Bradford: Ross likely to the DL w. ruptured plantar fascia

[mabrowndog]

As noted in other threads, Dan Butler is the likely call-up (and the only remaining healthy catcher on the 40-man.
 
WEEI.com
 

 
According to team sources, it is believed David Ross has ruptured the plantar fascia in his right foot. The injury, which occurred while the catcher was running to first base on a sixth-inning ground out, will most likely land the catcher on the 15-day disabled list.
 
The rupture is actually a positive development for Ross, who has been dealing with plantar fasciitis for some time. (He believed the injury cropped up after over-compensating for an ankle injury suffered in mid-May.) The only way for the injury to heal is for the tendon to rupture, a reality Ross was introduced when experiencing the injury in 2007.
 
The healing process for such an injury varies, but typically takes several weeks to recover from.
 
After the Red Sox‘ 4-3 win over the Yankees, manager John Farrell was non-committal regarding the injury.
 
“We’ll evaluate him tomorrow. Looks like he’s got some pain in that plantar fascia tendon,” Farrell said. “We’ll take a look at him tomorrow to make any determination at that point.”
 
Ross said after aggravating the injury July 22 that he was hoping such an occurrence would take place at some point as to start the healing process.
 
‘In the offseason I ruptured it and that’s what they do when they do surgery, they just go in and cut it,’ he said after that game in Toronto. ‘So I ruptured it and it hasn’t been a problem since. I was running today with the intent of letting that thing blow out. It would feel a lot better if it would.’
 
Dan Butler, who is on the Red Sox‘ 40-man roster, was pulled from the Pawtucket Red Sox‘ game Friday night. It is likely that the 27-year-old will replace Ross on the active roster.
 
Butler has never played in the major leagues, having compiled a .222 batting average, and .637 OPS with four home runs in 75 games.

 
If the Sox were to decide to acquire another backup catcher for the balance of the season, they've now got 3 vacancies on the 40-man.
 
The worst part about this, by far, is losing Ross's eyewitness appraisals and in-game tutelage of the young studs comprising the bulk of the rotation over the final two months, not to mention the seemingly urgent and continual management needed for Buchholz's schizophrenia.

 

[E5 Yaz]

Well, and the eventual C-level prospect from the A's when he'd be needed in Oakland to catch Lester.
 
George Kottaras is available, I think. Unless he hasn't been released again over the past 3 hours

 

[mauidano]

Karma.

 

[Hank Scorpio]

Is there any truth to what Oraillo was saying last night about Ross being better off rupturing it, rather than having it stay as it was?

 

[Ferm Sheller]

See the opening post in its entirety.

 

[Lose Remerswaal]

Kottaras was released earlier this week and appears to be free.  Brett Hayes was DFA'd by KC on the 28th.  Those are the only two MLB Catchers who seem to be in limbo right now

 

[Savin Hillbilly]

So is the CW at this point that Butler is 100% organizational filler and has no potential to succeed as a ML backup? Because if not, it seems like there's never been a better time to give him an extended look. Seems like his offense couldn't be worse than Hayes', and his defense has got to be better than Kottaras'.

 

[P'tucket rhymes with...]

So is the CW at this point that Butler is 100% organizational filler and has no potential to succeed as a ML backup? Because if not, it seems like there's never been a better time to give him an extended look. Seems like his offense couldn't be worse than Hayes', and his defense has got to be better than Kottaras'.

Much better defender than Kottaras.  He and Vasquez will be fine for the duration of the season.  Hell, most of our starting staff has been throwing to him all season, anyways.

 

[RoDaddy]

Lavarnway is available as well and has big league catching experience. Of course, he's a pretty bad defensive catcher with reports that Sox pitchers didn't have much confidence in him, so that alone is reason to never catch him again.  OTOH, he's a reported hard worker who had made major strides in the minors to at least not suck at the position, and he would probably continually improve in Boston if given more time.  By improve, I mean to the point of becoming a less than average defensive catcher but no longer a disaster back there.  This would also be another - probably last - chance for him to prove himself offensively.  He's only 2+ seasons removed from one of the greatest offensive seasons ever seen at Pawtucket so I still hope there's a way for the organization to give him one more chance

 

[jscola85]

When is the last time Lavarnway was behind the plate?  Not to mention he's not even hitting all that well in AAA this year.  Looks like Christian is going to get a heavy workload from here on out.

 

[semsox]

Is this really that huge a problem given the way the year has progressed? It just increases Vazquez's playing time, allows Ross to start the full rehab from the injury he was always going to need, and it's not as if he still won't be around as a dugout presence to help out the youngsters. I don't see a reason to bring in some journeyman C when we have Vazquez and Butler....

 

[Soxfan in Fla]

Wouldn't be a bad idea to sign Kottaras or Hayes and stash them in AAA in case someone else goes down.

 

[stp]

If Butler is called up, would Swihart be promoted to the Paw Sox?  He's played 91 games (80 catching) and had 376 ABs in Portland.  That might not be rushing things too much.

 

[Byrdbrain]

They typically never would call up a real prospect due to injury, if they think he is ready they may but I'm leaning no.
It's not like the guys in Pawtucket were blocking him.

 

[benhogan]

If Butler is called up, would Swihart be promoted to the Paw Sox?

This is what Chris Hatfield, at Soxprospects.com, said after the Ross injury:
 
A few people asking if Swihart will be promoted (MAJ and AAA). His promotion would be independent of any injury situation.
 
