Sunday Morning Roster Noise: Alex Rodriguez to Have Surgery?, Ryan Braun to DL?, Carlos Gonzalez and Others

It was reported on Saturday that Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez has a slighlty torn meniscus in his right knee and may need surgery to correct it. He sat out Saturday's game and the Yankees will make a decision today whether he will have surgery or not. If he does, he will be out around 4 weeks. Eduardo Nunez will take his spot at third base, but I wonder if the Yankees may go out and make a deal for a third baseman like Wilson Betemit. Joel Sherman from the NY Post thinks they may look to the trade market as well:

@Joelsherman1

Joel Sherman

If A-Rod opts for surgery #Yankees will look at outside options, but 1st choice is Nunez and possibly promote Laird

14 hours ago via Twitter for BlackBerry® Favorite Retweet Reply

UPDATE:

Sherman and Mark Hale report this morning that ARod is leaning toward having surgery:

Alex Rodriguez is strongly leaning toward undergoing surgery to repair a slightly torn meniscus in his right knee, The Post has learned.

Rodriguez went for an MRI exam on Thursday and after the Yankees consulted with their doctors, the team has recommended that he have the operation, which would be expected to sideline him for a month and perhaps longer. Rodriguez is heading to Miami today to receive a second opinion from Dr. Lee Kaplan, who performed surgery on Jorge Posada's torn meniscus in his left knee last November.

Twins manager Ron Gardenhire stated the other day that he hopes catcher Joe Mauer will be open to playing more first base in the future. Mauer moving to first base on a full time basis drastically reduces his fantasy value, but as long as he continues to be catcher eligible, he will have solid fantasy value.

Dodgers outfielder Andre Ethier has also been taking ground balls at first base recently, and could see time there in the future. With first baseman James Loney struggling to hit for power again this season, playing Ethier at first base, and bringing up either Jerry Sands or Trayvon Robinson could provide the Dodgers offense with a bit more pop.

More Roster Noise after the jump:

Mets first baseman Ike Davis began some low-impact running recently, and ESPN's Adam Rubin reported yesterday that he was able to run on a treadmill with all of his weight. According to Rubin, all signs now point toward Davis returning in about 3 weeks. Good news for Davis owners.

Braves third baseman Chipper Jones had knee surgery yesterday and will be out for 3-4 weeks. Martin Prado, currently on the DL, will probably take his spot at third base when he returns from the DL after the All Star Break.

Rockies outfielder Carlos Gonzalez returned to the lineup on Friday night, but sat out yesterday saying his bruised right wrist was still bothering him. I wonder if he will eventually need a DL stint if his wrist doesn't improve.

Brewers outfielder Ryan Braun sat out his 7th straight game yesterday and it appears he will sit out today's game as well to rest his sore calf and quad, but should return after the All Star Break. There is still a chance he lands on the DL though, per Tom Haudricourt from the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel:

Melvin said he didn’t expect Braun to play in the Brewers’ final game before the break Sunday against Cincinnati, either, meaning he will miss the team’s last eight games. Melvin didn’t rule out a stint on the disabled list but said that decision wouldn’t be made until Braun tests the leg Thursday in Colorado.

The Diamondbacks are considering calling up either Brandon Allen or Paul Goldschmidt after the All Star Break. Both have performed well this season. Allen is hitting .300-.426-.570 with 17 HRs, 63 RBIs and a 86-64 K/BB rate in 293 at bats. Goldschmidt is hitting .315-.434-.630 with 25 HRs, 78 RBIs, 68 runs and 7 SBs in AA this season.

The Reds called up shortstop Zach Cozart a few days ago and he is 4-11 in his first 3 games with the Reds. Cozart was hitting .310-.357-.467 with 7 HRs, 32 RBIs, 57 runs and 9 SB this season at AAA Louisville. Last season in AA, he hit 17 HRs and stole 30 bases, so he has solid power/speed potential.

Diamondbacks closer J.J. Putz is scheduled to throw a bullpen session today, if he comes out of that clean, he will return after the All Star Break. David Hernandez has filled in nicely for him, going 5-5 in his save opportunities.