BALTIMORE - The Red Sox will place designated hitter David Ortiz on the 15-day disabled list today with a partially torn sheath surrounding a tendon in his left wrist. Ortiz is expected to miss up to a month, according to a team source.
His wrist will be immobilized in a cast for two weeks, and if it is healed by then, it should take about two weeks for Ortiz to get back into playing shape.
Manager Terry Francona said it is "very unlikely" Ortiz will require surgery.
According to a source familiar with the injury, the main goal is to get Ortiz free of pain after the cast comes off, even if the tendon pops in and out of the sheath. If the sheath isn't healed fully after the cast is taken off, Ortiz could take care of the situation surgically after the season.
The sheath is actually called an extensor carpi ulnaris; the important thing for Ortiz is that the tendon itself is not damaged, just the compartment in which it's housed. This injury is not unlike the one Curt Schilling had in his ankle in 2004.
Addressing the media after last night's 6-3 loss to the Orioles, Francona was not willing to give a timetable on Ortiz's return. He said he wanted to confer with general manager Theo Epstein and hear how Ortiz's rehab will be mapped out.
"We're not going to hit-and-run and make a move," Francona said.
The red-hot Brandon Moss could be called up from Pawtucket, but Francona was talking about the possibility of playing Sean Casey, using Manny Ramírez at DH, and deploying a speedy outfield of Jacoby Ellsbury, Coco Crisp, and J.D. Drew.
Ortiz injured his wrist swinging at a pitch in the ninth inning of Saturday's win over the Orioles. He had to come out of the game with a 3-and-2 count on him.
Francona said he had spoken to Ortiz on the phone the last couple of days and that Ortiz had gone from being worried, to feeling he could still hit with it, to "let's get it checked and be sure."
Will the Sox miss a massive force like Ortiz? Of course. He and Ramírez are the top power hitters in the lineup. But the player who has proven toughest to lose from the lineup is Jason Varitek.
The Yankees will tell you that losing their catcher, Jorge Posada, for as long as they have has been a major factor in their slow start. Jose Molina might be a very good defensive catcher, but he's not an everyday player.
Posada is fluent in Yankee pitching. He knows, for instance, which buttons to push to get the most out of Andy Pettitte. Those are the little things that wind up being big things; the Sox would experience that same thing if Varitek went down.
