Archive for August 2012

Ian Kennedy was legitimately in the running for the National League Cy Young award last season.  He was a big reason why the Arizona Diamondbacks made a surprise run to win the division.  He is also a big reason why the team has faltered this year.  Such is the case with pitchers.  If a team develops an ace then suddenly loses him, it's hard to recovery from that.  Most times you see this with injuries, but with Kennedy, no injury has been diagnosed.  The Diamondbacks have simply lost him even though he's on the mound every fifth day for them.

But is that true?  Are there any indications that something more might be going on?  Let's take a closer look, but first let's get some baseline information on Kennedy.  To judge whether a pitcher is hiding an injury takes much more than a look at the numbers, but that's all we have, so we need to look at ALL the numbers.

Alex Rodriguez is inching closer to a return.  The All-Star third baseman for the Yankees has been on the disabled with with a fractured hand after being hit by a Felix Hernandez pitch on July 24th.  Now, according to Wallace Matthews of ESPN New York, Rodriguez is set to make a rehab appearance with the Class A Tampa Yankees today.  Rodriguez will serve as the designated hitter tonight, but he hopes to soon return to the infield with New York soon.

Rodriguez may return this weekend, but it seems more likely he will return sometime next week.  The Yankees would love to have him back as soon as possible - maybe even this weekend - as they look to hold off a charging Orioles club.  The Yankees start a three-game series against the Orioles tonight and hope to increase their three game lead over Baltimore.

Mark Craig of the New Jersey Star-Ledger echoed the sentiment of Matthews.  Craig believes that Rodriguez will return next week, as early as Monday.

Rodriguez appears to be on the fast track back to the Bronx. He spent the week taking live batting practice at Yankee Stadium in addition to fielding grounders at third base with no restrictions.

The Los Angeles Dodgers have lost another pitcher, at least temporarily.  Their closer, Kenley Jansen, will be out indefinitely after experiencing an irregular heartbeat Wednesday.  He was held out of Wednesday's game and had a meeting with a cardiologist yesterday.  The Dodgers hope to get him back before the end of the season, but they don't know the severity of the issue yet.

According to Marx Saxon of ESPN Los Angeles, Jansen first had issues with an irregular heartbeat earlier this year.  Saxon also said the Dodgers remain hopeful that Jansen will pitch again this season, but at this point they simply don't know.

"We have to make sure he does everything he has to do to make sure he's taking care of himself and we need to understand exactly what we should be doing to help him take care of himself," Mattingly said. "We're lucky. We're in L.A., with some of the best doctors in the world."

An injury that has plagued pitchers all season long is rearing its head with position players as well.  Carl Crawford's season just recently ended after he underwent Tommy John surgery to repair a torn ulnar colateral ligament in his throwing elbow.  Rafael Furcal, shortstop for the St. Louis Cardinals, may be faced with the same fate.
According to Jim Bowden of ESPN, Furcal is going to see doctors to confirm the injury.

Rafael Furcal is heading back to St. Louis for confirmaton of torn ulnar collateral ligament that could end his season with the Cardinals
— JIM BOWDEN (@JimBowdenESPNxm) August 31, 2012

In a last-ditch attempt to come back this season for the Los Angeles Dodgers, Chad Billingsley has undergone a platelet-rich plasma injection in his inflamed elbow.  Billingsley is currently on the 15-day DL, his second stint for elbow inflammation.

According to Mark Saxon of ESPN Los Angeles, Billingsley had the injection yesterday.  He and the Dodgers hope this procedure will allow him to return and help Los Angeles in their race for the National League West.  Saxon points out the platelet-rich plasma is a relatively new procedure designed to help in the recovery process.  In Billingsley's case, the procedure is designed to speed up the recovery or de-inlfammation of his elbow.

Scott Elbert has been placed on the DL for the second time this season with elbow soreness.  The Dodgers placed Elbert on the disabled list after appearing in four games since returning from his first stint.

According to Steve Dilbeck of the Los Angeles Times, Elbert's spot will be taken by Shawn Tolleson who was recalled.  Rosters expand on September 1st so the Dodgers will soon be able to bring on reinforcements, but for at least another day they will have to shuffle their lineup around to cover yet another injury.

The Dodgers' All-Star center fielder and 2011 MVP runner-up was injured after colliding with the center field wall two days ago against the Rockies.  Matt Kemp was tracking a ball hit to deep center at full speed when he hit the wall.  Kemp went straight to the ground in obvious pain and had to leave the game.  Fortunately, there was no structural damage found in Kemp's jaw or left knee, the two areas where he is experiencing the most pain.

