CHICAGO -- The Astros placed struggling outfielder Carlos Gomez on the 15-day disabled list on Tuesday with a bruised left rib cage and replaced him on the 25-man roster with third-base prospect Colin Moran, who joined the team in Chicago.
Astros manager A.J. Hinch said prior to the series opener at U.S. Cellular Field that Gomez was kneed in the ribs diving back into second base during a play in Sunday's loss in Boston and informed the team on the flight to Chicago that he didn't feel well.
"We talked to our doctors and had him evaluated, and it's in the best interest to everybody to get him healthy and not play short," Hinch said. "He wasn't going to play in this series based on the injury, so we felt no need to keep him here as a bench player that wasn't available."
Gomez was hitting .182 with no homers, five RBIs and 46 strikeouts in 132 at-bats. After a costly error on a fly ball in Sunday's loss at Boston, a frustrated Gomez said he was costing the Astros wins. He dealt with a strained rib cage earlier in the month.

"[Gomez] needs to recuperate, and I don't expect it to be lengthy -- a few days off and back to resuming some baseball activity," general manager Jeff Luhnow said. "It would be a nice outcome if he were able to come to the team in 15 days rejuvenated, refreshed and ready to contribute."
Luhnow talked to Gomez three or four times over the past week and praised him for taking responsibility for his poor play.
When he's healthy, Gomez will get some at-bats on a rehab assignment in the Minors, which will give him a chance to iron out his game in a lower-stress environment.
"He feels bad for the organization, the fans and for his teammates," Luhnow said. "He knows he's not playing how he's capable and is letting everybody down. He's working as hard as he can. Hopefully, this rest and recuperation and getting at-bats in a different environment will help restart the engine and get back to where he was. He's a two-time All-Star. We need this player to be good if we're going to be good this year."