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| Miguel Batista delivered an awful performance on Tuesday night. He allowed three hits and six runs over 2.1 innings against the Rangers. Batista was his own worst enemy, as he walked six batters and threw only 45 of his 85 pitches for strikes. |
Our View: Over his last four starts, Batista has delivered two gems and two major duds. It's maddening. Fantasy owners should avoid him if they possibly can.
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| Justin Duchscherer picked up his second straight win on Tuesday night. The right-hander held the Orioles to four hits and two runs over seven innings. Duchscherer walked two, struck out four, and stands at 3-1 with a 2.45 ERA. |
Our View: Duke has pitched well since coming back from a biceps ailment, and he could easily be 4-0 at this point. This was the first time all year that he worked more than five innings, and it may be time to look at him more seriously in mixed leagues.
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| Emil Brown remains the top producer in the A's lineup. He went 2-for-4 with an RBI against the Royals on Tuesday. Brown owns 28 RBI through 33 games. |
Our View: Brown has bounced back from an awful 2007 season. We like what he's doing thus far, but fantasy owners shouldn't rely too heavily on him. Brown is 33 and working under a one-year contract, which means the A's might easily push him aside if their record sours as the season continues.
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| Aubrey Huff went 1-for-4 with an RBI single on Tuesday against the A's. He extended his hitting streak to 10 games. |
Our View: Huff is having a decent year thus far and is borderline useful in mixed leagues. He's not going to win any fantasy titles, but he's not bad as a short-term injury replacement.
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| Santiago Casilla worked another scoreless inning and earned his first save of the season on Tuesday. He has yet to allow a run over 17.1 innings. |
Our View: Casilla was presumably used on Tuesday because Huston Street pitched the previous two days. Street remains the closer, but it seems like Casilla is the No. 2 guy is at this point.
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| Frank Catalanotto got the start at first base on Tuesday night. Manager Ron Washington is searching for better hitting out of the spot. "I certainly expected a lot more production than I'm getting out of it," Washington tells MLB.com. "Sometimes you get off to a bad start, and my first basemen have gotten off to a bad start." Ben Broussard, Chris Shelton, and Jason Botts have also played first base, and the group has combined to hit .161 with five homers, 13 RBI, and a .546 OPS. |
Our View: We don't know why the Rangers are being stubborn about not using Jarrod Saltalamacchia at first base. That decision might need to be reversed soon.
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| Vladimir Guerrero went 2-for-4 with a double, triple, two runs, and a walk against the Royals on Tuesday. |
Our View: Vlad missed some RBI opportunities on Tuesday night, but we're still happy to see the multi-hit outing. Hopefully he can continue to bury his mini-slump as this week rolls along.
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| Pittsburgh OF Xavier Nady continues to exert his value as one of the most coveted young players on the Pirates' roster, a player other teams are sure to target with trade offers. Nady went 2-for-4 with a walk in the Pirates 12-6 win over the San Francisco Giants this evening, hitting his 12th double of the season to gather two RBIs and one run scored. |
Our View: Over his last five games, Nady has gone 11-for-21 with five walks and eight RBIs, steadily raising his seasonal batting average to .352.
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| Nick Adenhart toiled again on Tuesday night, but he held the Royals to three runs over 4.1 innings. The rookie allowed six hits and walked five batters before departing. |
Our View: The 21-year-old right-hander still has a bright future, but he's now walked 10 batters over 6.1 innings. He clearly has some things to work on back at Triple-A, which is where he'll likely head soon.
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| Brian Bannister dropped his fourth straight decision on Tuesday night. He served up 13 hits and five runs over 6.2 innings against the Angels. Bannister walked two, struck out three, and tossed a wild pitch. He has now allowed five homers over his last three outings. |
Our View: That brilliant 3-0 start is beginning to look like an aberration. Bannister had never allowed as many as 13 hits in a game before, and it may be time for his adjustments. Fantasy owners certainly shouldn't give up on him, but we all need to look back at his 2007 digits for a reality check.
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| Garret Anderson went 3-for-5 with a homer and five RBI in Tuesday's win over the Royals. The veteran also went deep and drove in two runs on Monday. |
Our View: Is this the beginning of a hot streak? Only time will tell, but fantasy owners may want to pay attention to Anderson again. He hit only .231 in April, but he's capable of reeling off some quality numbers.
