Scott Rolen has left shoulder problems. Scott Rolen has had left shoulder problems for ages. Oftentimes, those problems have been manageable. Lately, those problems have been less manageable, and on Friday afternoon, the Cincinnati Reds have done something about it. Jon Morosi:
Scott Rolen Injury: Reds Third Baseman On DL With Shoulder Strain
Reds place Scott Rolen on DL with strained left shoulder. He’s been playing hurt for a long, long time.
As Morosi says, Rolen has long been playing through pain, which helps to explain his .676 OPS. That's down from .854 a year ago, and .823 the year before that. To date, 2011 has been the worst offensive season of Scott Rolen's career. But then, that didn't stop him from being named an All-Star. The Major League Baseball All-Star Game, for All-Stars!
While Rolen is out, the Reds can be expected to play more Miguel Cairo, which sounds really bad until you realize that Cairo's actually been hitting the ball decently well for two years. Of course, with Rolen hurting, Cairo probably in over his head, and the Reds on the fringes of the race, their front office might opt to make a move before the deadline. Their roster has holes, and the playoffs are well within view.
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