Iron Man Brad Ausmus has been placed on the 15 day Disabled List due to a pinched nerve in his back.  You may ask why Ausmus is being referred as an Iron Man….Well it is because this is his first trip to the DL in his 17 year career.  Although there is no timetable for his return, Ausmus said he hopes he will be ready to come back as soon as he becomes eligible on April 24 at Washington.

In the mean time, catcher A.J. Ellis will be recalled from Triple-A to serve as Martin’s backup.

This stat is especially amazing as Ausmus plays catcher which is a very physical position.  Ausmus, who is tied for seventh on the all-time list in games behind the plate, hinted earlier this week that he will probably retire after this season, but he has been in that frame of mind each of the past two winters and still wound up signing with the Dodgers each time.

Three players that have over 10 years of major league service time that have never been on the DL before are the Yankees Javier Vazquez and Randy Winn and the Braves Derek Lowe.

Information from ESPN.com was used in this article.