First, the good news. It appears that Craig Heyer's arm stiffness was not symptomatic of any larger problem. He saw the doctor while the team was on its recent road trip, and came back without news of any structural damage. He should pitch for the Thunder again this season. 

To fill in while Heyer, Graham Stoneburner, Cory Arbiso and Josh Romanski are on the shelf, lefty Vidal Nuno was bumped from Tampa to Trenton and will start this evening (weather permitting) against the Aeros, the best the Eastern League has to offer. 

With Tampa this season, Nuno, a 24-year-old, was 1-1 with a 2.96 ERA over 11 appearances (one start). He was 7-1 with a 1.38 ERA in 15 appearances (7 starts) last year between Staten Island and Charleston. The Indians originally popped him in the 48th round of the 2009 draft.

Now for the bad news. 

Walter Ibarra and Melky Mesa are headed to the DL for Trenton, marking the 14th and 15th players to land on the shelf this season. To put that in perspective, the Thunder's 15th DL transaction last year happened on June 28, and most players on the list to that point were members of the fake DL, where teams sometimes stash players when they need room for another guy. 

Ibarra reaggravated a previous injury to his middle finger during the team's road trip to Binghamton, and Mesa complained of soreness in his throwing arm/shoulder after Friday's game. Considering what an asset his arm is, and how well he'd been playing this season, that's a major blow.

Romanski, who's been dealing with blister issues, hasn't started throwing off a mound yet, so he's a ways away. Outfielder Zoilo Almonte and infielder Jose Pirela are playing in games in extended spring training, so they're getting closer.