Mets put Cespedes on DL
Yoenis Cespedes spent about a week trying to play through his latest lower-body injury. Now, he and the New York Mets are opting to play it safe.
The Mets placed Cespedes on the 10-day disabled list Wednesday with a strained right hip flexor, retroactive to Monday. It will be Cespedes’ fourth DL stint for a leg injury in the past three seasons, despite an offseason focus on better caring for his lower half. Cespedes had an MRI exam Tuesday, which revealed the strain.
Cespedes was limited to 81 games last season because of leg injuries after signing a four-year, $110 million contract in November 2016. He is hitting .255 with eight home runs and 28 RBIs this season. He went deep Sunday in a 4-2 loss to the Phillies and is batting .333 over his past five games.
Phillip Evans was recalled from Triple-A Las Vegas.
Gregerson on DL: The Cardinals placed reliever Luke Gregerson on the DL with a right shoulder impingement.
Gregerson, who signed a two-year, $11 million contract over the winter, has an 8.64 ERA in 12 appearances this season. St. Louis recalled right-hander John Brebbia from Triple-A Memphis.
Gomez on DL; Arroyo recalled:
Rays outfielder Carlos Gomez was put on the DL because of a strained right groin.
Gomez is hitting .200 with five home runs and 11 RBIs in 37 games, striking out 49 times in 145 at-bats. Tampa Bay recalled former Giants infielder Christian Arroyo from Triple-A Durham, where he was hitting .200 with one home run. He was acquired from the Giants during the December trade that sent Evan Longoria to the Giants.
Votto apologizes: Reds first baseman and Toronto native Joey Votto apologized for saying he doesn’t care about Canadian baseball after being asked about James Paxton’s recent no-hitter.
Votto talked about Paxton’s feat for the Mariners against the Blue Jays in Toronto in a
Yahoo Sports podcast. The 2010 NL MVP responded that, “As far as Toronto, and Canadian baseball, and the country of Canada, and (Paxton) being Canadian, I don’t care at all.”
Votto said he is “terribly ashamed” of his comments and called them “ridiculously selfish and short-sighted” in an email posted on the Canadian Baseball Network website. He said the question brought back feelings of resentment over not making Team Canada or being drafted by the Blue Jays.
Cora responds: Red Sox manager Alex Cora said he was surprised to hear that reliever Carson Smith feels that fatigue could have contributed to his dislocated shoulder.
Smith was hurt when he threw his glove during a tantrum in the dugout after leaving Monday night’s 6-5 loss to the A’s. After being put on the DL, Smith said he thought his “shoulder just couldn’t handle it.”
Cora said the coaching staff talks to the pitchers on a daily basis and “if they don’t feel that they can pitch that day, we stay away from them.”
Briefly: Twins catcher Jason Castro will miss the rest of the season following surgery to repair the meniscus in his right knee. He had been expected to be sidelined for up to six weeks . ... Edwin Encarnacion was scratched from the Indians’ lineup because of back spasms . ... The Astros sent outfielder Jake Marisnick to the minors and recalled outfielder Tony Kemp.