The Treatment Room
Dodgers place 1B/3B Nomar Garciaparra on the DL
Dodgers place corner infielder Nomar Garciaparra on the 15-day disabled list with a strained left calf. With just six homers and a batting average of .280 Nomar is no longer a viable option in mixed leagues. Shea Hillenbrand will serve as his replacement.
Rockies activate LHP Brian Fuentes
Rockies activated LHP Brian Fuentes from the 15-day disabled list. Sadly for Fuentes owners Manny Corpas will continue to close until injury or poor performance forces him out of the job.
Nationals activate RHP Shawn Hill
Nationals activated starting pitcher Shawn Hill from the 15-day disabled list. Hill has been very impressive since returning from the DL. Despite missing three months with a shoulder injury he has allowed just two runs over thirteen innings against both the Mets and Phillies.
Rockies place OF Willy Taveras on the DL
Rockies placed outfielder Willy Taveras on the 15-day disabled list with a strained right quad. The injury had been bothering Taveras for a while and the Rockies decided to put him on the DL. His replacement Ryan Spilborghs is batting .323 and is worth a pick up.
Rangers place RHP Brandon McCarthy on the DL
Rangers placed RHP Brandon McCarthy on the 15-day disabled list, retroactive to Aug. 11, with a stress fracture in his right shoulder blade. Hopefully the injury won’t affect McCarthy long term but it appears that he is done for the season. Vicente Padilla will take his place in the rotation.
Diamondbacks place 3B Chad Tracy on the DL
Diamondbacks placed third baseman Chad Tracy on the 15-day disabled list, retroactive to Aug. 13, with a sore right knee. Tracey had been playing through the pain with little success and will now miss at least two weeks of action. Mark Reynolds will take over at third
Rockies place RHP Aaron Cook on the DL
Rockies placed RHP Aaron Cook on the 15-day disabled list, retroactive to Aug. 11, with a strained left oblique. A strained oblique appears to be the injury of the summer. Cook’s strain isn’t major so look for him to return after the minimum.
A’s place OF Mark Kotsay on the DL
Athletics placed outfielder Mark Kotsay on the 15-day disabled list, retroactive to Aug. 15, with lower back spasms. Kotsay’s back seems as if it has never healed and it may be wise for him to sit out the rest of the season. With Buck also out Nick Swisher and Jeff DaVanon will take over in center field.
Mets place C Ramon Castro on the DL
Mets placed catcher Ramon Castro on the 15-day disabled list, retroactive to Aug. 13, with lower back pain. Apparently unwilling to play through a sore back, Castro just blew his big chance to be viewed as a potential regular as a free agent this winter. The Mets will go with Mike DiFelice and Sandy Alomar Jr. behind the plate until Paul Lo Duca comes off the DL.
Angels activate 2B Howie Kendrick
Angels activated infielder Howie Kendrick from the 15-day disabled list. Kendrick will return as the everyday 2nd baseman but may play 1st against lefties to allow Maicer Izturis into the lineup.
A’s place OF Travis Buck on the DL
Athletics placed outfielder Travis Buck on the 15-day disabled list, retroactive to August 18, with a strained left hamstring. The A’s were planning on using him as their primary center fielder with Mark Kotsay out. Now Nick Swisher and Jeff DaVanon will see time there, with Dan Johnson and Mike Piazza picking up extra at-bats as a result.
Tigers activate Joel Zumaya
Tigers activated RHP Joel Zumaya from the 15-day disabled list. Zumaya has missed 3 1/2 months with a ruptured tendon in his right middle finger so expect him to be eased back into a 8th inning role. Zumaya’s return should give the Tigers the boost they need to make the playoffs.
Transactions
Reds call up 2B Jorge Cantu
Reds recalled infielder Jorge Cantu from Triple-A Louisville.
Cantu will replace Jeff Conine as the Reds’ first baseman against left-handers, a role that shouldn’t leave him with much fantasy value. He was hitting .309/.363/.468 in 94 at-bats since joining Louisville.
