Texas Rangers shortstop Michael Young is dealing with a hip flexor injury and is listed as day-to-day.

Young was removed from Wednesday’s game against the Seattle Mariners because of the injury and did not play in Thursday’s game.

Ramon Vazquez is starting in his place.

Young, an All-Star who is injury prone, is hitting .303 with three home runs and 16 RBI’s in 33 games.

Boston Red Sox pitcher Curt Schilling played long toss before Thursday night’s game against the Detroit Tigers, testing to see how his shoulder would respond.

Manager Terry Francona said the session went well, but progress has been slower than hoped.

The team hoped that Schilling would be able to return sometime around the All-Star break, but it seems like that timetable might need to be extended.

Schilling had prefered to have surgery to correct the injury, but the Red Sox wanted him to rest and rehab it.

The Pittsburgh Pirates have traded for Cleveland Indians outfielder Jason Michaels, who had just been designated for assignment.

The Indians will receive cash and a player to be named later in the deal.

General manager Neal Huntington said the Pirates made the deal because they had the chance to get an established major league player who is off to a slow start.

That might be one way of putting it, but I’m confused as to why a rebuilding team just spent money and a prospect to pick up a struggling veteran outfielder.

Atlanta Braves relief pitcher Peter Moylan will miss the rest of the regular season after undergoing Tommy John surgery.

It’s just the latest hit for a bullpen that has been decimated by injuries.

The surgery typically takes a full year to recover from, meaning that Moylan might not be ready in time to start the 2009 season.

Moylan began the season as the setup man to closer Rafael Soriano and pitched well, going 0-1 with one save and a 1.59 ERA.

The Washington Nationals haven’t lost just one catcher, but two.

The team has announced that catchers Paul Lo Duca and Johnny Estrada have both been placed on the 15-day disabled list.

Lo Duca, who just came off the DL after he was hit in the hand on April 13, was hit again in the same area and broke his fourth metacarpal bone.

Estrada has not played since April 30 because of a problem with his right elbow.

Wil Nieves will take over the catching duties in their absence.

A 25-pitch bullpen session by Cleveland Indians closer Joe Borowski went off without a hitch.

The closer has been sidelined since blowing two saves in early April, a result of a decline in his velocity thanks to a strained triceps muscle.

The next step for Borowski will be to go on a minor league rehab assignment.

In the meantime, Rafael Betancourt is serving as the team’s interim closer.

It’s never a good thing when a player has to go on the disabled list. It’s even worse when two have to go on the DL at the same time.

However, putting two players who play the same position on the DL at the same time is pretty much a crisis, which is what the Toronto Blue Jays are faced with.

The team announced that shortstops David Eckstein and John McDonald have both been placed on the DL after being injured an inning apart in a recent game.

The team is expected to hand over the starting duties to Marco Scutaro and has promoted Joe Inglett from Triple-A.

The Oakland Athletics have optioned pitcher Dallas Braden to the minor leagues.

Braden was 1-0 with a 3.86 ERA in limited appearances out of the bullpen.

The young pitcher has been brought up and send down a number of times over the past two seasons as he looks to find some sort of consistency.

Braden has two career victories, both coming against the Baltimore Orioles.

Looking to find an offensive spark, the Texas Rangers have designated first baseman Ben Broussard for assignment.

The Rangers were drawn to Broussard for his ability to play a number of different position, but he has struggled at the plate so far this season.

Broussard was batting just .159 with three home runs and eight RBI’s in 26 games.

The team now has 10 days to trade or release Broussard. Otherwise, he will have to clear waivers to be pushed through to the minor leagues.

The Cincinnati Reds have placed pitcher Kent Mercker on the disabled list with lower back pain.

Mercker had actually been fairly effective coming out of the bullpen this season, going 0-0 with a 3.86 ERA.

Bill Bray, who was just demoted after the team had to clear room for another returning player, is on his way back up to the big league club.

Bray pitched well for the Reds in his limited time with the club.