Padres Injury Updates: Tyson Ross, Cory Spangenberg

Tyson Ross and Cory Spangenberg are currently on the shelf. In a postgame interview last night, manager Andy Green gave out some info to help shed some light on the conditions of these two important players.

Tyson Ross was sent to the 15-day disabled list on April 9th due to shoulder inflammation, after getting rocked in an Opening Day start where he clearly wasn't right. He was ordered to rest, and had his first throwing session on Tuesday. He clearly wasn't progressing as hoped, so an MRI was requested. The MRI showed no structural damage requiring surgery, so the prescription is for more rest. They're hoping to get him back on a mound in a couple of weeks, so the Padres rotation needs to plan on being short their ace until mid-May at the soonest.

Cory Spangenberg injured his left quad in Tuesday's game while legging out a bunt single. An MRI revealed a strain in that left quad, but the injury appears minimal. Andy Green stated that he hoped to have Spangenberg back on the field shortly after the minimum 15-day stay on the DL.

With both Ross and Erlin on the DL, there's an open spot in the back end of the rotation. Carlos Villanueva and Brad Hand have starting experience and are on the 25-man roster, but there's a dark horse candidate to get a call-up. Bill Center noted that Cesar Vargas was scratched from his start for Double-A San Antonio with no sign of injury. He's off to a good start, with 14 K's in 12-2/3 IP over two starts with an ERA of 1.42. He started for the Padres in one of the Mexico City exhibition games, and he very well might start again for the Padres, only this time it would count.