MASH Report (6/15/15)

• Aaron Sanchez is on the DL with a lat strain, but he may miss just the minimum 15-days.

• Ryan Zimmerman will be out until his plantar fasciitis quits bothering him.

“It’s pretty typical plantar fasciitis,” manager Matt Williams said before Thursday night’s game against the Brewers. “It’s not getting any better. Over the last three or four games, it’s just real-ly bothering him.”

Williams said the key for Zimmerman now is to stay off the injured foot.

“Right now, it’s total rest,” Williams said. “So he’ll get off of it for a few days and not push it too hard. Let it calm down. Hopefully in 15 [days], he’s ready to go. Generally, when it’s gone, it’s gone.”

• Zack Cozart will miss the rest of the 2015 season with a torn up knee.

Cozart tore ligaments and the biceps tendon in his right knee after he slipped on first base during Wednesday’s game.

He is expected to have surgery Monday, and his rehabilitation could take approximately nine months.

Nine months puts him ready for the start of the 2016 season, so he may even miss some of next season.

• Lance Lynn will go on the DL for what sounds like the minimum time with a strained forearm.

But unlike some of the club’s other injuries, this one is not expected to keep Lynn out for more than the 15 days he’s required to remain on the DL. With the move made retroactive to Monday, Lynn would be eligible to return to the mound on June 23, when the team opens a three-game series in Miami. Lynn would only miss two starts between now and then.

“We’ll make sure we get everything calmed down and make sure it’s not something that flares up as the whole year goes on,” Lynn said on Friday. “Don’t try to push through something and make it worse or make something else flare up.”

• Ambidextrous pitcher Pat Venditte was placed on the DL with a strained right shoulder. Well, the obvious question was asked by the game’s reporters.

So, of course, the natural question started swirling: Can’t he just pitch lefty?

The answer, per Venditte and manager Bob Melvin, was “No.”

“Conventional wisdom would just say to pitch left-handed, but with the constant pulling and whatnot, it’s tough for anything to heal,” Venditte said before Friday’s series opener against the Angels. “And I think my best chance to help the team is as a switch-pitcher.”

Double the number of throwing arms and therefore double the injuries.

• Aaron Hicks has a strained forearm which will place him on the DL.

• Wil Myers will have off season surgery to remove a bone spur from his wrist.

Padres center fielder/first baseman Wil Myers said there’s a “high possibility” he’ll have offseason surgery to remove a bone spur from his left wrist.

Myers, who returned from the disabled list Thursday, has dealt with the effects of the bone spur for most of his life. It’s what caused the left-wrist tendinitis that sidelined him for a month.

“It’s a high possibility, but not during the year,” Myers said about surgery. “It’s a simple fix, but I can’t do it now because of the rehab during the season. I want to be out there.”

• Nick Swisher is back on the DL with his bad knees. I am completely done with him at this point after hoping he could come back.

• Jason Vargas is also back on the DL with a strained flexor.

• And Hunter Pence also back on the DL with his wrist acting up.

With Hunter Pence slow to recover from tendinitis in his left wrist, the Giants placed the right fielder on the 15-day disabled list Friday and purchased the contract of right-hander Michael Broadway from Triple-A Sacramento.

Pence, who missed this season’s first 36 games with a fractured left wrist, had not played since June 2. His DL assignment thus was retroactive to June 3, so he conceivably could return to the lineup next week while the Giants travel to play the Mariners and Dodgers.

• Aaron Barrett is hurt with strained bicep.

• Miguel Gonzalez is out with a strained groin.

Velocity Readings

• Justin Verlander is back and his velocity is back 2014 levels when his ERA estimators hovered at or over 4.00. Looking over his first 2015 start, I see nothing encouraging from it.

• Bobby Parnell’s velocity is at his low 2014 level and way off his peak (down 5 mph) from a few years back.

• I am encouraged by the velocity from Mat Latos in his last start. It is his highest reading since 2013.

It seems Latos’s knee wasn’t right until now.

Before going on the DL with left knee inflammation, it had been a struggle for Latos. The veteran entered the game 1-4 with a 6.12 ERA in nine starts. But he missed substantial time last year after undergoing left knee surgery, and the same knee has bothered him since Spring Training.

He had fluid drained from the knee during the spring, and he wasn’t right the first two months. Saturday was his first start since May 21.

“It feels good to have two legs under me, that’s for sure,” Latos said.

It may be a buy low time with Latos if his knee is finally right.

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.