The Los Angeles Dodgers are dealing with a slew of injuries to some of their top players in the lineup, starting rotation and bullpen, while the Washington Nationals could be without their top starter this week. Here's the latest MLB injury report.
Dodgers' outfielder Yasiel Puig and relief pitcher Joel Peralta were placed on the disabled list on Sunday, according to the team's Twitter account. Puig has been dealing with a hamstring injury and Peralta told Ken Gurnick of MLB.com that he's suffering from "dead arm" and is lacking the necessary strength in his throwing shoulder.
Puig originally suffered his hamstring injury on April 13 and was day-to-day. The 24-year-old returned after missing three games and went 6-for-16 with one run scored and one RBI in the five games that followed, but he was taken out of Friday's game against the San Diego Padres after aggravating the ailment.
Peralta has been primarily serving as the team's closer since Kenley Jansen has been out with a broken foot. The 39-year-old is 1-0 with a 0.00 ERA and 0.882 WHIP with three saves in seven games (5 2/3 innings) since being acquired from the Tampa Bay Rays, but now it looks like some combination of Yimi Garcia, Paco Rodriguez and Pedro Baez will take over as the closer-by-committee while the club waits for Jansen and Peralta to return.
In the starting rotation, Brandon McCarthy left his start on Saturday after experiencing tightness in his right elbow. The veteran told Dylan Hernandez of the Los Angeles Times that he's been dealing with such discomfort for a week now and should have left the game in the second inning (he was pulled in the sixth). This could explain why the right-hander has gotten off to such a poor start since signing a four-year, $48 million deal with Los Angeles in the offseason.
Although he has a 3-0 record, he also owns a 5.87 ERA and 1.217 WHIP in four starts. He will meet with the team physician and undergo an MRI on Monday.
"Hopefully, it's nothing serious and we don't have to test that. But if it is, you test it," manager Don Mattingly told Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register.
Speaking of starting pitchers who signed new deals on the offseason, the Washington Nationals paid Max Scherzer $210 million and the right-hander is expected to miss his next start after appearing to have suffered a thumb injury during an at-bat against the St. Louis Cardinals on Thursday.
"The odds of Max Scherzer making his scheduled start Tuesday night in Atlanta look slim after the Nationals ace was unable to throw Sunday morning without feeling discomfort in his right thumb, which he suggested is the byproduct of a sprained ligament," Mark Zuckerman of CSN Washington wrote.
Scherzer is not alone. As reported yesterday, Adam Wainwright of the Cardinals suffered what many believe to be a season-ending Achilles injury after stumbling out of the batter's box on Saturday night against the Milwaukee Brewers.
These two clubs cannot be happy that their star pitchers will miss time as a result of having to bat.
We'll be keeping updates on each of these names as the week progresses.
UPDATE: Brandon McCarthy was diagnosed with a torn UCL, according to Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times, and will likely undergo Tommy John surgery.
