With ongoing uncertainty leading to some real worry, it came as something of a relief when the Cubs announced that Yu Darvish has been diagnosed with a right elbow impingement, as Sahadev Sharma of The Athletic was among those to cover on Twitter. Already on the DL, Darvish will receive a cortisone shot before being examined again next week. It’s not yet known what the course will be from that point, but the club is no doubt pleased that there’s not a more significant underlying issue plaguing the high-priced hurler.
Let’s run through some other health updates of note …
- The Brewers are still unsure when they’ll welcome back righty Jimmy Nelson, GM David Stearns tells reporters including MLB.com’s Adam McCalvy (via Twitter). “We still think Jimmy is going to pitch for us this year,” Stearns stressed. But the shoulder surgery that knocked Nelson out has required a “slower process,” says Stearns, with Nelson still “yet to pitch off a mound.” It seems there’s no chance that the Brewers will welcome back their staff ace in advance of the trade deadline, meaning they’ll need to assess their rotation without full knowledge of his ability to contribute down the stretch.
- Padres outfielder Franchy Cordero appears quite likely to elect season-ending surgery, MLB.com’s AJ Cassavell tweets. It’s still not a certainty, and the lack of urgency in making the final call — it has been under consideration for at least ten days — speaks to the general timeline. Though Cordero would miss the rest of the MLB campaign, he’d likely be ready to participate in winter ball and certainly be at full health for Spring Training next year.
- Athletics third baseman Matt Chapman has progressed to taking swings, John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle tweets. He has already been out for about two weeks with a hand injury.
- It seems there’s some cause for optimism for the Indians regarding reliever Tyler Olson. MLB.com’s Jordan Bastian tweets that Olson has been able to throw a bullpen session, which certainly indicates he’s progressing rather well from a lat injury that perhaps could have been worse.
- Likewise, Nationals starter Stephen Strasburg turned in a surprise bullpen session, as Dan Kolko of MASNsports.com was among those to tweet. That’s the first real indication that Strasburg is ready to begin working back toward a return from shoulder inflammation in earnest.
- In other NL East news, the Mets increasingly have a confounding situation on their hands with regard to star outfielder Yoenis Cespedes, Kristie Ackert of the New York Daily News writes. Cespedes went on the DL in the middle of May with what seemed to be a minor injury, but still has not resumed running. Skipper Mickey Callaway says the veteran is “feeling a lot better,” but there’s no real sense of a timeline.
- Righty Wilmer Font left today’s game with a lat injury, with Rays skipper Kevin Cash saying it’s probably a serious one, as Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports on Twitter. The recently claimed righty “in all likelihood will miss significant time,” says Cash, which is quite a disappointment for all involved. Entering play today, the 28-year-old had found his groove with the Rays, turning in 22 innings of 1.64 ERA ball with 7.0 K/9 against 3.7 BB/9.
- In news of longer-term consequence, the White Sox are still holding their breath with regard to well-regarded pitching prospect Dane Dunning. The team announced that he has been diagnosed with a “moderate elbow sprain that presently will not require surgery.” For the time being, he’ll rest for a while and resume throwing in about two months’ time if he’s deemed ready. That’s hardly good news, but is certainly better than the worst-case that may have been feared.
I was at the Rays game when Font got injured. He was starting to get on track this season.
HE WAS THE CHOSEN ONE
What’s up with all of the lat injuries?
Another Lat injury!?
Like Wilmer Font, lots of talent. Unfortunately, it did not work in Oakland…
I think lat injuries used to be categorized as oblique injuries.
Doubt that’s true, considering the lat is a back muscle, oblique is on your side.
The ongoing Darvish saga has to have Cubs fans dry heaving.
They have a few people struggling this year, so I don’t get too upset about it. If they looked like a significant power house, with Darvish being a difference maker I’d be more upset about it. In order for them to go anywhere this year they need to have multiple people play to their previous talent level or just get very lucky. If this continues throughout his contract it’ll be bad…like Heyward.
Darvish was a bad get. A 31 yr old pitcher is gonna breakdown sooner rather than later.
Cubs were to desperate to replace Areita.
It looks like they would have paid Arrieta if they couldn’t get Darvish so they’d be stuck with a bad contract either way.
Should have stayed away from both
Going into the winter last year most experts declared the crop of FA SPs to be one of the worst in recent years, and the results posted so far by those pitchers have supported that. Arguably the best FA SP signing of the winter was Miles Mikolas by STL. Totally under the radar, but the guy has performed beyond expectations. Arrieta looked surprisingly good until June.
And the worst one by far has been Cobb
Cobb and Chatwood have been terrible, Lance Lynn as well, but I’m actually optimistic about Yu. With his arsenal of pitches, I think he’ll be fine. I also think Jake will be fine too for the Phils, especially if they sneak into the post season.
Nah, it means Montgomery stays in the rotation
Love what he did for the teams during his rehab…. bought both a catored dinner from a steakhouse
“Skipper Mickey Callaway says the veteran is “feeling a lot better,” but there’s no real sense of a timeline.”
Sure there is. He’s only signed through 2020.
Callaway doesn’t want to admit that Cespedes has told the team that until its competitive situation improves that there’s no reason to leave his Arabian horses at his ranch near Port St. Lucie. He’s using the same excuse as Reyes did years ago to skip a couple of seasons for tight hamstrings. Its called “Met’s Excuse #11”.
Tough break for Dunning. He’s a top quality prospect who was doing well in AA. Hoping the elbow heals with rest and therapy.
is there any athletes softer than an mlb player? wind blows too hard they won’t play. can’t play thru anything.. not saying there aren’t legitimate injuries, and i know the 10 day dl makes it easier to put them on, but theres more than 200 players on the dl right now.
I think they have more nagging injuries due to the fact they play everyday. When they try to be “tough guys” those injuries linger or get much worse. I wouldn’t say they’re soft.
I can tell the Brewers when they’ll get Nelson back. Just like I’ve said for months….NEVER. That injury is career ending and even if he does make a cameo, the Nelson of 2017 will never return. Labrum injuries are brutal. For pitchers over 25, they are usually career killers.
While it does seem like your comment has some vitriol, I, too, believe that it’s a long shot for him to return to 2017 form.