad Tracy from the DL Sunday. Tracy had been out since May 16 with a sore left ribcage. Rookie Mark Reynolds, promoted from Double-A Mobile to replace Tracy, is hitting .321 with four homers and 15 RBIs in 23 games. And he has performed capably in the field. Tracy, who is hitting .311 with one homer and 14 RBIs in 31 games, can also play first base. But putting Tracy at first would force manager Bob Melvin to bench Conor Jackson, who has raised his batting average to .280 after a slow start. "We'll do the best we can," Melvin said. "You want to keep everybody involved, yet you still have to run your best lineup out there. So if someone gets their feelings hurt because they're not playing much, that can be the bad side of it."
The Phillies placed Freddy Garcia on the shelf because of a right shoulder strain Saturday and signed Jose Mesa to replace him. Garcia allowed six runs in 1 2/3 innings in a loss to KC this week, dropping his record to 1-5 with an ERA of 5.90. The 41-year-old Mesa is fifth among active pitchers with 320 saves. He was 1-1 with a 12.46 ERA in 16 games with Detroit before being released earlier this season. From 2001-03 with the Phillies he was 12-16 with a 3.77 ERA and a club-record 111 saves. "I'll pitch him wherever we need him," said manager Charlie Manuel. Manuel said he would announce on Monday who would take Garcia's next start, on Wednesday against the White Sox.
John Smoltz missed his scheduled start Sunday against the Cubs, and Lance Cormier was placed on the DL with a tired arm on Saturday. The Braves recalled Buddy Carlyle from Triple-A Richmond replace him in the rotation. Smoltz will miss the start due to inflammation in his right shoulder. "In the past I've been pretty stubborn," Smoltz said, adding in past years he would have tried to persuade Cox to allow him to pitch Sunday. The injury doesn’t seem to serious though, so feel free to keep him in your active lineups for week 11 against Cleveland.
Jered Weaver left after three innings against the Cardinals on Sunday afternoon with tightness in his lower back. He allowed three runs on five hits, including a two-run home run to Albert Pujols in the third. He was checked by a trainer with two outs in the inning before getting Juan Encarnacion to ground out to first. Weaver, replaced by Chris Bootcheck, missed all of spring training and was on the 15-day disabled list to start the regular season while recovering from biceps tendinitis. He was activated April 17 and had won his previous four decisions and five of six. His brother Jeff Weaver was activated from the 15-day disabled list Saturday night and started against the Padres. Weaver had been on the DL since May 11 because of shoulder tendinitis. It was his first career trip to the DL. Weaver entered the game with a 0-6 record and a 14.32 ERA.
Moises Alou left the team Sunday morning to fly back home for an examination on his strained left quadriceps. Teammate Shawn Green is expected to be activated from the DL Monday. Alou was scheduled to be examined and will likely report to their minor league facility in Florida. Alou, injured on May 12, is hitting .318 with two homers and 13 RBIs in 30 games. Green has been out since breaking his right foot May 25, an injury that put him on the DL for the first time in his major league career that started in 1993. Green is hitting .314 with five homers and 22 RBIs in 45 games.
The Mets placed Endy Chavez on the DL Thursday with a pulled left hamstring and activated 2B Jose Valentin, who had been out since April with a knee injury. Chavez had an MRI exam and said doctors told him he could miss 4-6 weeks while resting and rehabilitating the injury. "It hurts," said Chavez, who had never been on the DL before. Valentin (partially torn ligament in right knee) will have to wear a brace on his knee, which will need surgery after the season. The operation likely will cause him to miss about a month at the start of next season. Valentin was hitting .279 with two homers and 13 RBIs when he got hurt. He’s gone 3-for-13 in three games since being activated.
The Giants placed Fred Lewis and Eliezer Alfonzo on the 15-day disabled list Saturday with injuries that could take significant time to heal. Lewis has a strained muscle in his right side, while Alfonzo has a sprained ligament in his left knee that could require surgery and end his season. The Giants activated Dave Roberts two days earlier than scheduled from his rehab assignment with Triple-A Fresno at Las Vegas and brought up Guillermo Rodriguez to be Bengie Molina's backup behind the dish. Alfonzo will be out at least two months even if he opts not to have surgery. "There's nothing I can do," Alfonzo said of what happened. He plans to wait until Tuesday to make a decision on whether to undergo season-ending surgery, saying, "I don't know yet."
Doug Mientkiewicz will have surgery Tuesday to insert a pin in his broken right wrist, an operation he hopes will get him back on the field faster. He originally was told he'd have to wear a cast for 12 weeks. He said his original plan was to have the cast cut off Aug. 1, no matter what. "If it's healed, fine. If it's not, fine, too. I think I'll be a homeless single father if I had to wait 12 weeks in a cast. You can snap a bone in half and be back in 8-to-12 weeks. It's a little tiny piece." Mientkiewicz also sustained a mild concussion and cervical sprain in the collision.
"The reports are that Joel Zumaya will be back in August," manager Jim Leyland said Friday. "However I'm not in any way, shape or form counting on that, and it would not surprise me if he was not ready to pitch before the season is over." Ouch… tough break for the Tigers struggling bullpen. Zumaya had surgery in mid-May to repair a ruptured tendon in his right middle finger and was expected to miss three months. He was 6-3 in 62 appearances during his rookie season last year and ranked third among AL relievers with 97 strikeouts. Teammate catcher Vance Wilson may be done for the year as well. He re-aggravated his sore right forearm throwing long toss before Thursday's Triple-A game in Toledo against Syracuse. He had three at-bats while playing DH until the third inning, when he took himself out of the game due to soreness.
Ramon Hernandez is back on the shelf because of a bruised groin. The catcher was hit by a foul ball off the bat of Ben Broussard Wednesday. Hernandez went 0-for-5 in that contest and was 1-for-12 in the three-game series. He's batting .244 with three homers and 27 RBIs in 34 games. Paul Bako, who started 13 games while Hernandez was on the disabled list in April, entered the weekend series against Colorado with a .219 batting average, one homer and five RBIs. He’ll get the brunt of at-bats behind the dish in his absence.