Around the AL: Damon headed to the DL?
What's been going on around the American League in the past week? Tristan H. Cockcroft takes a quick-hitting look at the news and notes for each of the 14 AL teams:
Baltimore Orioles: Normally one of the most durable players in baseball, Miguel Tejada could miss a significant chunk of the season after being diagnosed with a non-displaced fracture in his left wrist, suffered when he was hit by a pitch from the Padres' Doug Brocail last Wednesday. He landed on the DL on Friday, ending his consecutive-games streak at 1,152, by far the longest such streak among active players at the time. Tejada, clearly a gritty performer, might attempt to return after the minimum time missed, but it's possible he could miss more than a month in the worst-case scenario. Despite his drop-off in the power department, he's well worth keeping stashed on your bench/DL for now, as he remains an elite performer in batting average and RBIs. Still, replacing Tejada isn't easy for a fantasy owner, especially not considering his Orioles stand-ins. Chris Gomez has started twice and Freddie Bynum once, which seems about right for the ratio of starts each should receive. Gomez isn't a bad sub in AL-only daily leagues when facing a left-hander, but don't count on much from Bynum.
Boston Red Sox: The Red Sox placed Curt Schilling on the DL on Friday, retroactive to June 19, with tendinitis in his shoulder. He might miss only two starts, though his absence only will fuel the rumors that the Red Sox will make a strong push for the White Sox's Mark Buehrle on the trade market. With Schilling out, speculation continues to center on who might be next in line to step into the Boston rotation. Kason Gabbard gets the call for now, starting Tuesday at Seattle, and warrants AL-only consideration, but not much more. He has matchups ability after going 7-2 with a 3.24 ERA and .235 BAA in 14 starts for Triple-A Pawtucket, and winning his only spot start for the Red Sox, with two runs allowed in five innings on May 20. Beyond him, both Jon Lester and Clay Buchholz warrant pickups in deeper AL-only leagues, or keeper formats. Lester has a 2.49 ERA and .228 BAA in nine starts for Pawtucket, and could be ready to stand in after the All-Star break if needed. Buchholz, meanwhile, could either prove a useful trade chip, or more likely, a late-season candidate for a promotion. He has a 1.82 ERA and .188 BAA in 13 starts for Double-A Portland, and is one of the best prospects remaining in the minors.
New York Yankees: Johnny Damon appears destined for a DL stint after complaining for the past several weeks of an aching rib cage. He has been banged up the entire season, and his numbers have shown it; he's hitting only .251 in 64 games, and his .101 mark in isolated power is his worst since 1996 (.097) and a sure sign that he's unable to drive the ball at his usual levels. Damon is hardly much of a power source, but it might be in his and his owners' best interest if he sits out a few weeks in order to return after the All-Star break at 100 percent. Melky Cabrera has been getting the bulk of the playing time in center field while Damon has been limited to designated hitter duties, but expect the Yankees to peruse the trade market for another bat. Jermaine Dye, Shea Hillenbrand and Mark Teixeira are three names the Yankees are rumored to be interested in.
Tampa Bay Devil Rays: Rocco Baldelli suffered a setback on June 18 in his rehabilitation from a hamstring injury, and might be sidelined another six weeks as a result of the setback. He strained it again, increasing the likelihood the Devil Rays will take the cautious route with his recovery. Baldelli's owners should prepare as if they might not receive much more than a month's worth of action from him the remainder of the year, as he has had an extremely tough time staying healthy in his five years in the majors, appearing in 419 games combined during that span. Of course, with Baldelli now out for awhile longer, Jonny Gomes owners should receive a boost in his value for the long haul. He has started 10 consecutive games since his promotion from Triple-A Durham, nine of them in the outfield, batting .385 (15-for-39) with four homers and nine RBIs. Plus, with troubled prospect Elijah Dukes presumably on the trading block and barely playing, Gomes' role on the team should be fairly secure for the remainder of the year.
