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Carl Crawford Headed To DL With Torn Oblique

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6:25pm: Manager Don Mattingly says that Crawford will be out for a minimum of a few weeks, per J.P. Hoornstra of the Los Angeles News Group (on Twitter). The team will have a more clear timetable within the next few days.

6:15pm: Dodgers outfielder Carl Crawford tells reporters, including Pedro Moura of the Orange County Register that he’s headed to the disabled list with a torn oblique muscle (Twitter links). Crawford described the injury as a “pretty bad” tear. “I know it’s like a broken record, me heading to the DL, but there’s nothing I could have done to avoid it,” said Crawford, who tore the muscle while swinging. While there’s no timetable for his return yet, Mark Saxon of ESPN Los Angeles tweets that Crawford could be out for a couple of months.

Crawford will join teammate Yasiel Puig on the disabled list, leaving Joc Pederson, Andre Ethier, Alex Guerrero, Scott Van Slyke and Enrique Hernandez (who was recalled to take Crawford’s roster spot) to receive the bulk of the playing time in the outfield.

This will be Crawford’s fifth trip to the disabled list in four seasons. The setback adds another entry to a rapidly growing list of injured Dodgers, as the team also lost Brandon McCarthy to a torn ulnar collateral ligament yesterday. Kenley Jansen, Brandon League, Joel Peralta and Hyun-jin Ryu are all also on the disabled list at this time as well.

Crawford, 33, was hitting .245/.260/.408 on the season and batted a strong .300/.339/.429 in 105 games for the Dodgers last season. He’s slated to earn 20.5MM in 2015 before earning $20.75MM in 2016 and $21MM in 2017 — the final year of the seven-year, $142MM contract that he originally signed with the Red Sox prior to the 2011 season.

NL Notes: Rendon, McCarthy, Rollins, Braves Stadium

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While most have assumed that Anthony Rendon will return to third base upon his activation from the disabled list, with Yunel Escobar shifting to second base, but Jon Heyman of CBS Sports hears that may not be the case. Some close to the situation have told Heyman that Escobar may continue to play third base, with Rendon handling second base, though GM Mike Rizzo and manager Matt Williams would only comment by saying nothing definitive has been decided. “They can both play both very well,” said Rizzo. Escobar’s time at either position may only be temporary, as he figures to slide into the shortstop position next year if Ian Desmond departs as a free agent. As for timing, Rendon sat out a scheduled rehab start today for precautionary reasons with what the team described as fatigue. Washington will surely continue to exercise care, but needs him to return as soon as possible, as the club has struggled to produce runs while dropping six straight.

Here’s more from the National League:

  • Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman says that he intends to fill in for injured starter Brandon McCarthy with internal options for the foreseeable future, as Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times reports. “We’ll wake up in June having scouted other organizations over the next four to six weeks, and we’ll see where we are,” said Friedman, who noted that deals are “pretty uncommon” in the season’s first two months.
  • Meanwhile, Dodgers shortstop Jimmy Rollins acknowledges that this is the toughest start to a season that he has experienced, but says he is not worried, as Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register writes. Saying that he believes his “process is good” at the plate, Rollins expressed confidence that some minor tweaks will get him back on track. Los Angeles is paying Rollins $10MM this year, with the Phillies picking up an additional $1MM as part of the deal that brought the veteran out west.
  • The Braves continue to line up major corporate partners for their new ballpark, with Tim Tucker of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reporting that Omni Hotels will participate in the mixed-use development that is set to accompany the stadium. The club is counting on a revenue boost from the controversial project to improve its financial standing going forward.

Brandon McCarthy Has Torn UCL

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6:57pm: McCarthy says he likely will undergo Tommy John surgery, Shaikin tweets.

6:19pm: Dodgers starter Brandon McCarthy has suffered a torn ulnar collateral ligament, Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times reports (Twitter links). Manager Don Mattingly declined to say whether the righty would undergo Tommy John surgery, but it would obviously end his season if he does.

The 31-year-old signed a four-year, $48MM deal to join the Dodgers after posting his first 200 inning tally last year. While the results were not quite there, he worked to a career-best strikeout rate of 7.9 per nine and seemed primed for a strong 2015 campaign. Though McCarthy came with a history of arm ailments, Los Angeles decided that the risk was worth taking.

McCarthy was off to a slow start this year, due mostly to struggles with the long ball. Over just 23 frames, he had already permitted a league-high nine dingers, though he has also retired an impressive 29 batters by way of strikeout.

Now, assuming he undergoes a TJ procedure, McCarthy will have to wait until some time in 2016 to prove that the long balls were just a short sample quirk. Recovery time is generally over a year, meaning that McCarthy will probably require at least an early-season fill-in next season — assuming that he makes steady progress.

Rays Acquire Xavier Cedeno From Dodgers

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12:31pm: The Rays have moved John Jaso to the 60-day disabled list in order to clear a spot on the 40-man roster for Cedeno, tweets Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times. Because Cedeno won’t join the team for a couple of days, there will be no 25-man move to accommodate him just yet, Topkin adds.

