Sunday's injury roundup: Stanton hit in hand, X-rays negative

Some injury notes on the following players: Giancarlo Stanton, Chris Perez, Evan Longoria, Mike Morse, Denard Span, Tim Hudson, Jose Iglesias, Mike Napoli, Ian Kinsler, Nyjer Morgan,

By Matt Snyder

Mar 11, 2012 at 7:09 pm ET • 2 min read

Here's a quick roundup of the more minor injuries from spring training on Sunday:

• Young Marlins slugger Giancarlo Stanton was hit with a pitch on the left wrist Sunday and forced to leave the game. The good news is that X-rays were negative (Fish Tank blog), so Stanton just has a painful bruise. "All is good, ready to go! No worries people," he tweeted. Expect Stanton to be cautious the next few days, but his preparation for the season shouldn't be affected much.

• Indians closer Chris Perez is "getting closer" in terms of his return to the mound (MLB.com). He's thrown from 105 feet, and the next step is to throw 120 feet. The Indians are said to be "optimistic" that Perez can be ready for opening day. He's recovering from an oblique injury.

• Rays third baseman Evan Longoria is again ready for game action after getting hit with a pitch in the hand last week (TampaBay.com).

• Nationals outfielder Mike Morse was scratched from the lineup Thursday and hasn't played since. Sunday, he received a cortisone shot to help ease the pain he's feeling in his injured lat muscle. He still hasn't started a throwing program, but could DH later this coming week (Washington Times).

• Twins outfielder Denard Span was scratched from the lineup Sunday due to neck stiffness. He's said to be "day to day." (MLB.com) Also in Twins news, Tsuyoshi Nishioka will not play Monday, as he has a sore left hand (St. Paul Tribune via Twitter).

• Braves starting pitcher Tim Hudson -- who is recovering from back surgery -- said Sunday that he expects to be ready by May 1 "at the latest." (AJC.com) This is big news for the Braves, especially since it initially sounded like he'd miss six weeks or more of the regular season.

• Red Sox shortstop prospect Jose Iglesias didn't play Sunday and is out "a few days" with a "stiff groin." (BostonHerald.com) The Beavises and Buttheads of the world would surely insert inappropriate jokes here, but that's what the report says.

• In other groin injury news, Rangers catcher Mike Napoli missed his second straight game with left groin discomfort. Also in Rangers news, Ian Kinsler was a scratch Sunday with lower back tightness (MLB.com).

• Brewers outfielder Nyjer Morgan was hit in the helmet Saturday by a pitch. He will miss Monday's game as a precaution, but the Brewers say he's "fine." (MLB.com)