As the playoffs approach, the New York Yankees, St. Louis Cardinals and Milwaukee Brewers are going to need their star players to ensure a spot in the postseason. The Cubs aren't in contention, but one of their young stars is expected miss a lot of time.
Yankees pitcher Masahiro Tanaka has been rehabbing a partially torn UCL in his throwing elbow in hopes of returning to the rotation this season. The team received good news after his throwing session on Tuesday - the right-hander has been given clearance by team doctors to undergo more intense workouts. He played catch on Tuesday and reported no discomfort in his elbow after reporting "general soreness" in past bullpen/throwing sessions.
While Tanaka might be close to a return, St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Michael Wacha is expected to return to the rotation on Thursday. The right-hander has been out since June with a stress reaction in his throwing shoulder and he recently began speeding up his rehab process. He had a rehab start with Double-A Springfield that lasted only two innings, but the team thinks it was sufficient enough for him to return to the big leagues. He will forgo his assignment with Triple-A Memphis and replace Justin Masterson in the rotation in Milwaukee on Thursday.
The Cardinals' division rivals, the Milwaukee Brewers, haven't had such good news. They are one game behind the St. Louis for the NL Central lead and now star outfielder Carlos Gomez has a sprained left wrist, sidelining him for at least a week while the team attempts to recover from their six-game losing streak (they've lost nine of their last 11 games). Gomez left Sunday's game against the Giants with soreness in the wrist, which has been bothering him for some time, but the diagnosis is now clear. He'll avoid the disabled list and Gerardo Parra will replace him in center field until he can return.
The last-place Chicago Cubs are dealing with an injury to first baseman Anthony Rizzo. The 25-year-old is second in the National League in home runs with 30, but he's missed seven games due to a back strain and the team announced he will now be out indefinitely because of the injury. It makes sense because the Cubs are out of playoff contention and are in the process of rebuilding, so there's no sense in rushing Rizzo back only for him to further injure himself. However, he'll avoid the DL because of the expanded September roster, but there's no guarantee he'll play again this season.
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