If Sox felt Swihart ready for Triple-A, gotta think they'd have promoted him by now. I'd be surprised if this were impetus for the move.

 

[Buzzkill Pauley]

Is this really that huge a problem given the way the year has progressed? It just increases Vazquez's playing time, allows Ross to start the full rehab from the injury he was always going to need, and it's not as if he still won't be around as a dugout presence to help out the youngsters. I don't see a reason to bring in some journeyman C when we have Vazquez and Butler....

 
If the idea is for Swihart to develop without regard to external factors, then the Sox need to sign someone like Kottaras, or make sure Lavarnway gets his gear dusted off.  Blake's been strictly a one level per year guy, and is leading Portland to the playoffs (a job made more difficult by Owen's promotion, to be sure).
 
I think Ross going down makes the organization too thin at catcher in AAA/MLB, and I suspect the Sox surely don't want to risk having to add Swihart to the 40-man until November.  
 
So yeah, even if Plan T.A.N.K. is a go, the clubs still need warm bodies to run out there every game.  May as well sign Kottaras for a reprise performance.

 

[stp]

I haven't seen him play, but the stats look good.  It does make sense to stick to the plan and leave him in Portland.  He's too good a prospect to rush for a few meaningless weeks if they don't think he's 100% ready.

 

[JimD]

Didn't Edes or Speier or someone have an article this spring talking about how various scouts believe that Butler likely has a long career ahead of him as a backup catcher based on his defensive skills?  Just give him a shot until Ross is healed.

 

[Archer1979]

I've done that.  If it's as bad as mine was, 15 days is very optimistic.  Healing can take a very long time as even the simplest of things like putting your foot on the ground with no weight can reinjure it.

 

[LostinNJ]

Considering that they're basically auditioning pitchers for the rest of the season, they need catchers with strong defensive skills. Bring up Butler and don't worry if he ever gets a hit.

 

[MentalDisabldLst]

Someone needs to explain the medical issue here to me a little bit better.  I currently suffer from plantar fasciitis, a common over-use injury for athletes.  My podistrist made it clear to me that there are two solutions:
 
You can rehab it, i.e.
(1) staying off it, icing and taking anti-inflammatories until the inflammation gets manageable, then
(2) stretching the heel and calves numerous times every day until the muscles elongate and loosen over time, and likely
(3) get some arch support if you have high arches in order to prevent the fascia under the bridge of the foot from getting harassed.
 
Or, you get surgery to remove the fascia entirely, which eliminates the inflammation but means you basically can't run or do athletics again (a common option for very old people who are the more frequent sufferers of the injury, but not for those getting it from overuse).
 
What I'm reading above doesn't make sense in that context.  Rupturing the tendon sounds like making it worse, and I made my own case very bad indeed before going on the recommended rehab route - I was told that doing so was very counterproductive and I should have dealt with the issue far sooner.  So, basically, unless Ross is dealing with a different plantar fasciitis condition, I'm not sure I follow the medical logic being relayed by Rob Bradford here.  Can anyone help rectify my layman's understanding?

 

[Hee Sox Choi]

Red Sox recall C Daniel Butler from Triple-A Pawtucket.

The 27-year-old backstop was hitting .227/.306/.338 with four homers and 28 RBI in his 76 games at Triple-A. He'll function as nothing more than a backup behind Christian Vazquez.

 

[MalzoneExpress]

Someone needs to explain the medical issue here to me a little bit better.  I currently suffer from plantar fasciitis, a common over-use injury for athletes.  My podistrist made it clear to me that there are two solutions:
 
You can rehab it, i.e.
(1) staying off it, icing and taking anti-inflammatories until the inflammation gets manageable, then
(2) stretching the heel and calves numerous times every day until the muscles elongate and loosen over time, and likely
(3) get some arch support if you have high arches in order to prevent the fascia under the bridge of the foot from getting harassed.
 
Or, you get surgery to remove the fascia entirely, which eliminates the inflammation but means you basically can't run or do athletics again (a common option for very old people who are the more frequent sufferers of the injury, but not for those getting it from overuse).
 
What I'm reading above doesn't make sense in that context.  Rupturing the tendon sounds like making it worse, and I made my own case very bad indeed before going on the recommended rehab route - I was told that doing so was very counterproductive and I should have dealt with the issue far sooner.  So, basically, unless Ross is dealing with a different plantar fasciitis condition, I'm not sure I follow the medical logic being relayed by Rob Bradford here.  Can anyone help rectify my layman's understanding?

 
From the Mayo Clinic:  "Few people need surgery to detach the plantar fascia from the heel bone. It's generally an option only when the pain is severe and all else fails. Side effects include a weakening of the arch in your foot." (emphasis mine)  I think this may be what Ross had happen without surgery.

 

[MentalDisabldLst]

Right, my understanding of the detachment option was that it basically removed the muscular mechanism by which rapid flexing of the foot is accomplished, meaning you can't really run after that happens.  So either this is a catastrophic, career-ending exacerbation of an injury for Ross, or I still don't understand the medical situation involved here.  My bet is on the latter.

 

[shepard50]

Dan Butler's Bref page. Note he is below his offensive averages (for all levels) this season. Aside form being a good defensive catcher, he has the possibility of not being a complete loss at  the plate.