12:26pm: The Dodgers announced today that they have traded recently designated left-hander Xavier Cedeno to the Rays in exchange for cash considerations (Twitter link).

Cedeno, who was designated for assignment by the Nationals and quickly acquired by the Dodgers, found himself again DFA’ed in Los Angeles after the team selected the contract of Sergio Santos. President of baseball operations Andrew Friedman had stated after acquiring Cedeno that he expected the southpaw to be added to the active roster, but Cedeno never appeared in a game with the Dodgers.

For the Rays, Cedeno will give them a desperately needed left-handed relief option. Tampa has lost Jeff Beliveau for the season after the southpaw tore the labrum in his left shoulder, necessitating surgery. Fellow left-hander C.J. Riefenhauser recently hit the disabled list as well, leaving the Rays even more thin in terms of lefty relief.

The 28-year-old Cedeno has a relatively limited Major League track record, but he did post a 3.77 ERA with 10.5 K/9 against 4.1 BB/9 in 31 innings for the 2012 Astros. Since then, he’s been limited to just 22 1/3 big league innings, tallying a 5.64 ERA along the way. Cedeno comes with an outstanding Triple-A track record, having totaled a 2.83 ERA with 10.9 K/9 and 3.2 BB/9 in 127 1/3 innings at that level.

NL Notes: Nationals, Padres, Guerrero

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Unexpectedly, the Nationals are off to a poor start the season, CBS Sports’ Jon Heyman notes. After adding Max Scherzer to an already potent roster this offseason, the Nats looked like World Series favorites. But they’re 7-12 so far, struggling both with their hitting and their fielding, and their clubhouse seems “close to dead,” as Heyman puts it. Here’s more from the National League.

  • Former Padres assistant GM and current Astros manager A.J. Hinch is impressed with his former team’s moves, Evan Drellich of the Houston Chronicle writes. “Oh, I watched,” Hinch says of a Padres offseason in which they added James Shields, Matt Kemp, Justin Upton, Craig Kimbrel and others. “I was reminded often about what was going on, you know. And I was a fan of what they were doing. It was a little bit of a different philosophy, little bit of a different payroll and that added some big names to the roster.” Hinch essentially served as the Padres’ GM after they fired Josh Byrnes and before they hired A.J. Preller, and during that time, the Padres went in a direction quite different from where they’re heading now, trading veterans like Chase Headley, Huston Street and Chris Denorfia.
  • Alex Guerrero has been brilliant for the Dodgers so far this season, hitting five home runs in just 11 games while looking better than expected on defense. But the Dodgers are still working on finding him playing time, Mark Saxon of ESPN Los Angeles writes. The team indicates that, in addition to third base, they could also give Guerrero some time in left field, where Carl Crawford has struggled. Guerrero isn’t the most obvious fit for the Dodgers’ roster, but they had no choice but to have him break camp with the team, due to a clause in his contract that would have allowed him to become a free agent if they hadn’t. So far, though, he’s played so well that the reasons he’s on the roster don’t matter.

NL Notes: Wainwright, Hamels, Dodgers, DH

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Earlier today, we learned the Cardinals’ Adam Wainwright could miss the rest of the season after suffering an Achilles injury in last night’s game against the Brewers. GM John Mozeliak has said he will wait to determine Wainwright’s status until the right-hander has been examined by team doctors tomorrow. However, that hasn’t stopped the speculation from bubbling as to how the Cardinals will replace their ace.

Here’s the latest on those rumors and the rest of the news from the National League:

  • With the Cardinals set to host the Phillies for four games beginning tomorrow, Cole Hamels tops the list of external options to fill Wainwright’s void. Bob Nightengale of USA Today tweets the Cardinals do not have the prospects to satisfy the Phillies, but the Dodgers and Red Sox are lurking.
  • Besides Hamels, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch’s Bernie Miklasz opines the Cardinals could puruse a high-caliber starter entering their walk year like David Price, Jordan Zimmermann or Jeff Samardzija. Miklasz, who does examine the Cardinals’ internal candidates, also suggests signing Paul Maholm or acquiring an under-the-radar pitcher like the Phillies’ Aaron Harang.
  • Hamels trade talks could accelerate in the wake of injuries to Wainwright, the Dodgers’ Brandon McCarthy and Hyun-jin Ryu, and the struggles of the Red Sox’s staff, writes Marc Narducci of the Philadelphia Inquirer.
  • Speaking of the Dodgers, the new front office’s philosophy of adding depth with low profile transactions was put into place to weather a rash of injuries and those acquisitions will now become more relevant, according to ESPNLosAngeles.com’s Mark Saxon.
  • One by-product of Wainwright’s injury could be a renewed push for the NL to adopt the DH, reports Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com. “I wouldn’t be opposed,” Max Scherzer told Heyman. “If you look at it from the macro side, who’d people rather see hit — Big Papi or me? Both leagues need to be on the same set of rules. We keep searching for offense. This would be the easiest way to add offense.” Tigers manager Brad Ausmus, as quoted by MLive.com’s Aaron McMann, puts it more bluntly, “When a pitcher goes down with an injury when he’s hitting, you make people second guess the National League’s style of play.“

Dodgers To Sign Mike Carp

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The Dodgers have signed first baseman/outfielder Mike Carp, according to Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com (via Twitter).  Carp’s deal will be worth $1MM if he reaches the major league team.

