Walking wounded report

A quick Walking Wounded Report on our three players who are the closest to returning to full-time duty.

First up:  Josh Johnson.

It turns out the Marlins wanted Josh Johnson to make back-to-back, 100-pitch starts in the minors after all. Last week, manager Fredi Gonzalez didn't dismiss the possibility Sunday might be Johnson's last appearance.

After allowing five runs and 11 hits with a walk and three strikeouts over 5 2/3 innings for Double-A Carolina, Johnson didn't make a compelling case to change the Marlins' thought process. He will start at least one more game for the Mudcats on Friday.

Gonzalez was non-committal about the team's plans for Johnson beyond that. Keeping Johnson in the minors does preclude him from making his 2008 debut at Coors Field, a notion Gonzalez dismissed as irrelevant.

If Johnson does come back in the first half, he'll likely pitch at San Diego on July 9 or at Dodger Stadium on July 10.

I agree Johnson being held out from starting in Colorado is irrelevant to his progress.  But as it stands right now, I would prefer he continue to work on whatever he needs to work on in the minors.  Obviously, the club wants him to prove his stamina is up to par.  The other thing which isn't quite clear is if he has a feel for his sinker yet.

Next up: Dan Uggla.

Ugga is still out with a sprained left ankle and is not doing any baseball activities -- not even hitting off a tee -- while he tries to strengthen the ankle he injured Saturday night.

Will Carroll of the Baseball Prospectus had this to say yesterday, in the Premium you need a subscription to read area of the site.

By now, you've seen the video of the complex sprain that Dan Uggla suffered on the basepaths. The unusual mechanism—one that a colleague called a "double-tap sprain"—makes this one tough to judge. So far the Marlins are just letting it play itself out, watching the swelling and pain. Uggla is valuable enough and there's a big enough value gap between him and any replacement that the Marlins almost have to do it this way, letting Uggla go until next weekend before making any decision as far the DL, and holding onto the possibility of a retro move.

Mr. Carroll thinks Danny will be out for, at the minimum, the rest of the week.  In my experience, he normally knows what he is talking about.

And finally:  Alfredo Amezaga.

Marlins utility man Alfredo Amezaga, who has a groin injury, is feeling better, and Gonzalez said Monday that Amezaga could play in the infield but not the outfield.

It was encouraging last night when he was sent in to pinch run.  Though, he didn't have to do anything other than take a lead from first.  I guess the bottom line is: he is feeling better.  That, or Jacobs is so slow that a gimpy base runner is preferable to him running the bases.  You decide.