Cincinnati Reds’ Devin Mesoraco goes on DL with torn labrum

More bad injury news for the Cincinnati Reds.

After undergoing an MRI on his left shoulder, Reds catcher Devin Mesoraco has been diagnosed with a torn labrum and the team has placed him on the 15-day disabled list. Ramon Cabrera has been called up from Triple-A Louisville to take Mesoraco’s place.

This was just about the worst-case scenario for Mesoraco. It stands to reason he’ll be out for quite some time, if not the entire season. The Reds haven’t stated whether he’ll need surgery or not, but it seems fairly likely that he will at some point. His hip surgery was prolonged as long as possible last season, but it would make little sense for the team to do that this year with no expectations to compete. Getting him 100 percent healthy as soon as possible should be the top priority.

Since signing a four-year, $28 million contract extension before the 2015 season, Mesoraco has played in just 39 games and had 106 plate appearances. Given that he’s been hurt for most of those at-bats, his performance has suffered, hitting a combined .158/.245/.200 without a single home run.

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Tucker Barnhart should take over as the everyday catcher for now. He’s performed admirably this season, hitting .302/.375/.395 in 48 plate appearance, while throwing out six of 10 attempted base stealers.

The Reds have to feel good about their decision to bring back Cabrera for 2016, as he should be a more than adequate backup. He went 11-for-30 in a September call-up with the club last season and is hitting .259/.268/.278 in 15 games at Triple-A this year. Jordan Pacheco could also get some time behind the plate.

This announcement comes on the heels of more bad news for Reds pitchers. Anthony DeSclafani and Homer Bailey both had setbacks in their rehabs, while Jon Moscot is in danger of missing his scheduled Tuesday start. John Lamb was scratched from his scheduled rehab start in Louisville on Monday, leading WCPO’s John Fay to speculate that the left-hander could return to Cincinnati on Tuesday.

If you want to see the definition of “snake-bitten,” just take look at the Reds.