According to the Associated Press release, the Dodgers have listed Kemp as day-to-day.  He has a bone bruise and body soreness.

"He feels like a truck hit him," Dodgers manager Don Mattingly said.

Neil Walker missed yesterday's game against the Cardinals due to back pain.  He first started experiencing the lower back pain before Monday's game, but the injury doesn't seem severe.  According to Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, Walker has had nothing more than tightness across his lower back.  Kovacevic says Walker is hopeful he will be able to return to the lineup soon.

Walker has struggled this season, but overall he has had a nice season.  So far this year, Walker is hitting .280/.342/.435 with 14 home runs.  Aside from his first full year in the Majors in 2010, Walker is having the best year of his career.  In 2010, he finished fifth in Rookie of the Year voting.

The Pirates have been chasing the Cardinals for the final Wild Card spot of late.  They just finished taking two of three from St. Louis without Walker's services, but the Pirates will need him back in the lineup to continue their push.  As it stands now, the Pirates are one game behind the Cardinals with 32 games to play.

Walker will hit his first arbitration eligible year after this season, and he has earned himself a nice pay increase.  If he can stay healthy, the Pirates will almost surely look to extend Walker's contract.
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The St. Louis Cardinals have listed their All-Star catcher, Yadier Molina, as day-to-day after a collision at home plate in yesterday's game against the Pittsburgh Pirates.  In the bottom of the second inning, the Pirates' Josh Harrison was trying to score on a single and slammed into Molina who was covering the plate.  The impact caused neck, back, and shoulder pain for Molina, and he had to leave the game after laying on the ground for a few minutes after the collision.

"I never saw the guy coming," Molina said. "I was concentrating on catching the ball. I never saw him coming, but the real pain was in my head. I don't know if he was (targeting) my head or not."

It was a likely scenario.  Glavin Floyd left his start against the the Mariners early on Monday when he felt some discomfort in his pitching elbow.  It was not immediately clear if he would be placed on the disabled list, but considering he was staying in Chicago rather than traveling with the team, it seemed probable.  Now, the White Sox have officially placed Gavin Floyd on the DL.

Prior 2 tonight’s game v. Orioles, #WhiteSox placed RHP Gavin Floyd on the 15-day DL (retroactive to 8/27) w/ a right elbow flexor strain.
— Chicago White Sox (@whitesox) August 28, 2012

The Toronto Blue Jays have had a rough season.  They seen injuries to some of their star players.  Jose Bautista has been the most prominent, and painful in terms of production loss, injury for the Blue Jays this season.  Bautista suffered a wrist injury back in July, shortly after the All-Star break.  He was swinging at a pitch against the Yankees when he fell to the ground in pain.  He had inflamed the wrist and had to be placed on the disabled list.  He returned from the DL Friday, but he said he felt the tendon moving in his wrist too much, so Bautista will undergo season-ending wrist surgery.

The Blue Jays outfielder had hopes that rest and rehab would allow him to return to everyday play, but since the tendon did not feel right, Bautista and the team has decided to go with surgery.  According to Gregor Chisholm of MLB.com, Bautista will have the surgery on his left wrist sometime next week.  He is expected to be ready for return by spring training next year.

Bautista was hitting .241/.358/.527 with 27 home runs this season.  His home run total was a big reason why fans voted him into the All-Star Game.  His numbers as a whole are actually down when compared with 2011.  Last season, Bautista hit .302/.447/.608 with 43 home runs.

Bautista was drafted in the 20th round of the 2000 draft.  He spent some time in the Pittsburgh Pirates organization before eventually being drafted in the Rule 5 draft by the Baltimore Orioles.  He bounced around then finally landed with Toronto where he had his break-out year last season.

In his career, Bautista is a .253/.362/.486 hitter.  He had a huge power surge last year and looked poised to continue that this season until his injury.  Unfortunately for the Blue Jays, Bautista's number this season weren't enough.  Toronto is currently 57-71 and in last place in the American League East.
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Daisuke Matsuzaka  earned his first win since May of last year.  After undergoing Tommy John surgery last year, he returned from the DL this season only to falter and eventually land back on the disabled list with a strained neck.  He made his return yesterday afternoon and was impressive.

In seven innings, Matsuzaka allowed five hits and just one run.  He earned the win and helped Boston take the first game of their series against the Kansas City Royals.  Matsuzaka came into the game with a 6.65 ERA this year, but he lowered that to 5.10 after the start.

