Cleveland placed Milton Bradley on the DL Thursday after he was hit in the face by a ball during Wednesday's game. Bradley reportedly attempted to catch a fly ball hit by Brad Fullmer, and when he missed, the ball ricocheted off the outfield wall, hitting him in the face.

The ball broke the occipital bone below his eye; the area has swollen and his iris has become inflamed, causing the outfielder to experience double vision. While his condition improved on Saturday, the Indians don't yet know whether Bradley will need surgery to repair the damage.

Considering the delicate nature of the injury and the fact they were able to activate Jolbert Cabrera from the DL to replace him on the roster, Cleveland likely won't try to bring Bradley back too quickly. Hopefully he won't suffer permanent damage and will actually improve his batting eye while he rehabs the injury.

Although the team has some doubts as to whether Cabrera has fully recovered from the nerve damage in his buttocks caused by a bullet wound sustained during an off-season Columbian car jacking, Cabrera maintains he feels better than ever. His positional flexibility should be quite useful to the Indians. The 29-year-old recently added first base to the list of positions he can cover. He could already play the outfield and might have started at second until Cleveland signed Ricky Gutierrez.

Detroit continues to have injury problems. As previously mentioned, the Tigers placed Dean Palmer on the DL with the intention of leaving him there until he was healthy enough to return to 3B rather than DH. At the time, they gave the impression that he simply needed to improve his arm strength so that he could make the throws necessary to field third. Then on Friday, Palmer underwent surgery in which doctors fused two of the vertebrae in his neck.

Palmer had surgery last July in order to repair a 70% tear of his right rotator cuff. He was still recovering from that surgery when he began to experience neck and back spasms during Spring Training. Hopefully the surgery will help him not only with his neck problems but also with his shoulder as well.

The 33-year-old is not expected to return to the majors this season, though his contract with the Tigers extends through 2003, so they want him back at third base next season. He's making $6M this season and will earn $6.5 in 2003. I also believe Detroit still owes him a portion of his $10M signing bonus from 1999.

Meanwhile, as expected, Detroit placed Dmitri Young on the disabled list. However the injury the Tigers originally thought was a groin pull has now been diagnosed as a hernia. At this point, the club does not think he will need surgery and he is currently on schedule to return as soon as he is eligible to come off the DL on Wednesday.

Depending on how fully Young has recovered when he returns, he and Randall Simon will probably split time at 1B and DH. Simon played a few games at DH recently due to a mild hamstring problem with Paquette covering 1B. Paquette will likely continue to cover third base, however Jose Macias received considerable playing time at third while Paquette has played elsewhere this week. Now that Damian Jackson is back while Damion Easley is still on the DL, Jackson has received the majority of the 2B at-bats despite the Tigers' stated preference to have him available for other positions. Consequently, I'm not sure what lineup manager Luis Pujols will use most frequently when Young returns.

Florida placed Kevin Millar on the DL Saturday retroactive to April 29th. Millar strained the oblique muscle on his left side early last week. Hopefully the trip to the DL will allow him to rest the side as that's really the most effective treatment for muscle strains. The Marlins will probably activate him when he is eligible to return from the disabled list. Eric Owens should take over the majority of Millar's playing time in left field.

The Marlins likely were more disposed to placing Millar on the DL because they needed to make room on the roster for a spot starter. Hansel Izquierdo was supposed to take Josh Beckett's spot in the rotation on Saturday, but he had to pitch multiple innings of relief on Friday for Brad Penny, who left his start in the second inning with elbow problems.

Penny reportedly has an inflamed nerve near the triceps muscle in his right elbow. Florida currently doesn't plan to start him before May 13th, but the team seems hesitant to place him on the DL with two other starters already out. Izquierdo should receive a start later in the week.

Nate Teut was called up to start Saturday's game for the Marlins. The 26-year-old starter, picked up from the Cubs for Jesus Sanchez during the Winter Meetings, spent last season in AAA. His strikeout numbers are good, however both his hits and walks allowed increased with his promotion from AA to AAA last season. While his 9.9 H/9 stayed within the range of acceptability, his 3.7 BB/9 was too high.

Teut's ability to regain his control will determine whether he'll be able to remain a starter or if he'll need to move to the bullpen. He lasted 4.1 innings in his major league debut Saturday with a 3:1 K:BB, and though he allowed 8 hits, he did not give up a home run. He threw 77 pitches, 45 for strikes. Given the state of the Marlins' rotation, I expect him to receive at least one more start before he's sent down.

Montreal placed Andres Galarraga on the DL Friday with a strained lower back. He's been troubled by the injury since mid-April and has barely been able to play since then. Now that Fernando Tatis has returned, Chris Truby is available to replace Galarraga off the bench, so the Expos felt comfortable placing him on the DL. I'm not certain how long Tatis will be able to stay off the disabled list, but he currently appears healthy.

Joey Eischen replaced Galarraga on the roster. The lefty reliever has bounced between the independent leagues, AAA, and the majors for the last eight years. Overall, he seems to be a fairly decent lefty for the pen, but he has had trouble with his control in the majors. With Graeme Lloyd and Scott Stewart on the roster, I don't expect that he will pitch many innings. Eischen will turn 32 on May 25th.