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| Jermaine Dye went 2-for-3 with a homer, two runs, and two RBI in Tuesday's win against the Twins. The outfielder also managed not to strike out. He had whiffed 15 times in the previous 10 games. |
Our View: A lingering groin injury has been bothering Dye, and it's good to see him have such a productive day. It might be a decent time for fantasy owners to buy low.
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| Nick Blackburn worked six innings against the White Sox on Tuesday and allowed six hits and four runs (three earned). The rookie walked three, struck out one, and dropped to 2-2. |
Our View: Blackburn has been knocked around pretty hard (53 hits, 42.1 innings) this year, but he's shown toughness and managed a solid 3.65 ERA. AL-only fantasy owners should feel comfortable using him despite the low strikeout totals.
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| Gavin Floyd toyed with no-hitter on Tuesday night. He didn't allow a hit until Joe Mauer doubled in the ninth inning. Floyd finished with one hit and one unearned run allowed over 8.1 innings. He walked three and struck out four. |
Our View: Back on April 12, Floyd took a no-hitter into the eighth inning against the Tigers. This 25-year-old right-hander has taken a long time to find his comfort zone at the major league level, but it looks like fantasy owners can start believing.
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| Carlos Pena went 0-for-4 with four strikeouts against the Blue Jays on Tuesday. It was his second four-whiff effort of the year. His other such outing was April 22, also against the Blue Jays. Pena has struck out 39 times in 31 games and is hitting .207. |
Our View: Pena is testing the Rays patience. He has only one homer and four RBI over the last 20 games. We realize this is a marathon and don't want to overreact, but we can't imagine Joe Maddon will keep putting up with this work out of the clean-up spot.
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| Fausto Carmona held the Yankees to three runs over five innings on Tuesday. We say "held" because he issues six hits and five walks while striking out only two batters. Carmona threw only 52 of his 95 pitches for strikes. |
Our View: Carmona has now walked 31 batters in 39.2 innings, which is awful. He should count his lucky stars that his ERA is somehow still at 2.95. Carmona can't keep this up and expect to win games or keep runs off the board.
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| Hideki Matsui is locked in. The outfielder went 3-for-3 on Tuesday night and now owns a 15-game hitting streak. Matsui is up to .342. |
Our View: If the guys behind Matsui in the Yankees lineup weren't struggling so much, Hideki would probably have 25 runs by now. Anyway, fantasy owners should be enjoying the excellent average.
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| Jhonny Peralta went 1-for-3 with a homer, two runs, two RBI, and a walk against the Yankees on Tuesday. He came into the game 1-for-21 over the last six contests. |
Our View: Peralta is just one of many Indians who is struggling at the dish. The homer is nice, but we won't believe he's out of his slump until he can put together some multi-hit outings.
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| Atlanta OF Mark Kotsay put forth a strong night at the plate in support of the 5-3 win over San Diego. Kotsay went 2-for-4, hitting his 3rd home run of the season to total two RBIs with two runs scored. |
Our View: This is Kotsay's seventh consecutive game with a hit, a span in which he has gone a combined 13-for-29 at the plate.
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| Joba Chamberlain showed his human side on Tuesday. The reliever allowed three runs in one inning against the Indians. Chamberlain walked two batters and got two outs before serving up a homer to David Dellucci. It's just the second home run Chamberlain has allowed in 37.1 career innings. |
Our View: It happens to the best of them, and there's absolutely no reason for alarm.
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| Eric Hinske loves facing his old club. He went 2-for-4 with a double, homer, one run, one RBI, and a stolen base against the Blue Jays on Tuesday. Hinske is 7-for-15 with two homers and six RBI in four games versus Toronto in 2008. |
Our View: We're not sure what's gotten into Hinske this year, but we haven't seen him hit this well since 2002. He must be drinking Carlos Pena's water.
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| Lyle Overbay went 2-for-2 with a double, one walk, and two RBI against the Rays on Tuesday. It was his first multi-hit effort in 10 games and just his five extra-base hit of the year. |
Our View: Overbay continues to look nothing like the quality batsman who helped fantasy teams before breaking his right hand in 2007. We need to see a lot more efforts like Tuesday before we'll believe in him again.
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| Akinori Iwamura produced his third straight multi-hit game on Tuesday. He went 2-for-5 with a double, one run, and two RBI against the Blue Jays. Iwamura's average is up to .228. |
Our View: The infielder has had a rough year at the plate thus far, but he is beginning to reward AL-only fantasy owners for their patience. Aki's .285 average last year wasn't a fluke, and we expect a similar mark this season.
