NL East Injury Updates: Carlos Ruiz out

Philadelphia Phillies catcher Carlos Ruiz has been scratched from today’s rivalry game against the New York Mets due to tightness in his right hamstring. Chooch has been invaluable this season with 29 RBIs and a .419 OBP, and Roy Halladay called him the best player on the team. However, most of us will say that Doc is the Phillies top guy.

Brian Schneider will get the nod at catcher today, and it is unclear as to how much pain Ruiz is experiencing. Hopefully, the star catcher won’t be out for another game. He has already been worth 2.5 WAR this year with an outstanding 175 wRC+, and he is on pace to beat his previous career high of 4.4 WAR set in 2010. Ruiz has doubled his ZiPS projection from 2.6 WAR to 5.2 WAR, and he continues to be one of the best defensive catchers in baseball.

Another key NL East player will be out today, and that is Atlanta Braves first baseman Freddie Freeman. The young, athletic left-hander has been having some recent problems with his vision. The contacts haven’t been working for Freeman, and the 2.5 WAR 1B is waiting for some prescription glasses to come in.

In the mean time, veteran backup Eric Hinske will get the start at first. Hinske is a solid backup, but he is off to slow start this year with a .271 wOBA over his first 73 plate appearances.

Center fielder Jayson Werth suffered a nasty injury, and the Washington Nationals star has been transferred from the 15-day DL to the 60-day DL in an unsurprising move given the severity of his injury.

The good news for the Braves is that Brian McCann will be back in the Atlanta line-up and will be ready to face off against the St. Louis Cardinals after suffering from the flu. Arguably the best catcher in baseball, McCann missed some games last week and is looking to improve on his .418 slugging percentage as soon as possible.

New York Mets 29-year-old shortstop Ronny Cedeno was diagnosed with a small calf strain, but it is doubtful that he will hit the DL. He will be out of the line-up today in the game against the Phillies, and there is also  a chance that he will miss tomorrow’s rivalry game as well. Cedeno has hit just .231 this season, but the left-hander has done a great job being patient and getting on base at a .351 OBP to offset his usually low slugging percentage (.308 this year).

Follow Joe Soriano on Twitter here. Check out That Ball’s Outta Here for everything on the Philadelphia Phillies.