Mets acquire 1B Jeff Conine
Mets acquired first baseman Jeff Conine from the Reds for shortstop Jose Castro and outfielder Sean Henry. Conine was someone the Mets were interested in prior to the deadline, and the Reds had little reason to hold on to him, as he wasn’t going to be a draft pick this winter. Conine will be used primarily as a pinch-hitter on the Mets.
Red Sox call up C Kevin Cash
Red Sox purchased the contract of catcher Kevin Cash from Triple-A Pawtucket.
The veteran Cash was picked over George Kottaras despite hitting just .176/.276/.335 in 176 at-bats for Pawtucket. The Reason for the choice over Kottaras is that Cash has caught the knuckleball in the past and with Mirabelli out the Sox need someone to catch Wakefield.
Boston call up and send down RHP Clay Buchholz
Red Sox purchased the contract of RHP Clay Buchholz from Triple-A Pawtucket. Buchholz was very impressive in his first start and look for him to get a couple more spot starts in September.
Tigers call up Cameron Maybin
Tigers purchased the contract of outfielder Cameron Maybin from Double-A Erie. Despite only playing six games in Double-A the Tigers decided that they had seen all that they needed to see and called him up. Maybin is one of the top prospects in the game and should be owned in all leagues. Expect Maybin to play against all lefties and see quite a bit of time versus righties, depending on how he performs. Not only will he take all of the at-bats of Craig Monroe, who was cut to make room for him, but he could cut into Marcus Thames’ playing time a bit.
Nationals acquire OF Willy Mo Pena
Nationals acquired outfielder Wily Mo Pena and cash from the Red Sox for a player to be named. The Nationals are hoping that all Willy Mo needs is playing time and they will look to give him as much at bats as possible. Pena’s raw power is undeniable and if you need HR’s and RBI he could be a valuable pick up. Pena will be replaced by Bobby Kielty in Boston.
Yankees recall Edwar Ramirez
Yankees recalled RHP Edwar Ramirez from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.
Ramirez pitched just three times in three weeks during his first stint with the Yankees last month. More frequent usage this time could help his command, but he still doesn’t figure to get much work in close games right away.
WHO’S HOT & WHO’S NOT
HOT
Carlos Beltran- After missing 18 games with a strained oblique, Carlos Beltran returned to the Mets lineup in a big way this past week. Beltran went 9-for-24(.375) with four homers and 10 RBIs.
Johan Santana- With the big years Peavey and Bedard are having I was starting to doubt whether Johan would be a first rounder next year. Last week he answered in typical Johan fashion, he went 1-0 with 0.60 WHIP, 1.80 ERA and 21 strikeouts in 15 innings pitched. Santana’s 17k 0ER 2H performance on Sunday is the best fantasy start you will see all year.
Chris Young- Young had a great past week hitting .393 with five home runs, five runs batted in and nine runs scored. The “young” rookie (see what I did there!) now looks certain to go 25-25 and has an outside shot at 30-30.
NOT
Ryan Howard- If Big Fly Ry wasn’t another MVP trophy he better pick it up soon. Last week he hit just .125, hit no homeruns, drove in only two runs and struck out a whopping 12 times.
Kevin Youkillis- Where did it all go wrong? Youk has been on a steady decline and this past week so his batting average slip under .300. Youk hit just .111 last week and the “Greek god of walks” posted an OBP of just .143
Kenji Johjima- Jo Jo hasn’t quite lived up to his excellent rookie numbers and the Mariners will be looking for him to pick it up and help them down the stretch. Johjima hit just .133 last week with no homeruns and only one RBI.
The Week Ahead- Who To Pick Up & Who To Avoid
PICK UP
Boston Red Sox- The Sox open up the week with three against the D-Rays and finish it with four against the White Sox. The White Sox have the 2nd worst era over the past 30 days. Look to pick up Bobby Kielty when the Sox face lefties.
AVOID
Milwaukee Brewers- The Brewers head out west to play six games this week. They open up against the red hot Diamondbacks and will have to find a way to stop Brandon Webb’s 42 consecutive scoreless inning streak. They then play three against the Giants whose pitching staff has the third most strikeouts in the majors over the past thirty days.
New York Yankees- The Yankees play seven away games that could make or break their season. They open up against the AL west leading Angels and will then have to play four against a Tiger team with Joel Zumaya back.