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| A.J. Burnett struck out 10 Rays on Tuesday night, but he also served up nine hits and five runs over six innings. He took the loss and fell to 3-3. |
Our View: The really good news is that Burnett walked only one batter. He's been having some control issues lately. Burnett's ERA is above 5.00, but he's showing signs of coming around.
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| It wasn't pretty, but Andy Sonnanstine improved to 5-1 with a win over the Blue Jays on Tuesday. The right-hander allowed 10 hits and four runs over six innings. He also walked one and struck out two. |
Our View: A little luck and offensive support never hurt, right? That's four wins in as many starts for Sonnanstine, who pitched a lot better in his previous victories. He's no fantasy ace, but his record should get him noticed in more and more mixed leagues.
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| Frank Thomas isn't sweating his .198 average. He figures 2008 will be no different than 2006 or 2007, when he needed a couple months to find his groove. "The same thing happened in Toronto last year," Thomas tells MLB.com. "It took me eight or nine weeks to really get going. Now we're five, six weeks into the season and I haven't really gotten going this year, either. So that's three years in a row it's happened, but the first two, I did get it going, and this year won't be any different." Thomas ended up at .270-39-114 in 2006 and .277-26-95 last year. |
Our View: If the Big Hurt is right, that means he's a great buy low candidate in fantasy leagues.
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| The Twins have placed Scott Baker on the 15-day DL due to a strained right groin, MLB.com confirms. The move won't become official until Wednesday morning. |
Our View: It sounds like Baker may only need to miss the minimum amount of time, and Glen Perkins has been called up to fill in the rotation gap.
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| Freddy Dolsi wasted no time in giving up his first major league homer. The reliever served up a long ball on his very first pitch to Manny Ramirez on Tuesday night. Dolsi worked 1.2 hitless innings after that. |
Our View: Way to set him up for success, Mr. Leyland. The jump from Double-A to Manny Ramirez is pretty big. Dolsi actually opened the year at High-A Lakeland. Anyway, he doesn't have any fantasy value at this point.
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| Tim Wakefield tossed eight shutout innings against the Tigers on Tuesday night. He allowed only two hits, walked none, struck out six, and improved to 3-1. |
Our View: How's that new lineup working, Mr. Leyland? Wakefield's knuckler must have been doing a nasty dance on Tuesday night. The veteran was coming off a pair of shaky outings, and fantasy owners will be very pleased to see this line.
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| Blue Jays shortstops are dropping faster than Citigroup stock. John McDonald replaced David Eckstein (groin) on Monday night, but the backup injured his ankle one inning later. He was carted off the field, the Ticker reports. Marco Scutaro took his place. |
Our View: We think this is all part of the annual conspiracy to get Scutaro 350 at-bats. Seriously, we hope McDonald is better than the report suggests, and we'll update his situation when more is known.
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| The Royals gave the slumping Jose Guillen a day off on Tuesday. "I think he needs a day to work on things," manager Trey Hillman tells MLB.com. "[Hitting coach Mike Barnett] has been feverishly working on things, trying to help him make some adjustments, and Barney thinks he might have clicked on something today." |
Our View: We haven't seen Guillen swing like this since he had injury problems in 2006 while with the Nats. The veteran will likely work his way out of it, but fantasy owners should bench him until he looks better.
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| Brandon Inge will continue to see more time behind the plate, MLB.com reports. "I think I'm comfortable now," Inge says. "I think I'm comfortable with catching." Heading into the season, Inge hadn't been behind the plate since 2004. He has played four different positions already this year. |
Our View: Inge doesn't hit well enough to be used in mixed leagues, but his versatility comes in handy in AL-only formats. Pudge Rodriguez is getting a bit long in the tooth, and we imagine Brandon will be a regular fill-in.
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| Ian Kennedy apparently doesn't want to stick in the minors too long. The right-hander held Charlotte to one hit over 7.1 scoreless innings on Tuesday night. Kennedy walked none, struck out eight, hit a batter, and is on his way to a victory as we write. |
Our View: It'll probably take Ian more than one outing to convince Brian Cashman he belongs in the majors, but this is a good sign for fantasy teams holding on to the rookie.
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| Glen Perkins has been tabbed to come up from Triple-A and start on Saturday against the Red Sox, the Minneapolis Star Tribune confirms. |
Our View: The southpaw is 2-1 with a 2.97 ERA at Triple-A this year, and he did a decent job out of the Twins bullpen last year. AL-only fantasy leaguers may take a look, but we're not counting on him to hold down a potent Red Sox lineup.
