Baseball Daily Dose: Daily Dose: See Ya, Yasiel?

Yasiel Puig was willing to try anything.

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Puig left in the ninth inning of the Dodgers’ 1-0 win over the Reds after straining his right hamstring trying to beat out an infield single. After the game, Puig considered rest, destiny and divine intervention as possible solutions to his injury.

The injury was actually an aggravation of a previous injury Puig sustained earlier this month. Puig initially strained the hamstring in Oakland on August 18, and he missed two games before returning. He said this time the hamstring feels worse, but Puig was holding out hope Thursday.

“With the treatment I was receiving, I was able to withstand the games,” Puig said of his prior injury. “It wasn’t that severe that time. Now, God willing, this one isn’t that severe, either.”

Puig said one thing he won’t do is hurry back like he did after straining his left hamstring earlier this season. Then, the outfielder missed five weeks after aggravating the injury by attempting to return too soon.

It has been that kind of year for Puig, whose starts and stops have contributed to struggles at the plate. The 24-year-old is hitting a pedestrian .256/.324/.440 with 11 homers, 38 RBI, 30 runs scored and just three stolen bases through 77 games.

Puig had been better in recent games, batting .342 (13-for-38) with two home runs during a 10-game hitting streak. Now, it seems likely he’ll require yet another trip to the disabled list, but Puig wasn’t ready to give up after the game.

“I’m improving my hitting, but this happened with my leg again,” he said. “I can’t do anything about that. All I can do is continue working, continue receiving treatment and see what destiny brings me in this final month.”

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Span Could Be Done For Year

Speaking of forgettable years, a nightmare season for Denard Span took another downward turn Thursday.

Span, who has missed time due to abdomen, knee and back issues already this year, was placed on the 15-day disabled list Thursday with inflammation in his left hip. While not something that has popped up to this point, the injury is believed to be related to other ailments Span has dealt with this season.

What’s worse, Nationals manager Matt Williams suggested this injury could sideline Span for the rest of the regular season.

“I don’t know if I’ve ever seen anything like it,” Williams said of the injuries to a multitude of Nationals this season, not just Span.

It would be a disappointing end to an equally disappointing season for the 31-year-old. Span was terrific when on the field, slashing .301/.365/.431 with five homers and 11 steals, but his injuries made those times infrequent. Span has played in just 61 of the team’s 126 games through Thursday.

What the future holds for Span, if his 2015 season is indeed over, will be of interest. He will be a free agent this winter and has been a productive player when healthy. The Nationals, with no heir apparent in center field, could work to keep Span in Washington, D.C. for another few years.

Fernandez Wows In Throwing Session

Some good news on the injury front came for Jose Fernandez on Thursday.

Fernandez, who hit the disabled list on August 11 with a right biceps strain, threw his first bullpen session since the injury on Thursday. And he didn’t just throw it — he dominated it.

“I think it went something like, wow,” Marlins manager Dan Jennings said of Fernandez’s 30-pitch session. “I talked to (trainer Sean Cunningham), and he said it was very impressive. He said he’s right on track, looks good, jumped out of his hand. So we’ll start to build that up now.”

That’s great news for the 23-year-old, who is on record as saying he is confident he will pitch again this season despite the Marlins having little left to play for. Jennings said Fernandez will likely throw another bullpen and a simulated game before considering him for activation.

“Somewhere early to mid-September is probably a realistic target date,” Jennings said.

It hasn’t been Fernandez’ year — a running theme in this column — but the right-hander has been his usual lethal self when on the mound. After returning from Tommy John surgery in early July, Fernandez went 4-0 with a 2.30 ERA, 1.02 WHIP and 53/10 K/BB ratio over seven starts before straining the biceps.

If all continues to go well, Fernandez could return just in time to help owners make a run at a fantasy title.

National League Quick Hits: One of Fernandez’ teammates got good news on Thursday as well, as Giancarlo Stanton (wrist) is expected to face live pitching in batting practice next Monday. Jennings said Stanton, who has been out since June 27 with a left wrist hamate fracture, could be activated from the disabled list as early as next week … Fall is approaching, which means Madison Bumgarner is once again becoming nearly unhittable. The southpaw struck out 12 over six innings in a victory over the Cubs, allowing a lone run to earn his 16th win of the season … Brandon Crawford (oblique) sat out again Thursday. The Giants still don’t appear to have intentions on placing Crawford on the disabled list, but he might still need a day or two before returning to the starting lineup … Adrian Gonzalez left Thursday’s game with a left knee bruise, but the first baseman said he’s “100 percent” certain he’ll be in the lineup on Friday. Crisis averted … Christian Yelich missed Thursday’s game with a bruised knee, and the ailment was bad enough that Yelich didn’t even take batting practice. Monitor his situation closely … The Cubs, in an effort to amass every once-great closer still pitching, acquired Fernando Rodney from the Mariners on Thursday. Rodney, who was traded by the M’s for a player to be named later, won’t be asked to close games for the Cubs … Not a huge surprise, but it seems Adam Wainwright (Achilles) won’t be back in 2015 despite his best efforts. The pitcher has expressed optimism that he can return this season, but Cardinals general manager John Mozeliak is more realistic and recently asked Waino to “pump the brakes” regarding his potential return. Still, he should be healthy and ready to go for the 2016 season.

American League Quick Hits: Adam Jones had a run-in with the outfield wall Thursday that left the All-Star day-to-day. Jones ran hard into the wall and hurt his wrist, but he has no concussion symptoms and should be back in the Orioles’ lineup sometime this weekend … Yordano Ventura looked like the pitcher the Royals selected as their Opening Day starter this year, striking out 11 over six scoreless innings against the Orioles on Thursday. Replicating that performance on a more consistent basis will be the next step … Count Desmond Jennings among those who can’t catch a break. Jennings went back on the 15-day disabled list Thursday with a left knee bruise after banging the surgically repaired knee on a slide this past weekend. Time to get healthy is quickly running out … David Freese (finger) is expected to be activated from the disabled list early next week. Freese has been on a rehab assignment with Triple-A Salt Lake since Sunday as he recovers from a right index finger fracture sustained on July 23 … Matt Shoemaker announced his return to the Angels in impressive fashion, holding the Tigers to one hit over 7 1/3 shutout innings in Thursday’s victory … James Loney dropped his appeal of a one-game suspension for making contact with the home plate umpire, serving the suspension Thursday.

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