Yonder Alonso out with bone bruise in ankle

CINCINNATI -- Reds rookie left fielder Yonder Alonso wasn't in Monday's starting lineup and likely won't be the rest of the 2011 season. Alonso has been dealing with a bone bruise in his right ankle.

"We're probably going to shelve him just to pinch-hit," Reds manager Dusty Baker said.

Alonso, 24, was originally injured during a game at Wrigley Field in early August. The injury was aggravated when he fouled a ball off of his ankle on Saturday.

"I kind of kept it a secret a little bit and tried to play through it," Alonso said. "For some reason the past week, it's just been killing me. It's just a bone bruise. There is no tendon issues, no surgery. I'll deal with it and move forward. It's going to hurt. It's been hurting me for a month and a half."

Since his July 22 recall from Triple-A Louisville, Alonso has been impressive at the plate. In 40 games entering Monday, he is batting .346 with five home runs, 15 RBIs and a .418 on-base percentage.

After an initially rocky first few games at his new position of left field, Alonso became more competent in recent weeks and will dedicate his entire offseason to shedding some weight and focusing on becoming a full-time left fielder.

As far as the 2011 season is concerned, there is no more time in left field planned.

"At the end of the day, I don't want to embarrass the team and I don't want to embarrass myself," Alonso said. "I don't want to hurt the team on a ball I couldn't catch. That was my concern and that's what I told Dusty."


(mlb.com)