Casey Blake Out With Elbow Infection

Added on Apr 27, 2011 by Scott in

MLB

A bursa infection in his left elbow will send Dodgers third baseman Casey Blake to the disabled list. Blake was rushed to a hospital and given antibiotics following Tuesday night’s loss at Florida. He will return with the team to Los Angeles after today’s series-ender with the Marlins to receive further treatment.

The cause of the injury is unclear. Bursa infections normally flare up after the elbow is either hit or bumped. The timetable for Blake’s return is indeterminable at this point. He will be placed on the 15-day DL, but could miss up to a month, depending on the severity of the infection.

Manager Don Mattingly elected to proceed with caution when asked about the amount of time Blake will miss.

“We have to be careful,” Mattingly said. “Obviously, it’s some type of infection. It’s one of those situations you can’t really play around with. I think [the trainer] feels good that we got started on this yesterday and didn’t let anything get out of hand. I’m not quite sure when we’ll get him back, but there is a possibility of this thing being long term.”

Should it be a long term injury, the Dodgers will be hard pressed to find a suitable replacement. Blake is the only legitimate third baseman on the active roster. In 14 games played, he is hitting .321, third best on the team, with two home runs and 15 runs scored.

Mattingly inferred Russell Mitchell will be called up from Triple-A Albuquerque to fill the void at third. Mitchell is batting .214 in the minors and hit .143 with the Dodgers in 15 games last September. However, both Juan Uribe and Aaron Miles have manned the position in 2011.

This will mark the second trip to the DL for the 37-year-old Blake. He missed the first week of the season with a lower-thoracic ailment that plagued him in spring training. In 13 major league campaigns, he has a career average of .263 with 163 homers.

Los Angeles is 5-6 without Blake in the lineup. They currently sit at 12-13 in the NL West, five games behind division-leading Colorado.

Source: ESPN.com