Even though x-rays of Dee Gordon's right thumb on Wednesday showed nothing broken, the Los Angeles Dodgers got some bad news on Thursday as an MRI showed a tear of the ulnar collateral ligament in his right thumb. The shortstop needs surgery and will be out six weeks.
Gordon jammed his right thumb under third base in the eighth inning on a stolen base Wednesday night against the Reds, on a headfirst slide. It was Gordon's major league leading 30th stolen base of the season.
"It was a weird play, a weird thing that happened, that messed up my thumb," Gordon said on Wednesday. "It felt like I hit something real hard. As soon as I got up I knew I jammed it, and when I looked at my batting gloves and it looked disfigured."
Gordon was hitting just .229/.280/.282, so in theory that shouldn't be too hard to replace, but the ones currently on the roster who will get the bulk of playing time at shortstop are a pair of career minor leaguers in 28-year old Luis Cruz and 27-year old Elian Herrera.
The Dodgers placed Gordon on the disabled list before Thursday's game in Arizona, and activated relief pitcher Javy Guerra.
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