(3:30 p.m. Update: The Danny Valencia "era" has ended in Boston. The Red Sox activated pitcher Vicente Padilla from the disabled list Tuesday and returned Valencia to Pawtucket. For now, third base has been turned over to Nick Punto.)
After being sidelined since the middle of May with a knee injury, the San Diego Padres have released once-upon-a-time Twins shortstop Jason Bartlett. Last action for Bartlett was on May 14, after which the Padres put Bartlett on the disabled list and released their other former Twins middle infielder, Orlando Hudson, who has since gone on to the White Sox.
Bartlett never lived up to expectations, even when healthy, for the Padres. He batted only .245 last season and was hitting .133 until his knee problems started.
"Moving forward with our middle infield, there was no playing time for Jason," Padres manager Bud Black told the San Diego Union-Tribune.
Meanwhile, in addition to moving to the team with the worst record in baseball, Michael Cuddyer may now be sidelined for the rest of the season after he reinjured an oblique muscle over the weekend.
He's gone back on the disabled list and Rockies manager Jim Tracy told the Denver Post when asked if Cuddyer could be done for the season: "There is a possibility. I won't (say) that's completely the case, but I won't rule it out, either."
On Yahoo! Sports, Rockies fan blogger Julie Hayes wrote that Cuddyer has fulfilled her worst fear: "This type of physical breakdown was exactly what I was worried about when the Rockies grabbed Cuddyer off of free agency this past offseason. The Rockies committed $31.5 million over a three-year period to a 33-year-old who had hit just .284 with 20 home runs the year before with the Minnesota Twins."
Read her entire post here.
