Friday, April 16, 2010

Back injury puts Angels' Fuentes on DL

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Berkman could begin rehab this weekend
LHP Brian Fuentes saved the Angels’ opening game April 5, but the struggling team didn’t need a closer for the next week. At that time, he wasn’t available because he had suffered a strained muscle in the middle of his back while lifting weights a day after the opener. He’s eligible to return from the disabled list Tuesday, but in the meantime RHP Fernando Rodney will be LA/Anaheim’s closer and RHP Kevin Jepsen the setup man. Rodney pitched a perfect inning for his first save in a 5-3 victory at Yankee Stadium. RHP Francisco Rodriguez – not THE Francisco Rodriguez – was recalled from Triple-A Salt Lake City to take Fuentes’ place on the active roster.
LHP Scott Kazmir came off the disabled list to return to the Angels’ rotation. LA/Anaheim also took OF Reggie Willits off the DL and outrighted OF Terry Evans to Salt Lake.
OOO Phillies SS Jimmy Rollins went on the disabled list because of a strained right calf muscle suffered during pregame warm-ups Tuesday. To take his roster spot, Philadelphia recalled from Triple-A Lehigh Valley SS Wilson Valdez, whom we told you Tuesday was off to a fast start. SS/2B Juan Castro, a 16th-year veteran, started in the Phils’ 14-7 victory over the Nationals. Neither replacement is likely to have much fantasy value.
OOO Astros 1B Lance Berkman, recovering from arthroscopic knee surgery, could begin an injury-rehab assignment this weekend at Triple-A Round Rock. He would like to return to play in the majors Tuesday.
OOO Marlins RHP Brian Sanchez (strained right knee) threw 40 pitches in the bullpen, but isn’t likely to come off the DL before Monday, April 26.
OOO Diamondbacks C Miguel Montero was scheduled for surgery to repair partially torn meniscus in his right knee, and is expected to be out 4-6 weeks. C Chris Snyder would have most of the playing time while Montero is out, with rookie C John Hester as the backup. Snyder could be a reasonable No. 2 fantasy catcher with some power, though he could hurt a team’s batting average.
OOO Red Sox LF Jacoby Ellsbury missed his second game because of bruised left ribs suffered when he collided with 3B Adrian Beltre’s right knee.
OOO Phillies RHP Brad Lidge, recovering from elbow surgery, pitched a scoreless inning in his third injury-rehab appearance, lowering his ERA to 16.87. He’s not expected back with Philadelphia until the end of April. LHP J.C. Romero pitched two scoreless innings in his rehab at high Class A Clearwater, and could move his rehab up to Lehigh Valley or Double-A Reading.

Noteworthy
RHP Jenrry Mejia, the 20-or-so-year-old Mets rookie, gave up the winning run without retiring a batter in the 10th inning of their 6-5 loss at Colorado.

In closing
This is a regular feature of our Emails and blog posts. It lets you know who’s getting saves. Equally important is telling you who’s blowing saves or putting his job in jeopardy by getting shaky saves. There’s also a FREE Article on the old fantasybaseballscout.com web site letting you know which pitcher or pitchers each team is using to close games. It will be updated whenever there’s a change or speculation about a change in a team’s closer.
Mariners RHP David Aardsma struggled during spring training, but picked up his fourth regular-season save in their 4-2 victory over the Athletics. Uneventful third saves went to Cubs RHP Carlos Marmol, 7-6 against the Brewers; Red Sox RHP Jonathan Papelbon, 6-3 at Minnesota, and Cardinals RHP Ryan Franklin, 2-1 vs. the Astros in Houston’s eighth consecutive loss.
The Marlins had RHP Burke Badenhop go two innings (pitching line: 200003) for his first save in a 5-3 victory over the Reds. He pitched because Florida’s closer, RHP Leo Nunez, had pitched in each of the three previous games.
The Rangers’ new closer, RHP Neftali Feliz, had his second save with a line of 1 1/3 00011 in a 6-2 win at Cleveland. He entered the game with two runners on base and two out in the eighth inning. Perhaps Texas should have kept Feliz in the most recent blown save by the former closer, RHP Frank Francisco. Feliz struck out all three batters he faced in the eighth inning, but then Francisco entered and gave up three ninth-inning runs. Against the Indians, RHP Colby Lewis continued his surprising return from Japan by striking out 10 in 5 1/3 innings.
Royals RHP Joakim Soria had a slightly easier second save than Feliz did. Soria entered a 6-3 game with a runner on base and two out in the eighth, and finished the game with a line of 1 1/3 00012 as Kansas City won in Detroit 7-3.

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