One player's return and another player's departure has the Rangers' infield in flux suddenly. Ian Kinsler left Sunday's game with a groin injury and was placed on the disabled list Monday after being diagnosed with a hernia. He'll be examined further Tuesday, but the MVP candidate could be facing season-ending surgery. Kinsler has hit .319/.375/.517 with 18 homers, 41 doubles, 71 RBIs, 102 runs, 45 walks, and 26 steals in 121 games, filling the stat sheet like few other players.
Meanwhile, the Rangers announced that Hank Blalock will return from the DL as a first baseman Friday, which is something that the team has been talking about for months now. To take room for him in the lineup current first baseman Chris Davis will shift across the diamond to third base. Davis played 120 games there in 2007 between Single-A and Double-A, but has logged a total of 15 innings at the position this season and appeared destined for a career at first base (or DH).
Davis figures to be plenty stretched at third base defensively, but his fantasy value will get a nice boost for next season if he sees enough action to gain eligibility. Davis has hit .270/.316/.534 with 11 homers and 32 RBIs in 47 games with the Rangers after hitting .333/.386/.643 with 23 homers and 73 RBIs in 77 games between Double-A and Triple-A. Those numbers are plenty strong from a 22-year-old first baseman, but they'd be significantly better coming from the hot corner.
While the Rangers prepare for six weeks of Blalock at first base, Davis at third base, and Ramon Vazquez at second base, here are some other notes from around baseball .
* While the A's cleaned house leading up to the trading deadline it seemed logical that they'd try to cash in Justin Duchscherer before he got hurt again or simply came back down to earth after posting a 1.82 first-half ERA. Instead, they held onto him while trading away veteran rotation mates Rich Harden and Joe Blanton, and Duchscherer predictably came back down to earth and went down with another injury.
Duchscherer came into Monday night's matchup versus the Twins with a 5.34 ERA in five outings since the All-Star break and left his start after five innings with a right hip injury. Surgery on the same hip cost him much of last season, so the news is definitely concerning. General manager Billy Beane is usually all about finding value wherever he can, so it's surprising that he didn't deal a 30-year-old, oft-injured longtime reliever having a career-year in the rotation while he could.
* Already benched twice this month for failing to run hard on ground balls, B.J. Upton made yet another blunder on the bases Monday. Upton jogged to first base after hitting what he thought was a homer in the fourth inning, but instead the ball smacked off the wall in left field. As if that weren't bad enough, he then continued his leisurely stroll toward second base as Mark Teixeira alertly cut the relay throw from the outfield off and tagged him out.
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As 16-year veteran Cliff Floyd put it after the game: "It makes my heart hurt." Unlike his previous displays of laziness Upton wasn't removed from Monday's game because manager Joe Maddon described the incident as a "mental mistake" and "not a lack of effort." Interestingly, Upton hit just .221/.359/.326 in 26 games since the All-Star break prior to being benched Saturday, but returned to the lineup Sunday by going 3-for-5 with a homer and went 2-for-5 with a near-homer Monday.
* C.C. Sabathia's dominance over the NL continued Monday with his fifth complete game in nine starts with the Brewers. He allowed three runs on 11 hits, but fanned 10 while improving to 8-0 with a 1.60 ERA since the trade. His current run is reminiscent of Randy Johnson going 10-1 with a 1.28 ERA down the stretch in 1998 after the Mariners traded him to the Astros. Since beginning the season 0-3 with a 13.50 ERA, Sabathia has gone 14-5 with a 1.93 ERA in 177.1 total innings.
AL Quick Hits:Matt LaPorta was diagnosed with a mild concussion after being hit on the helmet in the United States' recent beanball-filled Olympic victory over China . Manager Joe Girardi said Sunday that Hideki Matsui (knee) will be limited to designated hitter once he returns from the disabled list, leaving a choice between Johnny Damon and Brett Gardner in center field . Much has been made of Manny Ramirez's hot start with the Dodgers, but Jason Bay has hit .348 with 16 RBIs in 16 games with the Red Sox after homering twice Monday . Victor Martinez (elbow) is slated to catch six innings in a minor-league rehab game Tuesday at Triple-A . Various reports indicate that the Yankees will pick between Phil Hughes and Carl Pavano to start Saturday, which is an interesting choice . Manager Joe Maddon reiterated Monday that the Rays expect Evan Longoria (wrist) back on September 1 . Joe Crede (back) is scheduled to begin a rehab stint Tuesday at Triple-A . Curt Schilling (shoulder) wrote Monday on his blog that "the pendulum is swinging very heavily in the direction" of his career "just being over."
NL Quick Hits:Cole Hamels won Sunday for the first time in seven starts, but posted a 3.60 ERA and 44-to-10 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 45 innings during his winless stretch . After leaving Sunday's game with a sprained thumb Rickie Weeks said that he plans to play through the injury, but he sat out Monday while Ray Durham drove in three runs . Barry Zito held a team scoreless Monday for the second time in four starts, but unfortunately he's gone 5-15 with a 6.11 ERA in his other 23 outings . Pitching coach Dave Duncan said Sunday that Chris Carpenter (shoulder) could rejoin the rotation as soon as August 26 . After informing the Padres that he'd only accept a trade to the Dodgers, Greg Maddux has reportedly been shipped to Los Angeles . Eddie Kunz saved 27 games with a 2.79 ERA at Double-A, but the Mets never gave him a shot in their mess of a bullpen before sending him back to the minors Monday . Brandon Moss (ankle) is expected to avoid the disabled list, but may be out until the weekend . Luis Castillo's (hip) minor-league rehab assignment reached the maximum 20 days, but the Mets are in no rush to bring him back.