Toronto Blue Jays: Dustin McGowan had a no-hitter broken up in the ninth inning of Sunday's game against the Rockies, the only blemish in an otherwise spotless effort. It was a huge bounce-back performance after the rookie allowed six runs on eight hits in only 1 2/3 innings of work last Tuesday against the Dodgers, that snapping a streak of five consecutive quality-start efforts. Altogether, McGowan has managed a 4-2 record, 3.65 ERA, 1.17 WHIP and .235 BAA in his last seven starts, establishing himself as a useful AL-only option and potential mixed-league matchups play. Remember, this is a pitcher who at one time was hailed as a "future Roy Halladay" in his early professional career, and he's looking much healthier this season than the pitcher who battled shoulder issues for much of the past three seasons. Still only 24 years old, McGowan has a bright future ahead of him, even if he's saddled with Halladay's reputation for being injury-prone as well.
Chicago White Sox: Darin Erstad didn't even garner an at-bat before aggravating his ankle injury on Friday, returning to the DL one day after being activated. He's among the most injury-prone players in the game, and appears likely to miss at least a couple weeks this time around. Fortunately for the White Sox, though, Erstad's return cleared both a starting outfield spot and the leadoff role for Scott Podsednik, who was activated from the DL himself on Saturday. After missing more than two months with a groin injury, Podsednik went 2-for-7 combined with one stolen base in two games of the weekend series against the Cubs, batting leadoff both times. He should remain there for the foreseeable future, and with a decent enough amount of playing time, could steal as many as 25-30 bases from this point forward. Expect the White Sox to play him more regularly now that Josh Fields is entrenched at third base and Jermaine Dye is on the trading block.
Cleveland Indians: David Dellucci landed on the DL last Wednesday with a strained left hamstring, costing him perhaps as much as two months. That leaves left field in the hands of Jason Michaels and Franklin Gutierrez, hardly a long-term solution for a contending team. Either player has the offensive potential to be a useful short-term AL-only pickup, but expect the Indians to scour the market for either an outfielder or third baseman, potentially shifting Casey Blake to left field if the team picks up a player at the latter position. ... Jake Westbrook returned to the rotation with a quality-start effort at the Nationals on Sunday, going seven innings and allowing only three runs. That he threw 88 pitches in his first start back from the DL is a promising sign, but don't count on him being as successful against better offenses, at least not in the short term. He should get two more starts before the All-Star break, on Friday against the Devil Rays and on July 4 at the Tigers. Westbrook is a useful AL-only option in the former game, but in all other formats it's better to keep him reserved until after the All-Star break.
Detroit Tigers: With Kenny Rogers returning from the DL with a gem of an effort on Friday, and Nate Robertson due back off the DL in the next few days, the Tigers found themselves forced to bump two pitchers from their rotation in a one-week span. The trade of Mike Maroth solved one of the problems, and Chad Durbin's demotion to the bullpen took care of the other. He tossed three innings for a save on Sunday in his first relief appearance on Sunday, after losing his spot due partly to an "ordinary" 4.30 ERA and .290 BAA in four starts in June. Durbin could be a factor in the Tigers rotation at some point later this year, but he fits more of the spot-starter description in the long term. With him out of the picture, rookie Andrew Miller gets a longer look as a starter, significantly boosting his fantasy stock. He tossed six shutout innings on Sunday and now has a 2.70 ERA, 1.33 WHIP and .227 BAA in four starts this season, and has the ability to rival any rookie starter in terms of fantasy value the remainder of the year.
Kansas City Royals: Billy Butler is back with the Royals, having been recalled from Triple-A Omaha last Tuesday. Sure, he batted only .254 (29-for-114) with seven home runs and 23 RBIs in 32 games for Omaha since his last stint with the big club, but what applied to him them continues to today; he has .290-hitting, 15-homer ability, and perhaps a little more in the best-case scenario. Butler has yet to pick up a start since his promotion, but much of that was a result of the Royals playing games at National League parks, without the benefit of the designated hitter. Now that the Royals are back playing AL games, expect Butler to get the bulk of the games at DH, making him well worth an AL-only pickup. He could also sneak in some time at first base for the retooling Royals.
