Although it was an entertaining weekend of baseball, a number of notable players hit the disabled list with injuries in the past couple of days. Here's the MLB injury report for Monday, June 1.
Washington Nationals starter Stephen Strasburg was the first casualty. The right-hander left his start against the Cincinnati Reds early on Friday because of a stiff neck. Less than 24 hours later, the Nationals placed him on the 15-day DL with neck tightness, specifically in his left trapezius muscle, according to Mark Zuckerman of CSN Washington.
He has also been dealing with upper back issues, so he'll have some time to rest over the next two weeks and regroup before coming back to the rotation. He's had an uncharacteristic season thus far, going 3-5 with a 6.55 ERA and 1.72 WHIP in 10 starts. Perhaps the rest will give him time to settle down.
In Texas, the Rangers have been on a roll, but they'll now be without third baseman Adrian Beltre for a couple of weeks. The veteran sprained his left thumb on Sunday against the Boston Red Sox while sliding into second base to break up a double play, according to Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.
He also suffered a cut on the thumb that required four stitches. Adam Rosales replaced Beltre in yesterday's game and he's the frontrunner to take over the position while the 36-year-old serves his 15-day DL stint.
The MLB's worst club, the Milwaukee Brewers, also suffered a big loss this weekend. Outfielder Khris Davis was diagnosed with a torn meniscus in his right knee and will undergo surgery on Tuesday, according to Adam McCalvy of MLB.com. The Brew Crew placed him on the DL on Sunday, writes Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, and the team will know later in the week how long he'll be out.
Similarly, the struggling Oakland Athletics (20-33) can't seem to catch a break. The A's thought they'd be getting back on track with the return of some of their injured players. However, closer Sean Doolittle, who already missed nearly every game this season because of a rotator cuff issue, has been placed back on the DL with a left shoulder strain, according to Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle.
Doolittle was dealing with a partial tear in his rotator cuff in spring training and he was shut down. He made his 2015 debut on May 27 against the Tigers, but his fastball maxed out at 89 MPH and he's now dealing with a new injury after experiencing pain the day after his appearance last week.
Right now it's unknown when these four players will return to action. We'll be keeping updates as more news is made available in the coming days.