Matsuzaka has been far from the pitcher Boston thought they were getting when they signed him out of Japan. In his career, he's posted a 4.29 ERA. This is far too high an ERA for a $52 million player that cost twice that much in posting fees. But that's the problem with signing big name international free agents. The Rangers have run the same risk with Yu Darvish.

Despite, the successful return from the DL, it looks like the Red Sox have placed Matsuzaka on waivers. According to Buster Olney of ESPN, the Red Sox, who have been aggressive with their waiver moves, placed Matsuzaka on revocable waivers today.

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Well, the return didn't last long.  David Ortiz has been placed back on the 15-day disabled list with soreness in his Achilles tendon says Michael Vega of the Boston Globe.  The Red Sox DH/1B returned to action on Friday, but the soreness in his ankle continued forcing him back onto the DL.  Vega reports that Ortiz will receive a platelet-rich plasma (PRP) injection to help him get back before the end of the season.

Ortiz was 2 for 4 in his return from the DL with two hits, a double, and two RBI.  He has not played since that Friday return though.  The 36-year old is hitting .318/.415/.611 this year.  He has watched the Red Sox all but dismantle themselves to get out from huge contracts and to improve the clubhouse.  He has been the one constant producer and has been earning his keep.  While healthy that it.

With the season drawing near a close and the Red Sox nowhere near contention, we asked whether the Sox should just shut Ortiz down for the rest of the season.

Is there any reason to rush David Ortiz back? Or should the #RedSox just let him rest and recover?
— MLB Injury News (@MLBInjuryNews) August 26, 2012

“You guys already know, I’d like to be out there playing, helping out,’’ Ortiz said Monday. “The good thing that we talked about today [with the team’s medical staff] is we’re going to try this one PRP injection to see how it goes.’’

Mark Teixeira has been battling injuries.  Last week he was fighting wrist inflammation that was keeping him out of games.  Now, he has strained his calf.  Last night, in the Yankees' loss to the Toronto Blue Jays, Teixiera strained his left calf and had to leave the game.

According to Ian Begley of ESPN New York, Teixeira suffered the injury in the fourth inning but didn't immediately leave the game.  The strain tightened up, and Teixeira had to be removed from the game and replaced by Eric Chavez.  The strain is a Grade I strain, the lowest grade but still known to keep players out for weeks at a time.

"It's sore," Teixeira said. "It's a Grade 1 strain so we'll see how long it takes."

Gavin Floyd had to leave yesterday's game against the Mariners after two innings when he began feeling elbow soreness. Scott Merkin of MLB.com says Floyd will stay in Chicago for tests and treatment while the team travels to Baltimore. The White Sox have not made a roster move as it is not yet known if Floyd will have to go on the disabled list.

Earlier this year, Floyd landed on the DL with right elbow tendinitis. He went on the DL July 17th, retroactive to July 8th. With the current injury, the hope is to let Floyd rest rather than put him on the DL, but it looks almost certain that he will miss his next scheduled start on Friday.

The Texas Rangers have never really been threatened this season.  They've had their ups and downs, but they have maintained a firm grip on first place in the American League West.  Even so, the return of Koji Uehara should be a welcome sight for Rangers fans.  Uehara was on the DL since June 15th (retroactive to June 10th) with a right lat strain.  He came off the DL yesterday and made his first appearance since June 9th.

On July 13th, Dillon Gee had surgery to repair a damaged artery in his throwing shoulder shoulder.  Doctors had originally discovered a blot clot before finding that the artery was damaged.  He underwent surgery to repair the artery in lieu of using blood thinners.  The procedure landed Gee on the 60-day disabled list and ultimately ended his season.

However, according to Adam Ruben of ESPN New York, Gee had an angiogram Friday and received a clean bill of health from doctors.  Gee will be allowed to resume throwing activities and is expected back by spring training.

I don't foresee a return this year, but I'm not trying to put a timetable on anything," Gee said. "I just want to begin throwing and see how I progress from there."

Friday afternoon, news broke that the Red Sox and the Dodgers were working on a blockbuster trade - the type of trade you might see before the non-waiver trade deadline, but not one you would normally see after.  In fact, the only reason a proposed trade involving Josh Beckett, Adrian Gonzalez, and Carl Crawford went through is because the Dodgers are about the only team willing to take on the salary. Those three players alone will be paid $56.75 million dollars next season, so when Josh Beckett cleared waivers and when Adrian Gonzalez was claimed, it came as no surprise the Dodgers were the ones interested.

