MASH Report (5/26/15)

• Holy cow. The Reds have finally placed Devin Mesoraco on the DL with his hip injury.

Mesoraco hasn’t caught in a game since April 12 due to an impingement in the hip. He was able to pinch-hit in 13 games and start as designated hitter in four, hitting .178 in 45 at-bats.

A month and half to determine if he should go on the DL.  Additionally, there is good chance he will need surgery and miss the rest of the season.

• David Wright came out and said he is dealing with spinal stenois.

Wright will cease baseball activities and take medication for the next week, while continuing a program of core strengthening and back stabilization exercises. The Mets believe it will be enough to eliminate the flare-ups of lower back tightness that Wright has recently been experiencing. They do not consider Wright’s condition degenerative, according to assistant general manager John Ricco.

“The doctors aren’t that worried about it,” Ricco said. “It’s just something that seems to be taking longer than we initially thought. The way it was progressing, they thought it would be gone by now.”

He is making little to no progress on getting better and has decided to relocate to California to be closer to his doctor.

• Danny Duffy is on the DL with bicep tendinitis.

Duffy went through the same type of shoulder soreness last season, he said. That injury heightened when he made a September start at Yankee Stadium and lasted just one pitch.

“That had been building up for about six weeks last year,” he said. “I didn’t say anything about it. This time, I’d rather nip it in the bud here. We got a lot of the season left.”

This may help explain Duffy’s absence in the 2014 post season.

• Josh Hamilton is back off the DL. A lot of people are staying away from him, but I would pick him up. Not many players on the waiver have top 25 potential. I would look at two items to see if he is worth keeping. Can he make contact (not a good start) at a ~55% clip and can he hit the ball hard at about an 90 mph average?

• To no one’s surprise, Shane Victorino is back on the DL with a calf stain.

• Disabled list stalwart, Coco Crisp is also back on the DL.

• An interesting exchange between the Red Sox and Cubs just happened which landed Anthony Varvaro on the DL.

1. Red Sox put Varvaro on waivers.
2. Cubs claim Varvaro.
3. Cubs perform medical finding out Varvaro needs season ending surgery.
4. Varvaro sent back to Boston where he was put on the DL.

• Hyun-Jin Ryu has been pitching with a labrum tear since he signed in 2012.

Hyun-Jin Ryu said the shoulder labrum repaired in season-ending surgery on Thursday showed up on the first MRI exam he had before signing with the Dodgers in 2012.

But Ryu, his left arm in a sling during a Dodger Stadium news conference, said he was always able to pitch with it and figured he’d be able to again after it flared up in Spring Training.

• Neftali Feliz had an abscess removed and will need time for the open wound to heal. He should just miss the minimum 15 days.

• James Loney will be out four to six weeks with a broken finger.

• Wily Peralta will be out at least four weeks with a strained oblique.

• Yasmani Grandal will miss a few days while on the 7-day concussion DL.

• Kyle Lobstein is headed to the DL with shoulder soreness with Buck Farmer taking his rotation spot.

• Sean Doolittle is to be activated today.

• While not officially on the DL because he was a non-roster invitee, Chad Gaudin had wrist surgery and could be pitching within the month.

• Jason Hunt looks at the injuries to some top prospects at FakeTeams.com.

Velocity Readings

• Charlie Morton’s average fastball velocity is fine.

• Casey Janssen’s velocity is down a about 2 mph.

Players on the DL in 2015

The Red players have had updates since the last report. Click on the “Date” for a link to go to the latest article on the player.