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| Jayson Nix had three more strikeouts in three at-bats on Thursday, raising his total to 17 in 56 at-bats. |
Our View: Nix will likely be sent back to Triple-A once Troy Tulowitzki returns from the DL.
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| The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reports that Xavier Nady did not play on Thursday and won't play on Friday after his wife gave birth on Thursday.
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Our View: Nady should be back in action by Saturday.
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| Adam Jones has reached base safely in 17 straight games. He had two hits on Thursday against Detroit. |
Our View: If Jones is on your waiver wire he may be worth picking up. His batting average is at the highest point it has been all season and it appears that he is getting more comfortable with major league pitching.
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| Twins manager Ron Gardenhire told MLB.com that he is not happy with Francisco Liriano's grievance with the team. "I'm a little bit tired of that stuff," Gardenhire said. "We have a good team here. We are a game-and-a-half out, I come back into town, and we want to talk about the guy in Triple-A...I just back into town and I hear all this stuff, and Buster Olney is making my team up now and [Liriano's agent Genske] wants to tell me who is going to pitch here. No one is going to tell us who to put on our team and no one on ESPN is going to tell us who should pitch for my team." |
Our View: It's never a good idea to tick off the guy that decides your role. It's a very real possibility that the Twins have kept Liriano in the minors in order that he does not qualify for arbitration or as a Super Two player, but that's business and it shouldn't be a violation for the Twins. Liriano may have just bought himself some more time in the minors.
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| Gary Sheffield hit his first homer on Thursday since June 26th. |
Our View: Sheff is hitting just .219 with five home runs on the season. He endured a terrible second half last season when he hit just .203.
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| Garrett Olson continued a terrible July. Coming into Thursday night's start against the Tigers, he had given up 12 earned runs in nine innings for the month. This start was no much better. He lasted six innings and gave up five runs and 11 baserunners. |
Our View: Olson has no business on a fantasy outfit at this point.
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| Melvin Mora hit a home run and a double while recording a run and two RBI on Thursday against the Tigers. |
Our View: Mora continues to have his best month in what has been a very difficult year. You have to think he'll continue to heat up in the second half to restore his numbers nearer his career averages.
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| Todd Jones earned his 18th save of the year despite giving up a walk, a hit and a run in the ninth inning against the Orioles on Thursday. |
Our View: Jones' ERA continues to hover around five and you have to wonder if Joel Zumaya or Fernando Rodney will take over closing duties soon.
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| Marcus Thames hit his 18th home run tonight off of Orioles starter Garrett Olson. Thames finished 2-for-3 with a walk and two RBI. |
Our View: Thames is hitting bombs at a pretty incredible rate. However, he only starts against lefties and is only occasionally used against righties. If your roster is large enough, he is worth carrying for the damage he does against southpaws.
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| Kenny Rogers got the win tonight despite giving up four runs, 11 hits and two walks in six innings. |
Our View: Rogers will get wins as long as the Tigers score. His WHIP and ERA continue to keep him out of fantasy leagues.
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| David Ortiz finished his first rehab start 1-for-3 with a walk and a solo home run, according to the Providence Journal. |
Our View: The Red Sox really could not hope for much better. Big Papi was lifted in the sixth for a pinch runner.
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| The Rocky Mountain News reports that Kip Wells is expected to be activated in time to make a start on Monday. He is recovering from a blood clot in his right hand. |
Our View: In 10 games earlier this season, Wells had a 2.29 ERA and a 1-1 record.
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| Gio Gonzalez could get his chance in the majors now that Joe Blanton and Rich Harden have been dealt. |
Our View: Gio has 117 strikeouts in 110 innings at Triple-A this season. However, he is just 7-6 with a 4.34 ERA. His strikeout ability makes him worth watching in the second half.
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| Fausto Carmona will go five innings or 80 pitches on Monday at Class AA Akron. He could be ready in a week, according to the Cleveland Plain Dealer. |
Our View: Carmona has looked good in his rehab so far. If he throws well on Monday, look for him to make a start for the Indians next weekend.
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| Tug Hulett was optioned by the Mariners to Triple-A Tacoma |
Our View: Hulett lasted just one game in the majors where he hit 1-for-3. Expect to see him back in the majors at some point this season.
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| Bryan LaHair has been called up to the Seattle Mariners. |
Our View: LaHair has produced on every level in the minors and he's finally getting his chance. He could earn starts over Miguel Cairo soon.
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| ESPN.com reports that the Athletics got second baseman Adrian Cardenas, pitcher Joshua Outman and outfielder Matthew Spencer in return for Joe Blanton. |
Our View: Outman should be happy about the transaction. The major league park in Oakland is far friendlier than Philly's and their farm system has produced a number of outstanding pitchers.
