Injury Report 6/13 - Decimated by Injuries (Again)

Someday, when we look back at the Reds' window of contention, we might never shake the questions of "what if?" caused by the seemingly constant injuries to the Reds' most important players.  And 2015 is not giving us a respite from the injury bug either.  On June 10, Zack Cozart tore his biceps tendon and several ligaments in his right knee and will miss the rest of this season.  Cozart was in the midst of a career year - a top 5 SS in MLB at the time of his injury and potentially even an All-Star berth in front of the home crowd in Cincinnati was a possibility.  Now, it's an open question as to whether he will even be tendered a contract next year as his arbitration salary escalates, and the knee injury raises obvious questions about both his offense and, probably more importantly, his defense.  It's difficult to swallow such a turn of events for such a model citizen and likable player, and I can hardly imagine how Cozart himself must feel.  It certainly doesn't do the Reds team in favors either, while we're at it.  The injury gods are cruel, indeed.

Devin Mesoraco began rehab in Louisville this week experimenting with playing LF.  He played three games, with few chances, and now that experiment is on hold because Mesoraco is feeling soreness in his hip.  So much has already been said about the handling of Mesoraco's injury, there's really not much more to say.  I do feel like this experiment hints at a belief in the Reds FO that Devin probably will not catch again.  At this point, it seems like the only prudent course of action is to simply have the surgery already.  As mentioned many times, impingement will not heal with time.  Mesoraco is another central piece of the Reds 2015 team that now appears will miss most of the season.

Marlon Byrd suffered a fractured wrist on June 2, and is on the 15-day DL.  There hasn't been a timetable announced for Byrd's return, but he is supposed to be re-evaluated sometime in the next week when the brace is removed.

Brandon Phillips is still dealing with his turf toe, as he probably will be for as long as he continues to play this season, but the problem has been exacerbated by another injury.  Phillips strained his groin making a very awkward slide into 3B on June 9, and has not played since.  Between the two injuries, it might be prudent to place Phillips on the DL.  I also wonder whether the injured toe had anything to do with the bad slide.  Billy Hamilton is another player who has been dealing with a nagging injury, as he's had a banged up wrist and sat out 3 straight games before returning to the lineup yesterday.  Hopefully, this injury is in the rear-view mirror for Hamilton, but we will see how he responds to paying multiple games.

Raisel Iglesias has been sidelined since his start on May 30 with a strained oblique.  He is eligible to come off the DL tomorrow.  Jon Moscot has had one good start and one bad start in Iglesias' turn in the rotation, and may not be a downgrade for the time being, anyway.  The Reds have four young, largely interchangeable starters (though Desclafani has separated himself from that pack) to fill out the back of the rotation with, which should be quite useful for limiting the workloads of all of them, particularly Iglesias.  If Cingrani is still considered a potential starter, the Reds certainly have enviable depth of young pitching, its quality is the ultimate question.  It will hopefully be exciting to see how that plays out.

In one good piece of injury news, Johnny Cueto returned from his elbow soreness on June 2, and has been pitching like he's healthy.  He missed 13 days to rest the elbow, but wasn't placed on the DL.

In the minor leagues, at AAA Louisville, IF Josh Satin returned from a concussion on June 2 for which he missed 17 days.  At AA Pensacola, DH Sean Buckley returned on June 6 after missing 35 days with a strained oblique, C Kyle Skipworth was placed on the 7-day DL on May 31, and 3B Seth Mejias-Brean was placed on the 7-day DL on June 6 with right shoulder tendinitis.  At A- Dayton, SP Mark Armstrong was placed on the 7-day DL on June 3 with a sprained right elbow.

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