In my “10 things we learned about baseball in June” post, I referred to June as the “Month of the Injury.” In June we saw star players such as Dustin Pedroia, Victor Martinez, Chase Utley, and Jason Heyward, amongst others, hit the disabled list.
Now it looks like July is picking up right where June left off. Though the first four days we have seen a lot of quality players hit the DL. Let’s take a look.
Manny Ramirez, Los Angeles Dodgers – Ramirez was placed on the 15-day DL because of a strained right hamstring. Manny has suffered through an injury-plagued year, only appearing in 59 games for the Dodgers, but when he has been in the lineup he has produced. Ramirez is hitting .322/.412/.525 this season, with eight home runs in 183 ABs.
Dallas Braden, Oakland A’s. Call it the curse of the perfect game. Since his perfecto on May 9 against the Tampa Bay Rays, Braden is 0-5 with a 4.31 ERA, and teams are hitting .304 against him.
Now Braden was placed on the 15-day DL by the A’s due to a sore pitching elbow. I will try to be optimistic, but I am guessing Braden will be paying a visit to Dr. James Andrews in the near future.
Braden has been shut down until after the All Star break.
Will Venable, San Diego Padres . Venable, the son of former Cincinnati Reds and classic '80s player Max Venable, has been a solid player for the Padres this season. He is second on the team in RBI with 32 and third in OPS with a .730 mark.
He has been placed on the 15-day DL because of a lower back stiffness. The move is retroactive to July 2. The Padres will replace Venable on the roster with Aaron Cunningham, who they received from the A’s in the Kevin Kouzmanoff trade.
Shaun Marcum, Toronto Blue Jays . After missing all of 2009 because of injury, Marcum has really had a solid start to the 2010 season. He is 7-4 with a 3.44 ERA and a 1.17 WHIP.
Marcum was cruising along and then he got roughed up by the Cleveland Indians after his last start (five runs and five hits in four IP). After the game, Marcum was placed on the 15-day DL with elbow inflammation.
An MRI showed no structural damage and he should only miss one or two starts. Expect him back after the All Star break.
Ryan Ludwick, St. Louis Cardinals. At .273 with 11 HR and an .822 OPS, Ludwick was enjoying another good season in St. Louis, but has hasn’t played since June 25 in Kansas City and it was only a matter of time before the Cardinals placed him on the DL.
Why the Cardinals waited so long to place him on the DL is a little beyond me, but that is sometimes par for the course with the Red Birds. The Cardinals placed Ludwick on the DL with a strained calf.
Look for Ludwick to return to the Cardinals lineup after the All Star break.
Shin-Soo Choo, Cleveland Indians. Choo will be out six to eight weeks after injuring his thumb diving for a ball on Friday. This is a big blow to one of the most underrated players in the game. This injury cost Choo his first All-Star Game birth.
Choo put up a sweet .286/.390/.475 hitting line with 13 HR and 12 SB through 78 games. Not too many outfielders can say they have put up that type of production in the first half.
Some other players to keep an eye out for who might hit the DL are Clay Buchholz, Yovani Gallardo, and Conor Jackson.
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