MLB roundup: Nationals dealing with Strasburg, Harper injuries

Washington Nationals pitcher Stephen Strasburg has a slight strain of his right oblique and the team will wait a couple of days to see how the 24-year-old pitcher responds to treatment before making a decision on whether to put him on the disabled list.

Strasburg left Friday night's game against the Braves in Atlanta after two innings. He flew back to Washington for further tests, but not before trying to convince manager Davey Johnson to let him keep pitching, according to the Washington Post.

"It's something that's been nagging a little bit the last few starts, and I've been pitching really well, so I didn't really think about it too much," Strasburg said. "There's a lot of times you go out there and you don't feel 100 percent. You've got to go out there and gut through it."

The Nationals also placed outfielder Bryce Harper on the 15-day disabled list with a knee injury.

Harper has been out for five games with bursitis in his left knee after colliding with the right-field wall at Dodger Stadium. The move was backdated to last Monday when the injury occurred. He will be eligible to come off the DL June 11.

The Nationals brought up right-handed relief pitcher Erik Davis from Triple-A Syracuse to take Harper's roster spot.

---Los Angeles Dodgers center fielder Carl Crawford left Saturday's game against the Colorado Rockies in the third inning with an apparent hamstring injury.

The team did not make an immediate announcement, but Crawford grabbed the back of his left leg after running out a double in the top of the third inning, according to the Orange County Register.

The Dodgers recently placed outfielder Matt Kemp on the 15-day disabled list with a hamstring injury.

---The Atlanta Braves are considering sending outfielder B.J. Upton to the minors to try to work out of his offensive woes.

Manager Fredi Gonzalez told reporters that he has wondered about making the move but has not yet spoken to Upton about it. Upton has enough service time in the majors to refuse an assignment.

Upton, who signed a franchise-high five-year, $75.25 million contract in the offseason, is batting .146 this season, including .130 (11-for-84) with 37 strikeouts since April 27.

---The Toronto Blue Jays placed right-handed starting pitcher Brandon Morrow on the 15-day disabled list.

Morrow left Tuesday's start after two innings because of right forearm tightness. He is 2-3 with a 5.63 ERA this season.

Toronto called up 40-year-old Ramon Ortiz from Class AAA Buffalo to replace Morrow. Ortiz has a 5.01 ERA in six appearances for the Blue Jays.

The club also sent right-handed starter Ricky Romero and reliever to Chad Jenkins to Buffalo and called up reliever Mickey Storey.

---The Arizona Diamondbacks are placing right-handed starting pitcher Brandon McCarthy on the disabled list with a shoulder injury, according to multiple reports.

McCarthy allowed six runs and nine hits in 2 2/3 innings on Thursday against the Texas Rangers. He has a 5.00 ERA in 11 starts this season.

The club is expected to call up right-hander Randall Delgado to replace McCarthy on the roster. Delgado has a 6.84 ERA in 11 starts for Class AAA Reno.

---Seattle Mariners catcher Jesus Montero, recently sent down to the minors, will have knee surgery and miss four to six weeks, the Seattle Times reported.

It is not clear how the injury happened. Montero was examined by team doctor Edward Khalfayan on Friday.

---The Pittsburgh Pirates and third baseman Pedro Alvarez are open to a contract extension, the Pittsburgh Post-Tribune reported.

Alvarez's contract includes a $700,000 team option for next year but he might qualify for salary arbitration.

Alvarez is batting .200 with 10 home runs and 29 RBI through 47 games. He has also struck out 59 times in 160 at-bats.

---The Cleveland Indians announced they selected the contract of right-handed pitcher Matt Langwell from Class AAA Columbus and optioned left-hander Scott Barnes to Columbus.

Langwell, 27, is 2-1 with a 2.30 ERA in 19 relief appearances and one spot start for Columbus this season. Barnes, 25, is 0-1 with a 7.27 ERA in seven appearances for Cleveland this season. He is also 2-2 with a 5.74 ERA in 12 relief outings for Columbus.

The Indians also apologized to fans a day after three rain delays stalled their game Friday against the Tampa Bay Rays.

The game was scheduled to start at 7:05 p.m. and did not end until 2:53 a.m. Saturday. The third delay lasted 2 hours and 39 minutes and did not restart until 12:13 a.m. Overall, the delays combined to last 4:49.

---The Baltimore Orioles signed right-handed reliever Jon Rauch to a minor league deal, MLB.com reported.

Rauch will report to Triple-A Norfolk on Monday.

Rauch, 34, was released by the Miami Marlins in May after he had a 7.56 ERA in 16 2/3 innings.

---Pete Rose, Major League Baseball's all-time hits leader who has been banned from the game for decades, still makes a very good living.

According to the Wall Street Journal, Rose, 72, earns more than $1 million per year signing autographs.

Rose has been working and living in Las Vegas since 2005, spending several hours per day, 15 to 25 days per month, every month, signing memorabilia and posing for pictures.