Carlos Gonzalez placed on disabled list with finger issue

Colorado Rockies’ left fielder Carlos Gonzalez was planning to just play through the pain. His left index finger has been flaring up on him from time to time, forcing him to exit a number of games early after uncomfortable swings. He is also dealing with knee tendinitis.

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The plan to play through the pain stopped working on Tuesday night when Gonzalez’s finger blew up on him again. The Rockies finally had no choice but to place one half of their duo of stars on the 15-day DL.

More ominous than the stint on the DL is the problem with Gonzalez’s finger, one that seems to be an issue that will take more than 15 days to clear up. According to Thomas Harding of MLB.com:

"The injury originally was thought to be a broken blood vessel. During an examination on Thursday by Cleveland hand specialist Thomas Graham, the belief was there may be some sort of “foreign bodies” — perhaps a fingernail or a splinter — in the finger, with a soft tissue mass around it. However, no identifiable object showed up on an MRI exam or ultrasound."

With that diagnosis, it’s not clear how long it will take for Gonzalez to get right. If surgery is necessary, that would leave a larger area that has to heal and therefore even more time out.

Gonzalez was off to a slow start, likely in part due to how banged up he has been. Through 52 games Gonzalez was batting .255/.307/.449 with eight home runs and 31 RBI. The Rockies will now turn to Corey Dickerson, a hot-hitting young outfielder, for the bulk of the playing time in left field.