Collateral Damage Daily for June 5

A pair of thumbs are causing concern in Boston and Minneapolis. Dustin Pedroia has taken batting practice and reportedly feels good enough to play on Tuesday. Pedroia basically said there is no way he’s not playing on Tuesday, so we will have to see if this holds true. Joe Mauer is also dealing with a thumb injury, a mildly sprained ligament sustained during Sunday’s game. He was held out of Monday’s game. Mauer could be ready to play in tonight’s game but may have to be held out if he’s having difficulties gripping the ball and the bat.

Additions

• Javy Guerra was placed on the 15-day disabled list retroactive to June 3 because of right knee inflammation. He first dealt with his knee pain on April 28 after being hit in the face by a Brian McCann line drive and twisting his knee. This twisting suggests there is an injury to cartilage or the meniscus, since he has dealt with inflammation ever since. Results of an MRI are not yet available but should be released today. There also hasn’t been any word on how long Guerra will be out.
• Jordan Norberto was placed on the 15-day DL with a strained left shoulder retroactive to May 31. Norberto doesn’t have a long history of shoulder problems, so the hope is that his stay on the DL will be a short one. In the interim, Sean Doolittle was brought up to take his place. The converted first baseman took up pitching after patellar tendon surgery derailed his career in the minors. Doolittle quickly rose through the minors and was averaging almost two strikeouts per inning pitched so far this year.
• Carl Pavano has been having trouble with his shoulder for a large part of 2012, so he was placed on the DL retroactive to June 2. Further testing revealed the true reason—a sprained anterior shoulder capsule. Every pitcher in the injury database so far who suffered a sprained capsule from pitching ended up needing surgery.

Subtractions

• Vance Worley was activated from the disabled list following a 20-day stint because of bone chips in his elbow. He didn’t fare so well, though, only going four innings in a no-decision on Monday. Small loose bodies can float around the joint and get stuck to any area of the joint capsule and may not pose any problem going forward. However, if they continue to float around or get stuck in a position that causes pain, Worley may have to have surgery later in the year or in the offseason to prevent the problem from worsening.
• Juan Rivera was activated from the disabled list much earlier than everyone first expected after his quick recovery from a torn hamstring tendon. Rivera only missed 26 days, well ahead of the roughly two-month initial estimate. It’s not like Rivera was lighting the world on fire when he went on the DL with a TAv of .221. Consistent at-bats should help improve this, but nothing is guaranteed. Scott Van Slyke was sent down in order to make room for Rivera.
• Nick Blackburn was activated from the DL after spending only 18 days on it with a strained left quad. He didn’t get a lot of innings during his rehab assignments in part because of bad weather, but the Twins must have felt he was ready. It helps that Pavano needed to head to the disabled list; they basically just switched spots.
• Michael Martinez was activated from the disabled list and was immediately optioned to the minors. Martinez has been on the DL since spring training with a broken foot and missed a total of 70 days while on the disabled list. Martinez’s fracture took a little longer than most to heal, but the torsion through the area with baseball activities really stresses the fracture site. Given how many injuries the Phillies are suffering, he’s bound to be back up at some point in 2012.