Collateral Damage Daily for August 1

Wilton Lopez is day-to-day with tightness in his elbow after throwing batting practice. Remember, it's not too long since he came back from a UCL injury, so it's concerning that he's having problems already. He may need another trip to the DL. ... Andres Torres is heading back to New York for an MRI after injuring his hand Monday night. There is concern for a ligament or tendon injury. ... Josh Beckett had to leave last night's game with back spasms. ... Matt Garza is not expected to return until Tuesday against San Diego. ... Mark Teixeira does not have any structural damage in his wrist and will rest for three days before being re-evaluated. ... Brandon Phillips re-injured his calf and could be headed to the disabled list.

Additions

• Yasmani Grandal was placed on the disabled list yesterday with a strained right oblique. Catchers tend to take the longest of all the position players coming back from oblique strains, but only by a few days. Grandal is not expected to need much more than the minimum. Eddy Rodriguez was recalled to take Grandal's roster spot.
• Scott Downs was placed on the 15-day disabled list yesterday with a strained left shoulder, retroactive to July 28. Downs didn't feel anything until his appearance on Friday, despite his poor performance over the last few weeks. An MRI on Tuesday confirmed the strain, and he will be shut down for several days before beginning to ramp it back up again. Hisanori Takahashi was recalled to take Downs' roster spot.
• Tommy Hanson was placed on the 15-day DL yesterday with a low back strain. Hanson has been battling inflamation since the All-Star break. The hope was that treatment could settle it down and maybe he would only need to skip a start. The acquisition of Paul Maholm gave the Braves a little breathing room when it came to Hanson, so they decided to get Hanson ready for the stretch run. Hanson is expected to miss around the minimum.
• Ryan Sweeney was placed on the 15-day DL yesterday after undergoing surgery to repair a fractured knuckle on his little finger. After grounding out in the eighth inning on Monday night, Sweeney responded by punching a door. The injury is expected to need about six to eight weeks to heal. Ryan Kalish was called up to take Sweeney's roster spot.
• Bill Bray was placed on the 15-day DL yesterday with a strained lower back. Bray has struggled to find the strike zone upon his return from a groin strain earlier this year. His lower back strain could be related to his groin strain, but it's hard to tie that together concretely. Relievers average about a month on the DL, but Bray is not expected to miss that much time. Todd Redmond was recalled to take Bray's place in the interim.
• Aubrey Huff was placed on the 15-day disabled list with a right knee strain. On Monday night, he was trying to run out a ground ball and felt pain in his knee yet again. He will likely need more than the minimum, but how much longer remains up in the air. Hunter Pence will take Huff's roster spot.
• Jim Thome was placed on the 15-day DL with neck/upper back spasms related to a herniated disc in his neck. The move was retroactive to July 28, but it remains to be seen how long he will need. The pain and inflammation has not settled down at all for several days, but the MRI ruled out any significant damage. The majority of those in the injury database take over two months to return from this condition. We may not get an updated timeline for a week or so.

Subtractions

• Joba Chamberlain was activated from the disabled list after a long 14-month recovery from Tommy John surgery and various other injuries. The move was made a few days earlier than expected, but medically there was no concern about activating him. Over the course of his long rehabilitation period, Chamberlain suffered from appendicitis and an open ankle dislocation that required surgery. He was able to get his velocity back during his rehab and last seven appearances while out on a rehab assignment.
• Robert Andino was activated from the disabled list yesterday, as the soreness was not too severe. Andino only missed the minimum 15 days, which is significantly better than the outfielders' average of 35 days (it's a small sample size, though). Now that Brian Roberts has chosen to undergo surgery on his hip, Andino is expected to get the majority of the time at second base. Thome was sent to the DL in a corresponding move.
• Chad Tracy was activated after 64 days on the DL recovering from a torn groin muscle and subsequent surgery. Tracy actually made it back sooner than originally expected. Corey Brown was optioned to make room for Tracy.
• Jonathan Herrera was activated from the 15-day DL yesterday after missing the minimum 15 days recovering from a staph infection in his left wrist. Tommy Field was optioned to Colorado Springs to make room for Herrera on the roster.
• Brian Schneider was activated from the 15-day DL now that he is recovered from a high right ankle sprain. Schneider returned one day earlier than the average of 38 days for catchers and is expected to return as Carlos Ruiz's backup.
• Christopher Carpenter—no, not that one—was activated from the DL yesterday and optioned to Pawtucket. Unless Carpenter gets called back up and manages to strike out every batter he faces, he's unlikely to provide value anywhere near what the Red Sox wanted when they received him as compensation for Theo Epstein.