NL Player Notes - July 11th, 2013

Ryan Howard -- Howard's surgery to repair the torn meniscus in his left knee on Wednesday was deemed a success. That's the best news his owners could have hoped for, but Howard will still be on the shelf for six-to-eight weeks. That puts his return somewhere in the late August/early September window. Darin Ruf figures to get the bulk of the playing time at first base in his place.

Darin Ruf -- Ruf hit his first home run of the season last night in his fourth game as Philly's replacement for Ryan Howard at first base. Ruf went 1-for-3 overall on the night and figures to play most days over the next couple months. John Mayberry Jr. could work his way in against lefties, but Ruf should be given a long look by Philly to see if he fits into their long-term plans. Ruf won't do much in the batting average department, but he can take a walk and has a bit of power.

Matt Cain -- Giants beat writer Alex Pavlovic wrote yesterday of whispers that there "have been in-house discussions" in San Francisco as to Matt Cain's health. Cain lasted just two-thirds of an inning against the Mets yesterday, allowing 3 runs before getting yanked. Cain's velocity and peripherals and are the same as they've always been, but if the team is concerned, it's something to be aware of. Cain's surface numbers have been pretty ugly this year, so be cautious.

Johnny Hellweg -- It only took three starts for the Brewers to make up their minds about Johnny Hellweg: he's not MLB ready. One could argue he wasn't even Triple-A ready. It says something when a 4.1-IP, 4-ER game against the Mets yesterday was his best of the year. Hellweg has upside, but he has no control whatsoever right now, and his stuff hasn't translated to strikeouts anywhere above High-A yet. It's possible the Brewers recall Hellweg when they need a fifth starter again after the All-Star Break, but it seems unlikely given that his ERA looks like Jim Henderson's strikeout rate.

Chris Carpenter -- Carpenter, once thought to be out for the year, has now been cleared to start a rehab assignment Monday with St. Louis' Double-A affiliate after throwing a 100-pitch simulated game yesterday without any pain. A lot can still happen for a pitcher as fragile as Carpenter, but it's possible he'll return to the Cardinals' rotation by the end of the month or early next month. Carpenter was a great pitcher when healthy, but it's been so long since that's been the case it's hard to know what to expect.

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