Mark DeRosa and Randy Johnson Head to the DL

So much for Mark DeRosa making an immediate impact for the St. Louis Cardinals. The Cardinals placed DeRosa on the 15-day DL today, retroactive to July 1, with a sprained right wrist.

In one of the worst economic times in baseball, where owners are counting their pennies, the Cardinals go out and actually add payroll, only to have the player go on the DL a week later.

This has to be frustrating if you are a Cardinal fan.

Look on the bright side Cardinal fans. At least Khalil Greene won’t be returning to third base to take the place of DeRosa anytime soon.

DeRosa is expected to be back shortly after the All-Star break. 

In other DL news, the San Francisco Giants placed Randy Johnson on the 15-day DL with a strained left shoulder. Johnson hurt his shoulder in Sunday’s game against the Astros.

Giants’ manager Bruce Bochy believes the injury isn’t that serious, and Johnson should be able to return after the 15-day period. I personally think Bochy is being very optimistic.

Johnson is no spring chicken at 45, and this is not like a hamstring or a sprained ankle. This is an injury to his pitching shoulder. It wouldn’t shock me if Johnson was out longer than 15 days.

Jonathan Sanchez will return to the rotation to take the place of Johnson.