Both Jose Vizcaino and Jeff Kent hit the disabled list this week, while last Roy Oswalt returned to the DL last week. Vizcaino left the Astros' June 24th game in Arizona after a Stephen Randolph pitch hit and fractured his lower left forearm in the seventh inning. He underwent surgery yesterday in which a plate was inserted into his arm to hold the bone while it heals. Houston believes Vizcaino will need eight weeks to recover from the injury, so he's not expected back much before the end of August.

The Astros benched Jeff Kent beginning June 19th in response to his complaint of a sore left wrist. Houston initially believed he would be able to rejoin the lineup after a few days of rest. When he continued to feel pain after a weekend on the bench, he received a cortisone shot on the 22nd. The Astros waited for the shot to take affect, but when he wasn't ready to return to the field on Friday, Houston placed him on the DL. He's undergone two MRI scans and both reportedly indicated that he's suffering from tendinitis and there is no structural damage to the wrist. While he's eligible to rejoin the team on July 4th, I don't believe Kent will come off the DL until after the All-Star break, as he wants to approach this problem slowly in the hope that he will not experience setbacks after returning to the lineup.