Minnesota Twins: Justin Morneau owners can breathe a sigh of relief, as it appears he didn't suffer any severe injuries as a result of his collision with Marlins catcher Miguel Olivo on Friday. He spent three nights in a hospital in Florida due to a bruised lung, though X-rays revealed no broken bones in his chest. It's still possible Morneau might require a DL stint, though the Twins remain optimistic he might be able to play within the week. With him sidelined, Jeff Cirillo has been getting the bulk of the playing time at first base, and he has now started five consecutive games between third and first base. He's hardly the player he was back in his Brewers days, but with his ability to hit for a decent batting average, Cirillo warrants deeper AL-only consideration. Consider that since the start of last season, he's a .380 hitter (41-for-108) against left-handers, enough to warrant a start against each and every one of them, and a .282 hitter (53-for-188) against right-handers, respectable enough to justify giving him a decent share of starts against them, too.
Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim: The Angels received two scares with their starting pitchers in the past week, though neither issue seems more than a one-start problem. First, Jered Weaver missed his scheduled start on Friday due to a bruised right shoulder, which he suffered while sliding into a base on June 16. He threw a bullpen session on Sunday, though, and should take his next scheduled turn in the rotation on Wednesday. John Lackey, meanwhile, had a bigger scare when the Angels scratched him from his scheduled start on Sunday due to tightness in his shoulder. He pitched Monday against the Royals, giving up five runs -- three earned -- in eight innings. It is encouraging that Lackey threw 107 pitches, but Lackey owners should monitor him closely in his next couple of turns. Joe Saunders tossed six innings of seven-hit, four-run ball in Weaver's place on Friday, and is well worth keeping on AL-only rosters as the Angels' No. 6 starter. He'd be the next in line should any of the Angels' starters hit the DL, and he has the upside to make a solid fantasy impact.
Oakland Athletics: It was the trade that wasn't; only one day after he was designated for assignment by the Athletics, Milton Bradley was reportedly traded to the Royals for reliever Leo Nunez on Friday. Unfortunately, only hours later the Royals canceled the trade after learning that the outfielder had suffered a strained oblique in his final game for the Athletics on Tuesday. Bradley's career with the A's is most assuredly over; that he was cut despite a .292 batting average and .819 OPS in 19 games suggests there might be more going on than a mere decline in performance. Bradley's attitude long has been questioned, and he'll most likely be dumped off on another team in the near future; the Cardinals, Mets, Padres and Yankees are only four of the teams that could use an additional outfielder. Unfortunately, it's becoming increasingly clear that his injury history and attitude will keep him from truly realizing his talent over a full season.
Seattle Mariners: The Mariners placed Cha Seung Baek on the DL on Friday, only a day after removing him from their rotation. He had initially been ticketed for a trip back to Triple-A Tacoma after managing a 5.74 ERA in 11 starts, and an 8.02 mark in his last four turns, but instead will sit out a few weeks while nursing an inflamed shoulder. Baek probably will return to Tacoma once healthy, delaying his return to the Mariners, so don't count on him being of much value in the near future. Still, that the team lacks many reliable alternatives suggests he'll get another shot in the rotation before season's end. With Baek now on the sidelines, Ryan Feierabend takes his spot in the rotation. He's hardly a worthy fantasy pickup, though, after managing only a 4.25 ERA and .329 BAA in 11 starts for Tacoma, then a 2 2/3-inning, nine-run disaster against the Reds on Friday.
Texas Rangers: Vicente Padilla, a surprisingly reliable fantasy option with the Rangers last season, landed on the DL on Monday due to an irritated right triceps. He'll sit out at least until after the All-Star break, hardly much of a loss to his owners this season after he managed a 3-8 record, 6.69 ERA and 1.81 WHIP in his first 15 starts. Most interesting about Padilla's slide this year: He's actually a better pitcher in his home games (4.43 ERA, 1.52 WHIP in seven starts) than on the road (9.00/2.10 in eight starts), an oddity taking into account the hitter-friendly environment that is Rangers Ballpark. John Koronka should pick up a start or two in Padilla's absence, which wouldn't be relevant for fantasy except in that he did have a 4.06 ERA and 1.13 WHIP in his first 10 starts of 2006, and a 3.60 ERA in his most recent five starts for Triple-A Oklahoma. There could be some matchups potential in him looking forward, though not necessarily initially; he'd likely be pitching at Detroit on Tuesday and at Boston on Sunday in his first two turns.
Tristan H. Cockcroft covers fantasy sports for ESPN.com. You can e-mail him here.