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| Vladimir Guerrero is not worried about his recent 2-for-22 slump. "You guys are making way too much of it. I'm not concerned," he tells MLB.com. Guerrero's average hasn't been over .300 since April 11. |
Our View: Vlad owns a career .323 average and has hit over .300 in every major league season save for his 5-for-27 cup of coffee in 1996. It'll take a lot more than a 22 at-bat slump for Guerrero or us to worry.
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| Joe Borowski will move up from playing catch to a bullpen session on Thursday, MLB.com reports. "If he feels good and strong," manager Eric Wedge says, "it won't take too much time. He's not too far away." Borowski is out due to a strained right triceps. |
Our View: Borowski will likely go on at least a short minor league stint before jumping back to the majors. He is expected to regain his closer's role, at least until he blows up again.
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| Alex Cora will begin a minor league rehab assignment at Triple-A Pawtucket on Wednesday. He is coming back from a sprained right elbow. Cora will play the middle infield on Wednesday and Friday but DH on Thursday, MLB.com explains. |
Our View: We imagine Cora will return sometime early next week, and Jed Lowrie will probably have to head back to the minors.
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| Andy Marte will start at third and bat ninth against Andy Pettitte and the Yankees on Tuesday. He is filling in for the slumping Casey Blake. Marte is 1-for-13 on the season. |
Our View: The Indians are digging for any spark of hope they can find at this point. Marte has never been able to handle major league pitching, but he may have a small opening.
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| Victor Martinez was scratched on Tuesday due to a stiff neck, the Cleveland Plain Dealer reports. Kelly Shoppach will start in his place. Martinez is presumably day-to-day. |
Our View: We'll update V-Mart's status when more is known.
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| Cliff Floyd played in an extended spring training game on Tuesday and could be back in the lineup by early next week, the Tampa Tribune reports. The veteran outfielder has been out since April 6 due to a torn meniscus in his right knee. He is recovering from surgery. |
Our View: We're not quite sure what will happen when Floyd is ready, as the Rays acquired Gabe Gross while Cliff has been down. Gross seems like the most obvious guy to send down, but would the Rays do that so quickly after getting him?
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| Ben Zobrist played in an extended spring training game on Tuesday and could move to High-A Vero Beach soon. The shortstop is rehabbing a fractured left thumb and could return to the majors by early next week, the Tampa Tribune reports. |
Our View: Zobrist will likely take Andy Cannizaro's spot as the backup middle infielder, which suggests Ben will have almost no fantasy value.
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| Kei Igawa will start on Friday, followed by Darrell Rasner on Saturday, the New York Daily News reports. The Yankees will be facing the Tigers in Detroit for both contests. |
Our View: It's not exactly the ideal scenario for Igawa to make his return to the majors, but desperate times don't allow for perfect situations. Both Igawa and Rasner are worth exploring in AL-only leagues, as the Yankees will likely stick with anyone who is effective.
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| Alex Rodriguez will begin doing some physical activity on Wednesday and still hopes to return from the DL once his 15 days are up, the New York Daily News reports. He has been out since April 28 due to a Grade-2 strain of his right quad. |
Our View: We'll have a better sense for A-Rod's return date once he tests his quad and sees how it reacts. He may need longer than the minimum period. Morgan Ensberg and Wilson Betemit will fill in at third while Alex remains out.
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| Shin-Soo Choo remains three-to-four weeks away from returning to the majors, the Cleveland Plain Dealer reports. The outfielder could start a rehab assignment in seven-to-10 days. Choo is recovering from Tommy John surgery in his left elbow. |
Our View: The Indians corner outfielders have been inconsistent thus far, and Choo could work his way into a platoon once he's ready. AL-only owners will want to tune back in when Choo gets close to returning.
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| Wilson Betemit will be activated from the DL and start at third base on Tuesday night, the New York Daily News reports. He has been out for two weeks due to a case of pink eye. |
Our View: Betemit has a little bit of fantasy value in the near future, as Alex Rodriguez remains out. Wilson will platoon at third base with Morgan Ensberg.