Carp was previously with the Nationals but elected free agency on April 6th after declining a minor league assignment.  The 28-year-old lost a spring battle for a left-handed-hitting bench role to Clint Robinson, who enjoyed a big spring. Carp had underwhelming numbers in Grapefruit League action, meanwhile, following a 2014 season in which he slashed just .175/.289/.230 in 149 plate appearances.

It was not long ago that Carp looked like a rather useful player and he’ll look to get back on track in sunny Los Angeles.  In 2013, with the Red Sox, he took 243 turns at bat and his .296/.362/.523 with nine home runs.  Combined with a productive 2011 campaign in Seattle, sandwiched around a less useful campaign, Carp was expected to play an important role in Boston’s championship defense.

Minor Moves: Juan Jaime, Daniel Corcino

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Here are today’s minor moves from around the game:

  • The Braves have outrighted righty Juan Jaime to Triple-A Gwinnett, David O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports. The 27-year-old Jaime, who throws very hard and gets plenty of strikeouts, surely would have been an interesting project for any number of teams, but other clubs were likely deterred from claiming him because he was out of options. In 41 innings at Gwinnett last season, he posted a 3.51 ERA with 13.8 K/9 but an unsightly 7.9 BB/9. He walked four batters in 1 1/3 innings with the Braves this season.
  • The Dodgers have outrighted righty Daniel Corcino, Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register tweets. They claimed Corcino from the Reds earlier this month. The 24-year-old posted a 4.14 ERA with 7.1 K/9 in 143 1/3 innings at Double-A Pensacola last season. He walked too many batters, with 4.4 BB/9, but given his relative youth and prospect status (Baseball America ranked him the No. 94 prospect in the game heading into 2013), he should provide the Dodgers with valuable minor-league depth. Corcino is the second former Reds pitcher the Dodgers have claimed and then outrighted this month, the other being reliever Ryan Dennick, who they removed from their roster when they claimed Corcino.

West Notes: Baker, Dodgers, Johnson, Iwakuma

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Prior to being hired as the Diamondbacks’ general manager, Dave Stewart reached out to Dusty Baker to let him know that he may have interest in Baker as a manager if he were to get the GM role, reports Jon Heyman of CBS Sports. However, Baker never heard back from Stewart before the D-Backs hired Chip Hale. Baker said he has no hard feelings about not getting an interview. Stewart told Heyman that he does indeed have a good deal of respect for both Baker and former Rangers manager Ron Washington, both of whom he initially considered for the managerial vacancy. Baker tells Heyman that he hopes to manage again, and Heyman notes that he has applied to three positions, including the Mariners, Tigers and Nationals since being let go from the Reds. “I didn’t fire myself,” said Baker. “I didn’t retire.”

Here’s more from out west …

  • The Dodgers have now acquired and designated no fewer than four relievers, and have made a host of other minor roster moves in the season’s early going. That has all taken place as part of the club’s plan entering the season, manager Don Mattingly explains (video via the Tout feed of J.P. Hoornstra of the Los Angeles Media Group).
  • Padres righty Josh Johnson tossed a 40-pitch pen session today and is nearing a rehab stint, manager Bud Black tells MLB.com’s Corey Brock (Twitter link). The 31-year-old has not made a major league appearance since 2013, but represents some nice low-risk upside for an a San Diego club that is off to a nice start.
  • The Mariners have struggled somewhat with keeping runs off the board, a subject that I discussed with Bob Dutton of the Tacoma News Tribune on today’s podcast. In addition to starting poorly, veteran Hisashi Iwakuma has hit the DL with shoulder fatigue (officially called a strained lat), as Dutton reports. He will undergo an MRI tonight, though the hope is that some rest will do the trick. Of course, Iwakuma is also a free agent after the season, and he’ll have some catching up to do to re-establish his value at age 34.

Dodgers Designate Xavier Cedeno, Purchase Contract Of Sergio Santos

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In yet another round of reliever roulette, the Dodgers have designated the just-acquired Xavier Cedeno for assignment. The club selected the contract of veteran righty Sergio Santos, necessitating the move.

Cedeno, a southpaw, was just added in a deal with the Nationals, who had designated him. Like Ryan Dennick and Daniel Corcino before him, Cedeno was added to the roster only long enough to be designated off of it, presumably with intentions of seeking outright waivers to facilitate a stashing in Triple-A.

Santos had an opt-out clause that was due May 1, so it was a use him or lose him situation for L.A. The 31-year-old has had a roller coaster of a career to this point, flashing plenty of talent while struggling with a variety of arm ailments. In 4 2/3 innings at Triple-A this year, he has allowed two earned runs on five hits and three walks while striking out eight opposing batters.

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