The Disabled List Informer

Travis Hafner: Another cortisone injection in his right shoulder? Could a painful right shoulder be responsible for draining his power and rendering him almost completely ineffective at the plate? It sure seems that way. According to multiple sources, MRI results showed no structural damage. Of course, this does not mean there is nothing wrong with the shoulder.

The cortisone injection was reportedly injected in the posterior aspect of the shoulder. Due to Hafner’s complaints of weakness and soreness, it is likely that the Cortisone injection was administered to alleviate inflammation in the posterior aspect of the rotator cuff.

According to Lonnie Soloff, the Indians head trainer, Hafner has "chronic changes" in the shoulder, though he expects Hafner to be able to play on Friday.

Hafner is on two of my fantasy teams, and he has struggled mightily this season with a .217 BA, 4 HR, and a horrible .350 SLG.

Gary Sheffield: First it was the right shoulder and the multiple cortisone injections, now it is the left Oblique. Not only does he lack full, pain-free motion of the right shoulder, but now he cannot even sit down without having pain in his Oblique . As if you needed anyone to tell you, Sheffield is a lost cause for 2008, even though he will return at some point (probably after an extended 15-day DL stint) - move on.

Ian Kennedy: The Yankees have sent Kennedy to the DL with a strained right Latissimus Dorsi muscle. Will the Yankees rush Joba Chamberlain into the rotation? I think they will. Joba does have a history of being a starter in college and in the minors, but I still feel that it would be wise to allow him to properly build up his pitch totals before starting him. After all, the season is still young, and the Yankees can ill afford to lose Joba to injury.

Jeff Keppinger: He appears to be progressing on schedule from his fractured Patella, as he has been hitting in the cage for about a week now. The next step in his recovery will be testing the knee while jogging lightly, which would likely occur near the 4-week mark in the healing process. He is now walking without a limp, but is still feeling some minor discomfort . As long as rookie Paul Janish keeps hitting, the Reds will be patient with his return. For those who need a shortstop, it might be worth stashing Keppinger, as he also qualifies at 3B in Yahoo leagues.

Jake Peavy: An MRI taken on Tuesday revealed swelling at the right elbow, but no structural damage. This is good news, and bad news. Good news because there is no immediate danger of serious injury to the ligaments, bad news because the tissue about the elbow remains irritated and inflamed. Just two days ago, he was not cleared to throw after Doctors examined him via manual strength tests. Apparently, the news of the MRI results convinced the medical staff to allow him to toss lightly.

He played catch and took some BP on Tuesday, and felt no pain - but playing catch is certainly a much less vigorous activity than strenuous, game situation pitching…especially for Peavy, who is widely-known as having one of the game’s most aggressive deliveries. The Padres are certain to take their time with Peavy to ensure he can throw all of his pitches from the mound without pain.

Jake Westbrook: Returned from the DL today and threw 5 innings and 92 pitches. He threw a decent game, but nothing great. There was no way Eric Wedge would keep him in for more than 100 pitches. This was about all you could expect from Westbrook today. Expect a better outing next time around, as he rounds into game form.

Rafael Soriano/John Smoltz: Who is the closer du jour in Atlanta? Soriano was activated on Wednesday , but it is still unclear who will be the closer. For now, it will be a split between Manny Acosta and Soriano, but with Smoltz’ return imminent, this could end up being a muddled time-sharing situation. Since Smoltz has had recent exacerbations of his symptoms with even minor amounts of throwing, I simply cannot see him lasting long before having to shut it down again. Bobby Cox will likely want to give him some rest, so Manny Acosta and Rafael Soriano will both see late-inning opportunities even after Smoltz returns. With Mike Gonzalez possibly returning in the next 10-15 days or so, the situation becomes even less clear. In any event, these are three injury-prone pitchers who could return to the DL in no time flat. For this reason, you need to keep both Manny Acosta on your radar. Here is Razzball.com’s picture of the Atlanta closing situation (scroll down to bottom of post and click on link).

Howie Kendrick: He is in AAA right now, and as long as he has no setbacks in his recovery from his left hamstring strain, he will be back with the Angels by early next week. Of course, with Kendrick you never know how long he will stay healthy for.

Frank Thomas: The SF Gate reports an MRI revealed a strain in the Quadriceps tendon of Frank Thomas, which connects the Quadriceps muscle to the Patella at its’ superior aspect. The tear was apparently at the junction where the muscle meets the tendon, which is a tricky spot for an injury, though better than having a tear in the tendon alone due to the poor vascular supply to tendon (muscle heals more quickly). That the tear was on the junction of these structures makes the timeline for recovery somewhat more difficult to establish, meaning we will have to keep a close ear out for what the trainers and medical staff are saying about his progress. The only positive here is that he is strictly a DH, and it will likely not hurt to swing a bat. Running and pushing off with the right knee will be the major limiting factors - not that speed is a major asset of his. A trip to the DL is likely, and he will probably miss no less than 4 weeks.