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| Gavin Floyd will take the mound when the White Sox host the division rival Twins tonight, according to MLB.com. Floyd is yet to beat the Twins in his career, as he is 0-3 with a 6.75 ERA. |
Our View: Floyd is 2-1 over five starts this season, with a 3.16 ERA and a solid 1.09 WHIP. Floyd has allowed eight runs over his last two starts (12 innings), and remains an erratic fantasy option (despite his WHIP). He has also given up a home run in three straight starts, and the Twins are well stocked with guys who can take it out of the yard, like Justin Morneau.
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| Joe Mauer already has 10 multi-hit games to his credit this season, according to MLB.com. |
Our View: He is yet to hit a homer, but is hitting .333 overall, with 19 runs scored over 27 games. He has reached at least two hits in three straight games, racking up seven over the span. When healthy, there aren't many catchers better than Mauer.
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| Kevin Cash is going to start at catcher tonight against lefty hurler Nate Robertson and the Tigers, according to the Boston Globe. He will bat eighth in the lineup. |
Our View: Cash went 10-for-31 (.323) in April, and went 3-for-3 in his last start on April 25 against the Rays. He is hitting favorably, but won't register enough at-bats to merit fantasy consideration while serving as Jason Varitek's backup.
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| Jason Varitek will ride the pine tonight against the Tigers, according to the Boston Globe. Kevin Cash will start at catcher, and bat eighth against lefty Nate Robertson. |
Our View: Varitek is hitting .258 with three homers and 11 RBI over 27 games, and the Red Sox can afford to give the 35-year old rest on the bench.
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| Mike Napoli holds the highest home run ratio in the league right now with seven homers over 62 at-bats, according to MLB.com. |
Our View: That is a great stat for a catcher, but unfortunately Manager Mike Scioscia has no plans of using the DH option to find more at-bats for him. Napoli and Jeff Mathis have shared the catching duties, each playing 17 games so far.
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| Brian Bannister started off 3-0 this season, but has lost three straight decisions since then, and will try to get back in the win column tonight when the Royals host the Angels, according to MLB.com. This will be his first career start against the Angels. |
Our View: Over the three losses, he has surrendered 14 earned runs (with four homers) over a mere 14.2 innings of work. He only allowed three runs (two earned) over his first three starts of the season. His WHIP remains solid at 1.07, and he only issued eight walks over 35.2 innings. Give him another chance tonight to get back on track.
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| Ken Griffey Jr. is hitting .364 with two homers over his career against Cubs' ace hurler Carlos Zambrano, according to MLB.com. The pair will duel tonight at the Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati. |
Our View: Griffey is only hitting .229, with four homers and 15 RBI over 32 games. He is in need of a solid outing, as he only managed three hits over his last 24 at-bats.
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| Aaron Hill has fared well against Andy Sonnanstine, tonight's opposing pitcher for the Rays, according to MLB.com. Hill is 4-for-12 (.333) over his career against the Tampa Bay righty, with three doubles. |
Our View: Hill is in need of a strong outing as he hasn't registered more than one hit in a game since April 27 (two against Kansas City), and hasn't generated an RBI since April 18 (one versus Detroit).
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| Manager John Gibbons stated that righty Brian Wolfe is playing catch and might be able to begin pitching off a mound again in about a week, as he recovers from a strained right triceps, according to MLB.com. Gibbons said it would likely be at least two more weeks before Wolfe would be ready to be activated from the 15-day DL. |
Our View: Wolfe will compete for playing time out of the Jays' pen when he is ready to come back. He holds little fantasy value as a long-reliever, especially as he allowed eight hits (and three earned runs) over 7.1 innings this season.
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| A.J. Burnett will challenge the Rays at home in Toronto tonight, according to MLB.com. Burnett is 3-2 with a 4.82 ERA and a bad 1.61 WHIP this season. He has fared well over his career against the Rays, as he is 6-2 with a 2.95 ERA over 13 starts. |
Our View: Burnett has racked up 15 strikeouts over his last three starts, but with 14 walks. He needs to work on his control, as it is hard to win when you are allowing that many free passes.
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| Curt Schilling registered 25 tosses from a distance of 60 feet from 1:43 to 1:49 this afternoon at Comerica Park, which was the first time he has thrown a baseball this spring as he continues to rehab his right shoulder, according to the Providence Journal. The session reportedly went well, and he will repeat the workout on Thursday. |
Our View: So far, so good with his rehab. It remains uncertain when he can return to the diamond. He would be entering his 21st season, and went 9-8 over 24 starts in 2007.
