In the latter third of July, Reds third baseman Scott Rolen was placed on the disabled list with shoulder inflammation. Rolen has a history of shoulder problems, and this particular problem had bothered him off and on during the 2011 season, and the second half of the 2010 season. The hope was that he'd feel much better after getting a break.
On Wednesday, Rolen met with Reds team doctor, Tim Kremchek. The idea in theory was for Kremchek to observe Rolen's progress, but what actually happened was that Kremchek cut him open. Rolen underwent surgery, and is now expected to be out for another 4-6 weeks.
With the Reds at 54-56 and 6.5 games out of first place, this isn't that big of a deal. They don't figure too much in the playoff picture anyway. Nevertheless, a team would prefer not to be without Scott Rolen, when the alternative is Miguel Cairo. Maybe the surgery will allow Rolen to put his shoulder problems in the past, but for now, the Reds will have to keep running with Cairo and a little Todd Frazier, and that just isn't the same.
Rolen has a .676 season OPS, posted while frequently playing through pain. He's under contract for $6.5 million in 2012.
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:
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.