Since the new ownership group has taken over, the Dodgers have had no issue in spending their money.  They have been motivated to win and win now.  This deal between the Dodgers and the Red Sox means that in one month, the Dodgers have taken on payroll in excess of what Frank McCourt had paid to buy the team back in 2004. But perhaps the most interesting part of this deal was Los Angeles' willingness to take Carl Crawford.

Crawford just underwent season-ending Tommy John surgery last Thursday.  While the surgery went well and the recovery time is expected to be just six months, no one knows how Crawford will be affected when he returns.  He was making strides in the limited action he saw this season toward getting back to the player the Red Sox thought they had acquired, but it will take a lot to wash away the taste of his horrid 2011 campaign.  And as I mentioned before, the Dodgers want to win now.  Crawford cannot help them do so.  Adrian Gonzalez's inclusion and Nick Punto's inclusion in the deal may have been the sweeteners necessary for the Red Sox to be able to dump Crawford on the Dodgers, but it's always interesting to see a player traded while on the disabled list.

I got to wondering about players who were traded while on the disabled list.  What I found, is that it's so uncommon, I was only able to come up with one name immediately:

Jake Peavy

Peavy was traded by the San Diego Padres to the Chicago White Sox on July 31, 2009.  He had rejected a trade to the White Sox earlier in the year by invoking his no-trade clause, but eventually gave in and allowed the Padres to ship him to Chicago's Southside.  The only issue was, he was hurt.  Peavy had been on the DL since June 13th of that year with a strained tendon in his ankle.

Peavy did not make his Chicago debut until September 19th against the Kansas City Royals.  He made three starts for the White Sox that year and posted a 1.37 ERA.  The White Sox did not make the postseason as both Peavy and the team had envisioned when the trade was consummated.  Then, things got worse.

In July of 2010, Peavy was pitching when his entire latissimus dorsi muscle detached from the bone.  The muscle is the largest and most powerful in the back - and a necessary one for pitching.  Peavy's season was over, and some thought his career would be done.  The blow would have been enormous to the White Sox who had recently made Peavy the highest-paid player on the team with a 3-year, $52 million deal.

The surgery Peavy had was essentially experimental as no baseball player in history was known to have had this injury.  Whether he could return to the game was unknown.  But he did.  In 2011, Peavy started 18 games and posted a 4.92 ERA.  Not quite the type of numbers the White Sox hoped they would get out of the 2007 Cy Young award winner, but considering what he went through, at least he was pitching at all.  This season, Peavy has been closer to his vintage self.  In 25 starts, he's posted a 3.09 ERA.

The trade was a risky one because of the original ankle injury, but the White Sox could not have predicted the back injury.  It's hard to fault them for picking up Peavy while he was on the DL.

After some further research more names popped up.  Erik Bedard and Jordan Schaefer are lesser known names to have been traded while on the disabled list.  But to my knowledge and through my research, Peavy's is the most famous.  Until now, possibly.

Carl Crawford is resting a surgically repaired elbow, but we know he gave the OK for the trade to go forward.  His no-trade clause was limited, but included the Dodgers.  He has waived the right to veto this trade, thus allowing the other pieces to fall into place.  So, now just as Crawford was becoming intimately knowledgable about the Red Sox medical staff, he will have to head west, be examined by Dodgers doctors and trainers, and eventually prepare himself for spring training in the Cactus League as opposed to the Grapefruit League.

There was no final at-bat for Crawford.  No fond farewell from knowledgeable fans aware of his impending trade.  No, Crawford is a far cry from Kevin Youkilis who was almost universally loved in Boston despite his struggles leading up to his trade to Chicago.  Crawford has the unfortunate distinction of being nothing more than a stock purchased high and sold low.  A failed investment by the Red Sox front office.  Lucky for him, baseball is a forging game.  Production in Los Angeles will erase all the negative equity he has built up, allow him to flip his upside down mortgage of a season (or two) and help the Dodgers make a profit on his performance.

But for now, Crawford sits and waits.  An injured player between jobs.  He's not quite on the Dodgers roster, and he's being forgotten in Boston as soon as possible.  Unlike Jake Peavy who was able to start the same year as his DL trade occurred, Crawford will have to wait for 2013.

