The Red Sox won’t count on Hanley Ramirez being capable of playing first base again this year, president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski told reporters including Tim Britton of the Providence Journal. Shoulder troubles have persisted for the veteran, relegating him to DH duties. “The potential negatives of him going out and [playing first], at this point don’t outweigh the positives that we get from having his bat in as our DH,” Dombrowski explained. “We just have to maneuver around it.” For the time being, at least, rookie Sam Travis is up to provide a right-handed-hitting option at first along side lefty Mitch Moreland.
Here’s more on some injury situations around the American League:
- There’s some welcome news on the injury front for the Mariners, who watched lefty James Paxton through four innings and 55 pitches tonight in a rehab outing, as MLB.com’s Greg Johns reports (Twitter links). The expectation is that he’ll take the ball for Seattle on Wednesday. Fellow rehabbing starters Felix Hernandez and Hisashi Iwakuma are slated for bullpen sessions in the coming days, too, leading skipper Scott Servais to say that the club is finally “starting to see light at the end of the tunnel.”
- Two Athletics pitchers, meanwhile, are dealing with injury issues. Right-hander Kendall Graveman is suffering from some shoulder issues, Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle tweets, though the seriousness isn’t yet clear. And while the MRI results were promising for fellow righty Jesse Hahn, MLB.com’s Jane Lee reports on Twitter, his triceps problem is likely to require a DL stint. Jharel Cotton will come up to take a rotation spot this weekend.
- Finally, the Rangers will be awaiting the results of further evaluation on righty A.J. Griffin, but he’s heading to the DL, according to Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News (via Twitter). Per a club announcement, he left his start tonight with a left intercostal strain. Even if Griffin ends up missing some time, though, it may not work out too badly for Texas. As Grant notes (Twitter links), the team could fill the opening with Tyson Ross — if he’s ready. Alternatively, Yohander Mendez could be an option. For the time being, though, veteran Dillon Gee will head onto the active roster.
