Injured back to keep Gonzalez sidelined
Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said first baseman Adrian Gonzalez has a degenerative disk in his back, an injury that will keep the five-time All-star out indefinitely.
“When he comes back, I don’t know,” Roberts said before Tuesday night’s game against the Cleveland Indians.
Gonzalez was placed on the 10day disabled list before the series opener. He was removed from Sunday’s game against Cincinnati after going hitless in three at-bats and had an MRI on Monday.
Roberts says surgery isn’t being considered but Gonzalez is getting a second opinion.
“A lot of it is wear and tear,” Roberts said. “It’s manageable, per his (pain) tolerance, and is something that continually fires up. I’m hopeful, and I just want him to feel healthy.”
Gonzalez was also on the DL last month for the first time in his 14-year career after he tried to play through back and elbow injuries.
The 35-year-old Gonzalez is batting .255 with one home run and 23 RBIS in 49 games. He’s signed through 2018 when he will earn $21.5 million, also his salary this season.
Outfielder Joc Pederson was reinstated from the seven-day concussion DL. He’s hitting .200 with two homers and 11 RBIS in 35 games.
Roberts said Cody Bellinger will see the majority of time at first base with Pederson in center field and Chris Taylor in left.
■ Mets: New York placed Asdrubal Cabrera on the 10-day DL with a left thumb sprain, a day after the shortstop hit two home runs in a victory over the Chicago Cubs.
Cabrera was on the DL last month for a left thumb sprain, which happened while diving for a grounder. He hit .222 with three home runs and six RBIS in 16 games after returning on May 25.
Cabrera’s two homers on Monday came after an ominous start to the game, when the usually sure-handed infielder let a routine popup bounce off his glove after bumping third baseman Jose Reyes. Cabrera has 11 errors this season, four more than he made all of last year.
■ Fernandez: Miami-area officials want the U.S. Coast Guard to install lights on the jetty where Marlins star Jose Fernandez crashed his boat, killing himself and two others.
Miami-dade Mayor Carlos Gimenez said in a memo Monday that the jetty where Fernandez crashed posed a serious threat to boaters. The Miami-dade
Police Department made the recommendation for lights.
The Coast Guard began a new analysis last fall of the Government Cut jetties at the southern end of Miami Beach.
The new analysis has not been released, but a previous study found that navigation aids in the area met boaters’ needs.
Fernandez and two other men died when the 24-year-old pitcher’s 32-foot boat struck the jetty just after 3 a.m. Sept. 25. A toxicology report determined alcohol and drugs were a factor.
■ Blue Jays: Toronto second baseman Devon Travis had surgery on Monday to clean out cartilage in his right knee and is expected to be out “a while,” according to manager John Gibbons.
Travis has been out since last Tuesday with what the team had termed a bone bruise in his right knee.
Gibbons refused to put a timetable on the return of the second baseman, who is hitting .259 with five home runs and 24 RBIS in 50 games this season.
■ Brewers: Infielder Travis Shaw was reinstated and pitcher Matt Garza will be reinstated as part of a flurry of moves for Milwaukee.
Shaw has been out since June 8 because of a family medical emergency. He entered Tuesday with a .298 average, 10 homers and 42 RBIS.
The right-handed Garza, who has been out with a bruised chest, will be reinstated from the 10-day DL before Wednesday’s game.
■ Mariners: Seattle and Safeco Insurance announced they will end their stadium naming rights partnership after the 2018 season. Safeco Insurance has held the naming rights for the stadium since 1998, a year before Safeco Field opened.