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Chad Billingsley has been incredible since the All-Star break.  He has been impressive in August.  And he's been a major part of the Dodgers battle to overtake the San Francisco Giants for first place in the National League West.  Now, the Dodgers will have to do battle without him.  According to Dylan Hernandez of the Los Angeles Times, the Dodgers have placed Billingsley on the 15-day DL with right elbow soreness.

Michael Morse was hit in the hand by a pitch in Friday's game against the Philadelphia Phillies. He had to exit the game, but X-Rays revealed no fracture. Morse sat out of yesterday's game and is expected to miss today.

James Wagner of the Washington Post, in the lineup he posted today, says Morse will not play in the finale against the Phillies. Morse missed much of the early part of the season while recovering from a lat strain suffered in spring training. Since his return, he has been one of the most productive players in the Nationals' lineup.

Morse has clubbed 12 home runs in 73 games this season and is hitting .286. In four seasons with the Nationals, Morse is hitting .293/.344/.516. He has lost his first base job to Adam LaRoche who has been surprisingly productive. However, Morse has performed well in the outfield.
Washington enters play today with a 77-49 record, the best in all of baseball. However, they have lost their last their last three games.

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Ben Sheets has been placed on the 15-day DL with right shoulder inflammation. He had performed well in his first three starts since joining the Braves, but he has struggled since. This is in part due to the shoulder inflammation. Sheets and the Braves hopes the rest will help get the resurgent pitcher back to 100%.

According to Mark Bowman of MLB.com, it was while watching video with the Braves of his last start that the decision was made to rest his arm. The basis of the decision was that Sheets' was still locating his pitches, but his arm was fatigued and reducing his velocity.

David Ortiz has been on the disabled list since July 18th with a strained right Achilles tendon.  He suffered the injury while rounding the bases, and there was immediate fear that he may have ruptured the tendon much like Ryan Howard did last season.  Luckily for both Ortiz and Red Sox Nation, that wasn't the case.  However, he still has had to spend a large chunk of time on the DL rehabbing the injury.  He is finally set to come off the DL tonight though.

Scott Lauber of the Boston Herald reports that Ortiz will test out the Achilles tonight and see how things go.  He has missed the last 35 games and could only watch as the Red Sox continued to crumble both on the field and in the clubhouse.

Ortiz is on the verge of returning after running the bases again yesterday. Although he says his sore right heel still isn’t even 90 percent healthy, he also believes his Achilles has healed enough that he can play through the pain without risking further injury.

Assuming Ortiz doesn’t experience any setbacks today, he will be reinstated from the disabled list before tonight’s series opener against the Kansas City Royals.

The Detroit Tigers have listed Miguel Cabrera as day-to-day after he hurt his right ankle running the bases yesterday.  The All-Star slugger and MVP candidate had to be removed from the Tigers' game against the Toronto Blue Jays in the second inning.  There has been no confirmation of whether Cabrera will play today, but the Tigers do not think the injury is serious.  Neither does Cabrera.

Tom Gage of The Detroit News says it didn't take long for Cabrera to feel better.  When asked after the game about the ankle, Cabrera said, ""Just didn't feel right."  He went on to say that he feels better and hopes to be in today's game.  

James Schmel of MLive.com reports that the feedback received from the team's training staff regarding Cabrera's injury was positive.  While the injury looked to have happened in yesterday's game, Jim Leyland, Tigers' skipper, said Carbera had actually tweaked it a few games ago at home plate.  No matter when the injury happened, the Tigers and Cabrera think the third baseman should be ready to go soon, possibly as soon as tonight's opener against the Angels.  However, Leyland will wait until game time to make a final decision and will see how Cabrera is feeling.

"I’m not going to do anything stupid," Leyland said. "If it means give him a day or two days, you give it to him until the kid is right. If he’s playing in a lot of pain, I don’t want to do that. So, we’ll just have to figure out another way to go about it."

The New York Yankees have lost another starter.  They put Ivan Nova on the disabled list with inflammation of his right rotator cuff.  According to Erik Boland of Newsday, the Yankees placed Nova on the 15-day DL as most expected.

Pitcher-Pain: CC Sabathia, Andy Pettitte, Ivan Nova, Michael Pineda, Mariano Rivera all on the DL.#Yankees
— Yankeesource (@YankeeSource) August 23, 2012

According to the Boston Red Sox and ESPN Boston, Carl Crawford had successful Tommy John surgery yesterday.  The All-Star outfielder has played with a torn ulnar collateral ligament since returning from the disabled list for an unrelated injury.

