Reuters/Arizona


The Arizona Diamondbacks have hired Hall of Fame manager Tony La Russa to be their new chief baseball officer, the team announced on Saturday. La Russa will oversee the Diamondbacks’ baseball operations department and determine whether changes are necessary. General manager Kevin Towers will report directly to La Russa.
La Russa, 69, retired from managing after guiding the St. Louis Cardinals to the 2011 World Series title. Since then, he has been working in Major League Baseball’s executive offices. The Diamondbacks are off to a slow start to the season at 16-28 heading into Saturday. They are tied with the Houston Astros for the most losses in the major leagues. Arizona also has the worst run differential in the majors at minus-73.

Cashner suffers
sore elbow
The San Diego Padres placed right-hander Andrew Cashner on the 15-day disabled list with a sore elbow, MLB.com reported on Saturday. The exact nature and extent of the injury was not immediately disclosed by the team.
Cashner, 27, was scheduled to pitch yesterday, but a replacement starter was not yet announced. In nine starts, Cashner is 2-5 with a 2.35 ERA in 57 1/3 innings this season.

Middlebrooks on 15-day disabled list
The Boston Red Sox placed third baseman Will Middlebrooks on the 15-day disabled list on Saturday with a fractured finger. Middlebrooks was hit by a pitch earlier this week but it is not clear if that resulted in the injury.
Middlebrooks, 25, has been bothered by injuries the past two seasons. He was out earlier this season with a calf injury. He has a batting line of .197/.305/.324 with two home runs and nine RBIs in 21 games this season.
The club recalled infielder Brock Holt from Triple-A Pawtucket to take Middlebrooks’ roster spot.

Tigers release reliever Robertson
The Detroit Tigers released left-handed reliever Nate Robertson on Saturday. Robertson, 36, was pitching for the team’s Triple-A affiliate in Toledo. He had a 3.43 ERA but walked 13 batters in 21 innings while trying to work his way back to the major leagues.