Injury Report 8/29 - Injuries Have Reds Short-Handed

Thankfully, September is just around the corner, and the Reds can call up as many players as they like on the 40-man roster.  In the meantime, the team has been playing with a handicapped bench to an even greater degree than they are wont to do when key players suffer injuries that don't immediately scream for a trip to the DL.  OF Billy Hamilton suffered a sprained right (throwing) shoulder injury against the Royals on August 18 and is on the 15-day DL.  The NL leader in stolen bases stayed in the game initially, but eventually was removed in the 12th inning and hasn't played since.  On August 18, fellow OF Brennan Boesch suffered a deep bone bruise in his ankle, and despite wearing a walking boot and therefore not even being allowed into the dugout since August 25, he has not been placed on the DL, presumably in anticipation of expanded rosters in September.  The pair of injuries has allowed Ryan LaMarre to wedge his foot into the cracked-open door to an MLB roster spot, while still leaving the bench at least a player short for over a week so far this month.  I say over a week, because Brandon Phillips suffered yet another injury that was not quite serious enough to land him on the DL, but serious enough that he had to ride the bench for several days.  On August 18, Phillips suffered what was reported variously as either biceps tendinitis or a shoulder injury (with the FSO TV crew calling it the latter on numerous occasions), which kept him out of the lineup until August 22.  As such, for various stretches of time in the past week-plus, the bench has consisted merely of Skip Schumaker and the 2nd catcher.  I'm not sure what kind of help the farm has to offer, but at least September callups will allow for options when it comes time to pinch hit.  Whether they can actually hit better than Michael Lorenzen remains to be seen.

In the minor leagues, at AAA Louisville, P Tony Cingrani was activated on August 18 after missing 19 days and SS Josciel Veras made his return from the DL on August 25 after missing 22 days with a strained back.  The third time is the charm for staying off the DL (and it won't hurt that the minor league season is almost over).  Top prospect Robert Stephenson returned on August 27 after missing 15 days with a strained forearm.  He pitched 4 innings in his return, but tweeted afterwards that he felt great.

At A+ Daytona, RP Carlos Gonzalez was assigned to A+ on July 3, but apparently this was a rehab assignment, and is listed as being on the 7-day DL for Daytona.  However, he's been pitching regularly there for almost two months, and I'm pretty sure rehab stints are not allowed to last that long.  So chances are that he's not actually on the DL, and this is just more of the typically cryptic minor league transaction and roster reporting.  Considering that he's now thrown 26 innings for Daytona to the tune of a 1.04 ERA and .414 OPS against, if he were on rehab assignment, it seems like he would have proved his health about a month ago, by now.  OF Jon Matthews concluded his annual DL trip on August 20 after missing 45 days.  1B Daniel Pigott returned on August 20 as well after missing 20 days.  Recall that Pigott began the year on the DL and had already missed 105 days, so unfortunately it's basically a lost season for his development.  SS Carlton Daal was placed on the 7-day DL on August 20 (perhaps there's a filing fee for minor league teams to report transactions...), where he remains currently.

At A- Dayton, 1B Argenis Aldazoro went on the 7-day DL on August 20.  Check organizational injuries for yourself via the link.