"Carl Crawford underwent a successful left elbow ulnar collateral ligament reconstruction (Tommy John surgery) today and we expect him to make a full recovery."

In a season full of injuries, the Padres have suffered yet another injury at starting pitcher.  Jason Marquis was only acquired because San Diego was running through their pitching staff and their prospects faster than they could call them up.  Now, Marquis' season may be over as he has been placed on the 15-day DL.  Marquis suffered a fractured left wrist after taking a line drive to the palm of his glove hand on Wednesday.

Padres have placed Jason Marquis on the 15-day DL, with fractured left wrist, and recalled Brad Boxberger from... fb.me/1zTszVbaT
— Bob Scanlan (@heyscan) August 23, 2012

After undergoing an MRI earlier this week, Johan Santana will now be shut down for the remainder of the season. The Mets made the decision after the MRI revealed back inflammation. Santana was placed on the 15-day DL yesterday. The move is expected to keep Santana sidelined for the rest of the season.

Since throwing 134 pitches on June 1st when he tossed the Mets' first no-hitter in franchise history, Santana has struggled. He will finish the season with a disappointing 4.85 ERA this year. After missing all of last season due to injury, there was plenty of discussion surrounding the Mets and allowing Santana to go as long as he did in the no-hitter. Now, Santana will have plenty of time to get healthy.

Andrew Keh of the New York Times is one of many to say Santsna won't pitch again this season. He said the back was the issue, nothing else according the the club.

“My mind-set was to start tomorrow,” Santana said of his schedule start Thursday, “but the doctors are thinking different now, so we’ll go with anything they’re saying.”

The last image we have of Alex Rodriguez was him writhing in pain on the ground after being nailed in the hand by a Felix Hernandez pitch.  The pitch caused a non-displaced fracture in Rodriguez's left hand - an injury that did not require surgery, but has kept Rodriguez from swinging a bat.  Now, as the Yankees battle to hold off the Rays and enter the final month and a half of the season, Rodriguez will be a key component in the Bronx Bombers' hopes for postseason glory.

The Machine may not be a machine after all.  According to the Associated Press as reported by ESPN, Albert Pujols had to leave last night's game against the Boston Red Sox in the fourth inning with tightness in his right calf.

According to Troy Renck of the Denver Post, Dexter Fowler is not likely to hit the DL, but he is likely to miss a few games.

Fowler definitely going to miss a few games.... But not DL situation right now
— Troy Renck, Rockies (@TroyRenck) August 23, 2012

Considering the news regarding Bartolo Colon and his 50-game drug suspension, Brett Anderson's solid performance yesterday may be a welcome relief. In his first start back from Tommy John surgery Anderson picked up a win and helped guide the A's past the Twins.

Anderson pitched seven string innings while allowing just one run. He struck out six in the game and made his first outing in about 15 months a memorable one. The Oakland lefty tore his ulnar collateral ligament in the middle of last season and underwent Tommy John surgery. The average recovery time is 12-18 months.

In his career, spanning three seasons and one game now, Anderson has a 3.62 ERA. His best season came in 2010 when he posted a 2.80 ERA. His arm should help supplement the loss of Colon whose 50-game suspension will keep out the rest of the season and the postseason if the A's make it.

Colon failed a drug test less than a week after Melky Cabrera failed his own drug test and tried to hide it using a fake website. The news was a major blow to the A's who are currently tied for a Wild Card spot in the American League. Perhaps Anderson's return can counter-act this blow.

While the Blue Jays are battling to overtake the Red Sox (and failing as they are struggling mightily these last two weeks) and avoid a last-place finish in the American League East, they have been hampered by injuries.  Some notable players on the Jays roster are missing, and the losses have clearly contributed to the team's record this year.  Here are your Blue Jays injury notes:

• The Canadian Press says the Blue Jays are anxious for Jose Bautista's return and hope to have him back in the lineup by next weekend.  Bautista has been on the shelf since injuring his wrist in mid-July, not long after the All-Star break.  The wrist was not injured, but it has kept Bautista on the DL longer than the minimum 15 days.

Brett Lawrie was nearing his return to the Toronto Blue Jays roster.  He was due to come off the DL near the end of this week, but that looks doubtful as his rehab assignment has been shut down after a setback.  Barry Davis of Sportsnet is reporting that Lawrie won't play again for at least a week.

Lawrie has been shut down from rehab. Won't play again for at least a week. Farrell says too soon to say if he's done for year. #bluejays
— Barry Davis (@SNBarryDavis) August 21, 2012