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There was not much news on the injury front over the past week, which makes Billy Hamilton's return to the starting lineup the most noteworthy item. After injuring his knuckles on a diving play May 1, Hamilton was unable to swing a bat and therefore did not start a game until 10 days later on May 11, though he did make several pinch hit appearances in the interim. By the way, over the last month, Hamilton is hitting .284/.316/.392.
Mat Latos's progress seems to be going pretty slowly. He was throwing on flat ground in late April, and just had his first bullpen session yesterday. It went well, but this step was supposed to happen a week ago. The last OIR update on Latos two weeks ago noted that a bullpen session or live batting practice was the next step, to be followed by a rehab outing. As long as no soreness shows up or anything, Latos may be ready for a minor league assignment, which puts him probably still two weeks away at best. He has been sidelined since the beginning of Spring Training, and originally was not expected to miss any time in the regular season, but the flexor mass strain setback has obviously thrown that timetable well off.
In the minor leagues, at AAA Louisville, C Max Ramirez was put on the 7-day DL on May 5. At A+ Bakersfield, OF Jesse Winker was activated on May 7 after missing 13 days with a concussion. And at A- Dayton, SP Ismael Guillon was placed on the 7-day DL on May 9. Check up on Reds and affiliates injuries via the link.
EDIT: Obviously, the ACTUAL biggest injury news of the past week was the return of closer Aroldis Chapman, who pitched a scoreless 9th inning (with 3 Ks) on April 11. He missed 8 weeks after being hit in the face by a line drive on March 19 during Spring Training. SP David Holmberg returned to action today for AAA Louisville after missing 23 days. OF Yorman Rodriguez also returned for AA Pensacola on May 8 after missing 12 days with a strained oblique.
