Carlos Gonzalez Injury: Wrist Sends Rockies' Star To Disabled List

When Colorado Rockies outfielder Carlos Gonzalez ran into a wall earlier this month, it looked awful, as if he had broken a bone that he probably needed to play baseball. It didn't turn out to be that serious, so Gonzalez was day-to-day for most of July. On Thursday, though, he had to leave an at-bat mid-swing because of wrist pain, and MLB.com confirms that Gonzalez will go on the disabled list.

BREAKING: Rockies place CarGo on 15-day DL with strained right wrist.

Is it strained or breaking? MAKE UP YOUR MIND, MLB.COM.

The Rockies entered Friday's play a full 10 games behind the division-leading Giants in the NL West, so if they're ever going to make a move, they'll need a healthy Gonzalez. Even if his wrist will be better before the 15 days are up, it's probably a much better idea to just let it heal rather than the on-again/off-again strategy they tried for the past couple of weeks.

In the past two weeks, Ty Wigginton was often in left field when Gonzalez was out of the lineup, so it's probably a good bet that they'll keep running him out there.

Carlos Gonzalez Injury: MRI Reveals Inflamed Wrist Ligaments

I don't care what Dan Shaughnessy says; Twitter is awesome, and here's just the latest evidence:

That's Carlos Gonzalez's official Twitter feed, and we can wait for official word from the Rockies but I'm inclined to take Carlos Gonzalez's official Twitter feed as fairly authoritative.

And this is relatively good news, because inflamed is better than strained or torn. Which doesn't mean he's going to be in the lineup Friday night, or any other night soon. After a terrible April, CarGo's been fantastic but he's started only 10 games in July because of the wrist injury, and might need to let those ligaments calm down for a couple of weeks.

Which would be bad news, because the Rockies are already very close to dropping from reasonable contention. They're famous for late-season surges, but at the moment they're 10 games out of first place and 11 games out in the Wild Card standings. Essentially, the Rockies' only path to the playoffs is to play exceptionally well down the stretch and for the Giants to collapse. Both are unlikely, and the former all the more if Gonzalez isn't in the lineup.

Carlos Gonzalez Injury: Rockies Outfielder Leaves Game With Wrist Injury

Colorado Rockies outfielder Carlos Gonzalez suffered through a miserable start to 2011 and an injury to his wrist, but he emerged to hit as well as expected after April ended. He injured his wrist on July 3rd after crashing into the outfield wall, but he never went on the disabled list.

Gonzalez admitted that his wrist is still bothering him in a Denver Post article, and things got worse Thursday afternoon in the Rockies' game against the Braves. From Tracy Ringolsby :

Carlos Gonzalez aggravated right wrist that sidelined him for a week. Had to come out mid at-bat in 5th inning Thursday. Reason for concern.

Other reports had Gonzalez in significant pain after his swing on a 1-1 pitch. He was fortunate enough to avoid the disabled list in the first place, but considering that the injury never fully healed, there's a decent chance he'll end up on the DL after all. Before Thursday afternoon's game ended, Gonzalez was taken to the hospital for an MRI on his wrist.

Also of note: I would have made a .gif of the swing that bit him, but MLB NexDef is coded by drunken orangutans.