A fractured index finger on the left hand has landed shortstop Tommy Manzella of the Houston Astros on the 15-day disabled list. The injury came during Tuesday’s game against the San Francisco Giants when Manzella took a stab at a catch during the game’s sixth inning. The Astros ended up losing to the Giants 3-1.

Manzella and the team were all uncertain of the extent of his injury that he suffered in Tuesday night’s game until he was examined and had X-Ray’s taken. The team’s physician made the official diagnosis for the injury – fractured index finger –on Wednesday resulting in an approximate six-week sideline from playing with Houston.

Prior to the injury, Manzella was hitting a .212 with 16 RBI’s and one homerun for this season in his 56 starts in his shortstop position. During the past dozen games, the shortstop had a posted average of .286 with eight RBI’s.

Manzella’s replacement is infielder Osvaldo “Ozzie” Navarro who was recalled from AAA Round Rock on Wednesday. Navarro will share playing time as shortstop with veteran player Geoff Blum until Manzella is able to recovery from his fractured index finger and return to the team.

This season with the Express, Ozzie had posted an average of .298 with 26 RBI’s and four homeruns. He also recorded a .400 on-base percentage during his 44 appearances.

This will be Navarro’s second stint with the Astros this season and appeared in three pinch-hit games where he went 0 for 3. He is scheduled to be with Houston for Wednesday night’s game.

In other club news: Outfielder Cory Sullivan, pitcher Casey Diagle, and catcher Kevin Cash have cleared their waivers. Diagle and Cash have both accepted assignments to AAA while Sullivan, on the other hand, has opted for free agency.

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