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| ESPN.com reports that the Athletics got second baseman Adrian Cardenas , pitcher Josh Outman and outfielder Matthew Spencer in return for Joe Blanton.
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Our View: The A's know as well as anyone how to stack up their minor leagues. Expect to see Cardenas in the majors within a year or two.
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| MLB.com reports that Carlos Guillen will miss Friday's game against Baltimore. He returned to Detroit after Tuesday's All-Star Game to be with his wife while she deals with complications following the birth of their daughter last week.
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Our View: It's unknown how much time Guillen will miss at this point, but it's possible he may miss the entire Baltimore series.
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| Matt Garza will start Saturday's game against the Blue Jays in place of Scott Kazmir. |
Our View: Garza is 7-5 with a 3.96 ERA this season. The second half will be a good barometer for Garza's ability to be a full-time starter. He had just over 80 innings pitched in the majors prior to this season. He currently has 102.1 IP this season.
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| The Tampa Tribune reports that Scott Kazmir will not start Saturday as originally planned. The Rays already had decided to bump him back a day or two if he was needed in the All-Star Game, so it sounds like the plan is to see how he feels tomorrow before deciding whether to start him Sunday or Monday. |
Our View: Matt Garza will move up and pitch Saturday night against the Blue Jays.
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| The Tampa Tribune reports that Troy Percival threw to hitters today and apparently felt good. He’ll get a thorough once-over from the medical staff before he’s cleared to come off the DL, but that could come this weekend. |
Our View: The Rays will place Percival back into the closer's role once he returns, which could be Saturday.
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| Jim Moore of The Seattle Post-Intelligencer called for the trade of Ichiro Suzuki in Friday's column. |
Our View: Ichiro signed a five year $100 million contract last summer and would fetch a load of prospects in return. It is not completely impossible to envision such a deal happening.
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| Zach Miner will start on Monday against the Royals, according to MLB.com. |
Our View: Miner has been very average this season with a 3-3 record and a 4.22 ERA. But now it looks like he will be a fixture in the rotation for the second half.
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| The Dallas Morning News reports that Hank Blalock will move back to third base and allow power-hitting Chris Davis to remain at first. |
Our View: Blalock started the year hot while playing first but this move makes the Rangers lineup one of the scariest in baseball. The D and pitching leave a lot to be desired.
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| Updating a previous note, D.J. Carrasco has been optioned to Triple-A. |
Our View: The move was made to open up a spot for Bobby Jenks who could be activated prior to Friday's game.
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| The White Sox have optioned reliever DJ Carrasco to Triple-A Charlotte to free up a roster spot for the return of Bobby Jenks, according to the AP. |
Our View: Chicago is expected to activate Jenks from the 15-day DL Friday when it begins the second half against the Royals.
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| Jamie Walker is set to throw a bullpen session today, and he expects to go on a brief rehab assignment before being activated from the DL over the weekend, according to the Baltimore Sun. He is trying to bounce back from left elbow inflammation. |
Our View: Walker has been long-tossing, but this will be the first time that he steps on a mound. He's now able to fully extend his left arm, which he couldn't do before going on the shelf. He tried pitching through the pain and restrictions, but that didn't work out very well for him. He could pitch better over the second half, but doesn't merit fantasy attention in standard leagues as a middle reliever.
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| Rangers' prospect Taylor Teagarden (at Triple-A Oklahoma) has made the Team USA baseball team, according to the Star-Telegram. Team USA manager Davey Johnson said, "I’ve been looking at Teagarden for a while and he was high on our list. He’s a guy that can shut down the running game. I really liked what we saw defensively and that’s a big part of winning a game."
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Our View: Johnson was particularly impressed when Teagarden threw out his second runner in Sunday’s Futures Game at Yankee Stadium. Teagarden blocked a 3-2 breaking ball, scooped it out of the dirt and threw a dart to get Ivan DeJesus in the sixth inning.
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| The Tampa Tribune lists A's outfielder Matt Murton as a potential trade target for the Rays. |
Our View: The source states that Murton would provide the Rays with the right-handed outfield bat they covet. Murton was recently dealt to Oakland as part of the package that sent Rich Harden to Chicago.
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| Richie Sexson has reportedly reached a tentative agreement to play for the Yankees, according to ESPN. |
Our View: The Yankees covet a right-handed hitter to match up against left-handed pitching, and Sexson fits their need as he hit .344 against lefties while a member of the Mariners this season. Jason Giambi could serve as the DH on days that Sexson starts at first base. The Yankees will only have to pay Sexson the prorated minimum of $390,000 from his $14 million salary with the Mariners. Seattle is eating the remainder of the nearly $6 million Sexson is owed for the season.
