MLB notebook: Royals put starter Duffy on 10-day DL to rest sore elbow
CLEVELAND— Kansas City Royals starter Danny Duffy will undergo an MRI after being placed on the disabled list with a sore elbow.
The left-hander was sent home Saturday to have medical tests on a condition that has bothered him for the past month. Duffy was scheduled to start Sunday’s series finale, but the team wants to find out the cause of his soreness.
The Royals are confident Duffy’s injury isn’t serious.
"Anything that was concerning, we would have shut him down right from the get-go," Royals manager Ned Yost said.
"It got to the point where we needed to take a pause. He just pitched one of the best games he’s pitched in a couple of weeks."
In his last start, Duffy allowed two runs and one hit in six innings against Colorado. Overall, he’s 8-8 with a 3.78 ERA in 21 starts.
The Royals are anxious to get Duffy back as they head into the heart of the playoff race. Kansas City entered Saturday’s game trailing first-place Cleveland by seven games in the AL Central and was just 11⁄ games back 2 in a jam-packed wild-card race.
Yost said Duffy did all he could to pitch through the discomfort.
"You don’t want to rest your arm this time of the year," Yost said, "and that’s why he went five starts with a cranky elbow."
Duffy missed a month earlier in the season with a strained right oblique.
Rookie left-hander Eric Skoglund will take Duffy’s spot and make his fifth career start on Sunday. The Royals also purchased the contract of lefty Onelki Garcia from Triple-A Omaha. CESPEDES DONE? The New York Mets placed outfielder Yoenis Cespedes on the 10-day disabled list Saturday with what could be a season-ending hamstring injury.
Cespedes strained his right hamstring running the bases in the first inning Friday night against the Nationals. General manager Sandy Alderson said Cespedes’ "season is in jeopardy."
The 31-year-old has been limited to 81 games this season because of various injuries. He’s hitting .292 with 17 home runs and 42 RBIs for a team that has fallen out of playoff contention.
"Ces, he knows his workouts better than I do, and if he needs to adjust them, then I’m sure that he will get with his fitness people and make those corrections," Mets manager Terry Collins said Saturday. "They need to meet with Yo and Noah (Syndergaard) and guys that really get after it in workouts and come up with a system that keeps them healthy. I don’t know if there’s any such animal."
While putting Cespedes on the DL, the Mets welcomed back Jose Reyes after the infielder missed 10 days with a sore left ribcage. New York also called up outfielder Travis Taijeron from Triple-A Las Vegas and optioned right-hander Kevin McGowan.
After being notified of his call-up Friday in Las Vegas, the 28-year-old Taijeron made it to Washington in time to make his major league debut, batting seventh and starting in right field.
"It just came out of left field, pretty much," Taijeron said.