Injury Notes: Price, O’Day, Dodgers, Neshek, Karns

After being scratched from today’s start due to numbness in his left hand, David Price has been diagnosed with a “mild case” of carpal tunnel syndrome, Red Sox manager Alex Cora said in a radio appearance on WEEI today (Twitter link via The Athletic’s Jen McCaffrey). The hope, Peter Abraham of the Boston Globe writes, is that he’ll only be required to miss one start and can avoid the disabled list. “We’re glad it’s only this,” said Cora. “We know how we’re going to attack it. We’re going to get him healthy.” It’s been an uneven season for Price, who was brilliant in his first two starts of the year but has struggled since initially reporting numbness in his hand in mid-April. He’s now sporting a 5.11 ERA with 7.8 K/9 against 3.9 BB/9 and a 42.7 percent ground-ball rate in 37 innings this year.

Some more injury news from around the game…

• The Orioles announced on Wednesday that they’ve placed Darren O’Day on the 10-day disabled list due to a hyperextended right elbow. Lefty Tanner Scott was recalled to step into his spot on the active roster and in the Baltimore bullpen. As Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com writes, the team’s hope is that O’Day, who has assumed ninth-inning duties, will be ready to return when he’s eligible. It’s not clear who’ll step into any potential save opportunities for the O’s, though they’ve generally been few and far between for a Baltimore club that still has just eight wins on the season. Mychal Givens could get a look in that role, or Buck Showalter could again turn to Brad Brach, though he’s struggled so far in 2018. Lefty Richard Bleier remains yet another option.
• The Dodgers announced a host of roster moves tonight. Tony Cingrani hit the DL due to shoulder inflammation, while Yasiel Puig was activated from the DL. Meanwhile, righty Brock Stewart and lefty Scott Alexander are up from Triple-A, while outfielder Alex Verdugo and right-hander Yimi Garcia were optioned to Triple-A. The 27-year-old Puig is off to an ugly start through 96 plate appearances in 2018, hitting .193/.250/.250 without a home run. He’s been plagued, to an extent, by a .243 average on balls in play though — despite still possessing solid hard-contact and line-drive rates. Cingrani will be replaced by Alexander for the time being, though the team didn’t provide a timeline for his return to big league action. It’s also worth noting, of course, that ace Clayton Kershaw played catch today, though skipper Dave Roberts wasn’t able to say whether Kershaw is expected to be ready for activation after the minimum 10-day stay on the DL (Twitter link via Bill Shaikin of the L.A. Times). Kershaw hit the DL on Sunday due to biceps tendinitis.
• Righty Pat Neshek will be shut down for the next week, tweets MLB.com’s Todd Zolecki. The Phillies setup man has yet to pitch this season due to a shoulder injury, but it seems he’s now dealing with a flexor strain as well. At this point, it’s not clear as to when he’ll be able to go on a rehab assignment and ultimately rejoin the Phils. If and when he’s able to do so, a healthy Neshek would be a significant boon to a Phillies club that has outperformed expectations to date. The sidearmer utterly dominated opponents in 2017, pitching to a 1.59 ERA with 10.0 K/9, 0.9 BB/9, 0.43 HR/9 and a 36.4 percent ground-ball rate in 62 1/3 innings between the Phils and the Rockies.
• The Royals have shut Nate Karns down for the next four days because of persistent inflammation in his right elbow, tweets Jeffrey Flanagan of MLB.com. Karns has yet to pitch in 2018 after seeing his 2017 season cut short by thoracic outlet surgery. He opened the year on the shelf with some issues in his elbow as well, and it seems it’s his elbow that’s still slowing him more than anything else.