Collateral Damage Daily for August 27

Cody Ross left Saturday’s game after twisting his knee while sliding but is expected back in the lineup any day. … Mike Morse expects to return tomorrow after suffering a bruised hand Friday. … Doug Fister expects to make his next start on August 31 after being scratched from Saturday’s game. … Dayan Viciedo has been out of the lineup because of a sore right shoulder. Consider him day-to-day. … Mike Olt has been battling plantar fasciitis but could return any day. … Yu Darvish expects to return on Tuesday after throwing a pain-free bullpen session on Saturday. … Daniel Murphy left yesterday’s game with a right shoulder injury. He felt a pop in his shoulder, so he’s going to have an MRI today to rule out any structural damage. It sounds like he will miss at least a few days. … Gavin Floyd faces a lengthy break after his right elbow pain popped up again. He’s going to have an MRI today to look for any structural damage and could miss the rest of the year.

Additions

• Well, that didn’t last long. Jose Bautista was placed back on the DL after just five plate appearances because of continued pain in his left wrist. After an uneventful return to the lineup on Friday, he aggravated his wrist during his first and only plate appearance on Saturday. Bautista will see the wrist specialist in Cleveland. With Toronto out of the playoff hunt, the Jays may shut him down even if there is no further damage.
• Chad Billingsley left Friday’s start with right elbow inflammation and could miss the rest of the season. He already missed 15 days with inflammation of his flexor tendon earlier in the year. The recurrence of elbow pain is concerning, especially when a second MRI is needed to rule out structural damage. The average time for a starting pitcher to recover is almost 40 days, which suggests we have seen the last of Billingsley in the regular season.
• Scratched CDs don’t repeat as often as the Red Sox’ moves to the DL this year. Daniel Nava was placed back on the 15-day DL because of his sprained left wrist. The move is retroactive to August 23, so Nava is eligible to return on September 7. The Red Sox haven’t provided an expected return date, but it’s probably going to be more than the minimum.
• Ben Sheets was placed on the 15-day DL on Saturday with right shoulder inflammation. After winning his first three starts, Sheets had lost his last four of five; fatigue and inflammation likely played a factor. Fatigue is a dangerous beast, one that is silent in the beginning, and once it rears its ugly head, it’s already too late. Inflammation sets in when the small muscles are overworked and have to hold the arm together in ways they aren’t not used to. The Braves believe it could be a minimum stay on the DL for Sheets. Miguel Batista was called up to take the roster spot.
• Brian Schneider was placed on the 15-day DL with a strained left hamstring on Friday. The same injury cost him over 40 days last year, but the Phillies don’t expect him to miss that much time. Steven Lerud was called up from Triple-A to take the roster spot.
• David Cooper was placed on the 15-day DL with a mid-back injury that was aggravated by diving back to first base last week. The Blue Jays initially felt Cooper would only need three or four days to heal, but his pain didn’t resolve quickly enough, and Toronto didn’t want to play with a short bench. In a corresponding move, Adam Lind was activated.
• Chad Qualls was placed on the 15-day DL, retroactive to August 25, with left big toe inflammation. These injuries typically need at least three or four weeks to heal. Hisanori Takahashi was activated to take Qualls’ roster spot.
• David Ortiz was activated on Friday and is expected to return to the DL. Ortiz limped off the field Friday night, so it’s clear that the Achilles is not fully healed. There is a very good chance Ortiz is finished for 2012.

Subtractions

• Adam Lind was activated from the DL a little earlier than the Jays wanted, and his back problems probably aren’t over. In Gregor Chisolm’s piece yesterday at MLB.com, Lind was quoted as saying, “When I did it last year, they said those things never actually heal. You can only strengthen the muscles around it.” This suggests there is an underlying issue to a disc or to the spine itself, neither of which are good for long-term health.
• Daisuke Matsuzaka will be activated from the disabled list and start today against the Royals. He’s missed almost two months because of a neck/upper-back strain. His rehab stint was up, so the Red Sox had to do something with him. Now he will be pitching for a job in 2013.
• Koji Uehara was activated from the DL yesterday after he pitched very well on his rehab assignment. He’s being slotted as the sixth-/seventh-inning guy, where he has flourished this year. Uehara missed over two months with a strained latissimus dorsi muscle, and though his rehab was lengthened after suffering a setback in early July, he seems healthy now. Tanner Scheppers was optioned to Round Rock to make room.
• Ryan Flaherty was activated on Friday after missing a little over three weeks with a bacterial infection. With Brian Roberts done for the year, Flaherty looks to get a decent amount of playing time down the stretch.