It’s been a busy day in the Majors.  The Atlanta Braves placed pitcher Tom Glavine on the 15-day disabled list with a strained left elbow.  The move came one day after his return from a two month stay on the DL where Glavine was roughed up for seven runs on seven hits in four innings in a loss to the Chicago Cubs.

Glavine is now on the disabled list for the third time this year and might not pitch again.  His last trip to the DL was for a partially torn flexor tendon in his left elbow which Glavine elected to skip surgery and instead went with rest and rehabilitation.

To replace Glavine on the 25-man roster, the Braves brought up pitcher Matt DeSalvo from Triple-A Richmond.  DeSalvo, 27, was 2-11 with a 4.60 ERA at Richmond and previously pitched in the Majors in 2007 with the Yankees where he went 1-3 with a 6.18 ERA. 

The team is expected to use DeSalvo as a reliever and make an additional move to fill the void in the rotation created by the loss of Glavine.

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Not to be outdone, the St. Louis Cardinals sent veteran starting pitcher Chris Carpenter back to the 15-day disabled list with a right posterior shoulder strain retroactive to August 11.  Carpenter will miss at least two starts and is eligible to return on August 26.

Carpenter returned from Tommy John surgery on July 30 and made three starts for the Cardinals before leaving the third game with the injury that sent him back to the DL.  In the three starts, Carpenter pitched 14 1/3 innings and went 0-1 with a 1.88 ERA.

Outfielder Brian Barton filled the vacant roster spot created by the departure of Carpenter.  Barton was sidelined on July 6 with a fractured wrist and recently spent a 20-day rehab assignment at Triple-A Memphis.  In his rookie season, Barton is hitting .246 with two home runs and 11 RBI in 63 games.

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As expected, the Tampa Bay Rays sent closer Troy Percival to the 15-day disabled list on Friday.  Percival left Thursday’s game after injuring his knee fielding a sacrifice bunt.  The Rays recalled right-handed pitcher Juan Salas from Triple-A Durham to replace him.

The 39-year old Percival has been on the disabled list three times this season.  Between DL stints, Percival is 2-0 with 27 saves and a 3.69 ERA and the Rays are 32-0 when he enters the game in a save situation.

Salas was 4-5 with one save and a 2.62 ERA in 28 relief appearances for Durham.  He made 34 relief appearances with the Rays in 2007 and went 1-1 with a 3.72 ERA but issues with his visa caused the 29-year old reliever to miss all of Spring Training and when the problem was finaly resolved, Salas was sent to Durham.

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The Yankees made some unexpected moves on Friday.  First, the club optioned outfielder Melky Cabrera to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.  Then, the Yankees designated Richie Sexson for assignment with plans to release Sexson.  Cabrera and Sexson were replaced on the 25-man roster by Brett Gardner and Cody Ransom.

Cabrera started the season as the Opening Day center fielder but the 23-year old struggled as the season progressed.  In 117 games, Cabrera hit .242 with eight homers and 36 RBI. 

Sexson was signed by the Yankees in July after he was released by the Seattle Mariners.  Since his signing, Sexson was 7-for-28 (.250) with one home run and six RBI.

Gardner is back for his second stint with the Yankees.  The 24-year old Gardner hit .153 in 17 games with the club in June and July.  At Scranton, Gardner was used mostly as an outfielder and hit .296 with a .414 on-base percentage in 94 games.

Ransom, 32, is headed to the Majors for the third team in his career.  He played off and on at the Major League level with the San Francisco Giants from 2001 to 2004 and with the Houston Astros in 2007 before joining the Yankees.  In 140 lifetime at-bats, the utility infielder hit .236 with three home runs and 16 RBI.

In a more expected move, the Yankees officially sent pitcher Dan Giese to the 15-day disabled list.  Reliever Chris Britton was recalled from Scranton to fill the void left by Giese’s injury.  Also, the Yankees announced Darrell Rasner will take Giese’s turn in the rotation on Tuesday.

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Wednesday night, Angels’ shortstop Maicer Izturis injured his thumb diving for a grounder against the Mariners.  On Friday, the club announced that Izturis would undergo season-ending surgery to repair a torn ulna collateral ligament.  First baseman Kendry Morales was recalled from Triple-A Salt Lake to fill Izturis’ roster spot.

Izturis played 79 games this year and hit .269 with a .329 on-base percentage and scored 44 runs, notched 37 RBI and stole 11 bases.  Izturis was used mostly as the team’s shortstop where he made just two errors in 52 games.

The injury to Izturis will mean more playing time for Erick Aybar who has already made 68 starts at shortstop.  Aybar is hitting .286 with three home runs, 30 RBI and 40 runs scored in 75 games.

Morales is on his second stint with the team in 2008.  In his last stop, Morales went 0-for-1 as a pinch hitter in his only appearance.

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