MRI for Gavin Floyd's elbow reveals only muscle strain

The flexor muscle strain in Gavin Floyd's right elbow landed him on the disabled list for the second straight year. Hector Santiago will take his spot in the rotation, and Deunte Heath will take his spot on the roster.

And for the second straight year, an MRI revealed only a muscle strain, and no ligament damage. No real surprises so far, right?

Well, apparently there are a couple of differences:

"Last year it was a different spot," Floyd said. "It was kind of the same thing (Saturday). It was one pitch and I felt it and I was like ‘I’m going to pitch through it.’ I threw a couple more and it was just getting worse and stiffening up and I threw one to (Evan) Longoria and felt like I was babying it in there and started protecting myself. (Catcher) Tyler (Flowers) knew and he came out and talked to me."

The difference with his current flexor muscle strain is that he feels it more when throwing fastballs. Last year, it affected him more on curveballs.

The White Sox have no timetable on his return, but if it's like last year, he might only need the minimum 15 days. Then again, the Sox didn't have the luxury of a rehab stint since the minor-league season had ended.