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| Kasey Kiker has been placed on the DL at Single-A Bakersfield due to arm fatigue, according to the Dallas Morning News. |
Our View: The source assumes he will get the next two weeks off and then pitch through August. Kiker was the Rangers' first-round pick in 2006. He could be a future star with the team, but is only 20-years-old and has a while to go before he can be counted on to make an impact.
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| Francisco Liriano's agent (Greg Genske) has reportedly contacted the players' association about pursuing a grievance against the Twins, according to Fox Sports. The union agreed to investigate whether the Twins are violating the collective-bargaining agreement by keeping him at Triple-A Rochester. Liriano is extremely frustrated that he is still in the minor leagues and not pitching for the Twins. Genske claims that that the Twins are keeping him in the minors tp limit his major league service time, and his arbitration eligibility. |
Our View: Liriano has proven that he belongs with the Twins and is recovered from elbow-ligament transplant surgery, as he is 7-0 with a 2.73 ERA in his last nine starts with Rochester. His fastball is consistently in the mid-90s and touching 97 mph, according to scouts.
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| Kip Wells allowed two runs on six hits, with one walk and eight strikeouts over 6.2 innings in Wednesday's rehab outing with Double-A Tulsa, according to the Rocky Mountain News. He is recovering from a blood clot in his right hand. |
Our View: Wells' rehab outing (which was his fifth) went fine, and he is slated to return to the Rockies' rotation on Monday to battle the Dodgers.
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| Magglio Ordonez has been activated from the DL following his bout with a pulled oblique, according to MLive.com. The club optioned Clete Thomas to Triple-A Toledo to make room on the roster. |
Our View: He should return to your lineups for the new fantasy week. He had a seven-game hitting streak prior to going on the shelf.
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| Jorge Velandia has been outrighted to Triple-A Buffalo, according to the Cleveland Plain Dealer. The Indians are expected to recall infielder Adrubal Cabrera as the corresponding move, prior to Friday's game against Seattle. |
Our View: Velandia went 3-for-15 (.200) with no homers or RBI over his brief stint with Cleveland, and held no fantasy value.
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| The Indians are expected to recall infielder Asdrubal Cabrera from Triple-A Buffalo prior to Friday's game against Seattle, according to the Cleveland Plain Dealer. The Indians already outrighted infielder Jorge Velandia off the 40-man roster to Triple-A Buffalo today. |
Our View: Cabrera opened the season as the Indians' starting second baseman, but was sent down in June as he struggled with a .184 average over 52 games. He is expected to remain at second, and could split time with Jamey Carroll. He is worth a look in AL-only leagues if you could use depth in your middle infield.
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| Hurler Hideo Nomo has decided to retire, according to the AP. |
Our View: The 39-year-old has been credited with starting the wave of Japanese players in the major leagues, and he threw two no-hitters. Nomo was released by the Royals back on April 25 while attempting to make a comeback after missing the last two seasons due to arm injuries.
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| Triple-A Toledo first baseman Mike Hessman has made the Olympic baseball team, according to the Detroit Free Press. |
Our View: The Tigers' prospect hit 30 homers over 95 games with Toledo this season, and will provide great power to Team USA.
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| Cale Iorg has been placed on the DL at Single-A Lakeland due to a right shoulder strain, according to the Detroit Free Press. |
Our View: He is a promising young shortstop, but it will be a while before we see him in a Tigers' uniform.
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| Esteban Loaiza will start Thursday night for Double-A Birmingham in a rehab assignment, according to the Chicago Tribune. Loaiza is recovering from weakness in his right shoulder that is compromising his velocity. |
Our View: Loaiza should continue to be ignored, as he will likely serve as nothing more than a long reliever when he returns to the Sox.
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| Bobby Jenks, who is recovering from left scapula bursitis, hurled a scoreless inning in his rehab outing Wednesday at Double-A Birmingham, according to the Chicago Tribune. Jenks threw nine of his 11 pitches for strikes, and his velocity topped out at 94 mph. |
Our View: He could return to the White Sox this weekend, barring a setback.
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| Freddy Garcia is hoping to audition for teams before the end of July, according to Newsday. He is trying to make a comeback from surgery on his right labrum, and agent Peter Greenberg said, "We're hoping to showcase him, if possible, by the end of July. We think he's going to help somebody in the majors this year, September and October." Greenberg also stated Garcia is likely to sign for just this season, then go on the free-agent market.
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Our View: The teams interested are the Mets, Yankees, Astros, Rangers, Royals, Phillies, Red Sox, Tigers, and White Sox.
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| Bartolo Colon has slowly resumed his pitching program following his bout with a strained oblique, according to the Boston Globe. |
Our View: The team will continue to be cautious with him, and is aware that he cannot be counted on. He will be out until late July, and possibly into August.
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