Chicago Cubs shortstop Starlin Castro injured his ankle during Tuesday night's game against the Milwaukee Brewers while sliding around home plate. He, along with Reds pitcher Homer Baily and Dodgers pitcher Josh Beckett, will not see action again this season.
Castro was diagnosed with a high left ankle sprain on Wednesday and Cubs general manager Jed Hoyer said the shortstop's recovery time will be around four weeks, which puts him out for the rest of the year. X-rays revealed no fractures and an MRI showed no ligament damage. Thankfully for Chicago, they have a plethora of versatile middle infielders, so Javier Baez, who was called up in early August, will shift over to shortstop, which was his primary position in the minor leagues.
If need be, the team can also shift center fielder Arismendy Alcantara to second base, where he played many games in the minors (and 16 with the Cubs) before being moved into the outfield. This could be a possibility because first baseman Anthony Rizzo is out indefinitely with a back strain and Chris Valaika, the team's utility infielder, has filled in for him at first base (he's listed as the backup second baseman on the team's depth chart). It's a good thing the Cubs are out of playoff contention because the injury bug struck at the wrong time.
As for playoff contenders, the Los Angeles Dodgers will officially be without starting pitcher Josh Beckett for the rest of 2014. Manager Don Mattingly announced on Wednesday that Beckett's season is over because "the timing of him being able to get back is probably not very possible at this point," in this Los Angeles Times article. The right-hander landed on the disabled list back on August 9 because of a left hip injury that bothered him for a large portion of the season.
This puts a rotation spot in question for the Dodgers, who acquired Roberto Hernandez (4.61 ERA in five starts) from Philadelphia and Kevin Correia (5.94 ERA in three starts and five appearances) from Minnesota. Beyond Kershaw, Greinke and Ryu, the Dodgers rotation needs more consistency for the last month of the season and beyond. But the team may have found an option in Carlos Frias, who pitched six scoreless innings on Wednesday night in his first career start.
While the Cubs and Dodgers seemingly have some short term solutions for their injuries, the Reds are all tapped out. Cincinnati has dealt with a number of injuries this year (Joey Votto, Brandon Phillips, Tony Cingrani, Aroldis Chapman, and other) and now Homer Bailey is the latest casualty. The right-hander will be placed on the 60-day disabled list and miss the remainder of the season because of a flexor mass strain in his throwing arm. The team is deciding whether or not Bailey will undergo surgery, but their playoff hopes are lost as they sit 10 games back of the NL Central lead and seven back of the second wild card spot.
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