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| The White Sox have reinstated Alexei Ramirez from the restricted list Tuesday, allowing the Cuban defector to return to the team after skipping a weekend series in Toronto, according to the Miami Herald. The 26-year-old, who was a former member of Cuba's national team, would likely have had visa problems traveling between Canada and the United States, so he remained in Chicago during the team's four-game series in Toronto.
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Our View: Ramirez is only hitting .121 over 33 at-bats this season, but could see more action if Juan Uribe gets released, which is being speculated.
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| Victor Martinez is riding a 15-game hitting streak, and will look to keep it going tonight against lefty Andy Pettitte and the Yankees, according to MLB.com. |
Our View: Martinez is hitting .347 overall, but only has 10 RBI over 25 games, and is yet to hit his first homer of the season. He has only struck out eight times over 95 at-bats, and his lack of power is puzzling.
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| Andy Pettitte has allowed nine earned runs (four homers) over his last two starts, according to MLB.com. He is 1-4 against the Indians at home in New York, with a 5.48 ERA in seven starts. He will make his seventh start of the season tonight against the Tribe. |
Our View: He has only lasted 11 innings over his last two starts as well, with an average of 95.5 pitches thrown per outing. He holds a poor 1.42 WHIP, and is worth sitting if you have a better option.
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| Fausto Carmona will take the mound against New York tonight, and is yet to win at Yankee Stadium, according to MLB.com. Carmona is 0-0 with a 3.24 ERA in three career appearances in the Bronx. |
Our View: Carmona is 3-1 this season with a 2.60 ERA, but still has a poor 1.73 WHIP, due to 26 walks over 34.2 innings. His strikeouts are also down, as he only has 13 so far. He will need to throw with better control tonight if he is to nail down his first win at Yankee Stadium.
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| Magglio Ordonez is expected to return to his regular post in right field on Tuesday, according to MLB.com. Carlos Guillen is also expected to serve as the DH and Brandon Inge will cover third. |
Our View: Magglio Ordonez notably has a good record against tonight's opposing hurler Tim Wakefield. Ordonez is hitting .429 (15-for-35) with two homers over his career against the Boston knuckler. Ordonez is 6-for-20 (.300) in May so far, with one homer and four RBI. He should have a strong outing tonight, going by the numbers.
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| Kevin Youkilis is hot right now, as he is hitting .556 (5-for-9) with two doubles, two home runs, and seven RBI over his last three games, according to MLB.com. Team-mate Mike Lowell said, "No matter where you put him in the order, he gives you good at-bats. He produces, and he's a valuable guy to our team."
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Our View: Youkilis has helped pick up the slack for Manny Ramirez and David Ortiz. Ramirez has been in a bit of a slump and Ortiz has been slowed by his knee ailment.
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| Ben Francisco has been called back up from Triple-A Buffalo, according to the AP. Jason Michaels was designated for assignment to open a roster spot for Francisco. |
Our View: Francisco will share time with David Dellucci in left field. Francisco was 2-for-6 in his brief stint with Cleveland earlier in the season.
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| Luke Scott was out of the lineup for the fourth time in five games on Monday due a bout with the flu, according to the Washington Post. |
Our View: He is also battling a batting slump, as he only registered three hits over his last 31 at-bats. The team off to rest from the flu could help the "mental" part of his game.
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| Adam Loewen's exam by Dr. James Andrews revealed no structural damage in Loewen's pitching arm, according to the Washington Post. Managed Dave Trembley and team president Andy McPhail were relieved that Loewen isn't expected to miss more than eight weeks. McPhail said, "Obviously, we're pleased that there isn't anything that is demonstrably wrong. That's good news. We'll get Adam started in Sarasota and get him back on track." Trembley added, "I'm glad for him and I'm glad for our team and the organization because he's a central figure in what we're trying to do here and he's one of the guys that we're trying to do it with."
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Our View: Loewen is headed to the team's spring training facility in Sarasota, Florida, where he will spend two or three weeks on a throwing program.
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| The Twins are expected to place righty Scott Baker on the 15-day DL, so he can fully heal from a mild right groin muscle strain, according to the Star Tribune. The team is going to be very cautious with Baker, who was off to a solid start (1.09 WHIP, with only five walks over 33 innings) before getting hurt. Baker was forced out of his last two starts due to the ailment. |
Our View: The team will now need a starter for Saturday night against the Red Sox to cover his spot. Glen Perkins, who is at Triple-A Rochester, is a candidate for the start. The team could also pick a spot starter from their bullpen.
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