Good Morning everyone, here is our third installment of The Saturday Report bringing you player news from around the league. This week features some interesting updates such as: Jarrod Saltalamacchia’s current health update, or whether or not Hideki Matsui will become a total bust and more, so let’s take a look.
National League Player News: March 7, 2010:
Huston Street – Rockies: The marquis fireballer-reliever for Colorado did some more work on Saturday throwing about 40 balls from 110 feet reports Inside the Rockies.
Street has been dealing with some inflammation in his throwing shoulder over the past two weeks or so, but it isn’t being considered serious which should raise a couple of red flags. Just keep a discerning eye on the situation to ensure things don’t go south prior to opening day.
Brandon Webb – Diamondbacks: Updated from 2/26, Last week we reported that Webb’s recovery was going well and that he should be on track to be available on opening day, now Webb is saying “it is too early to say whether he’ll begin the regular season.” reports the Arizona Republic.
Webb is targeting to be game-ready by March 15th at the latest, and while he is throwing some batting practices and mound sessions successfully, everything is simply being taken down a cautious road. Even if he isn’t ready be opening day, he should still be fine for the 2010 MLB fantasy season.
Angel Guzman – Cubs: Paul Sullivan of The Chicago Tribune is reporting that Guzman has “a significant ligament tear” in the bottom part of his shoulder and that spells disaster for the Cubs and fantasy owners alike.
Guzman posted a 2.95 ERA with a 1.05 WHIP last year and was considered to be a huge contributor this year for the Cubs, and it appears that isn’t going to happen. If he rehabs, it will be a month or more before he knows whether he can pitch, if he gets surgery he may never pitch again; he is safe to drop in all formats.
Emmanuel Burris – Giants: Burris has been diagnosed with a broken toe and will don a boot for the next four weeks making his chances of being on the roster at opening day null and void. Furthermore, there will be additional time missed once he is healed since he will have to work through some minor league stints.
Ugh, the second base situation in San Fran is just an utter mess right now, with Burris and Sanchez being down and for those of you thinking of picking up Uribe I would suggest exploring other options first.
Scott Hairston – Padres: Hairston left Saturday’s game after being hit on the hand/wrist and there hasn’t been an update—as of this article—and may not be one until Monday, so check back here as we will keep you informed.
I say hand/wrist because it is unclear what body part actually took the blow, but losing Hairston would be a blow to San Diego, and fantasy owners who were thinking of using him in a utility role.
American League Player News: March 7, 2010:
Hank Blalock – Rangers: Jon Heyman on Twitter is reporting that the Rays are in “serious talks” with the vaunted first baseman which poses an interesting bit of news.
It’s always hard to disseminate these Tweets, but assuming the Rays actually are interested and bring him in, Blalock would serve as a very nice DH hitter and given the fact there is no guarantee over the durability of Carlos Pena’s surgically repaired fingers there is even the slight chance of Blalock eventually starting.
Blalock is a funny guy, he had a horrible batting line (.234/.277/.459) but did hit 25 homers in 2009 which seems to be par for the course for him. He may be of some value going forward if the Rays pick him up. Stay Tuned.
Jarrod Saltalamacchia – Rangers: Well Texas is a hot spot right now huh? Old “Salty” mowed down speedster Alex Gordon while trying to steal second which is a great indication to his overall recovery progress from shoulder surgery.
This is wonderful news as Saltalamacchia is in line to be a huge sleeper in my opinion if he is ready to go; Taylor Teagarden isn’t an option either way, so don’t even think about it.
Hideki Matsui – Angels: Manager Mike Scioscia said that Matsui could be ready to DH in a spring game today (Sunday).
Really? That’s great for a guy who is 35, on a serious decline, and traveling around with not one, but two bad knees. There are still some people with delusions of grandeur that Matsui will hit another 25+ homeruns this year; don’t be one of those people.
Joe Nathan – Twins: Nathan left Saturday’s game for “precautionary reasons” due to soreness in his right elbow.
Uh oh, that’s not good news in the slightest considering Nathan had surgery to remove bone chips in that same elbow just last October. The procedure is relatively small, but anything surrounding ill feeling in that elbow could potentially be disastrous for Nathan and fantasy owners. Stay Tuned for more.
Adam Lind – Blue Jays For those of you hoping that perhaps Lind was going to become eligible at first base you can pretty much forget it (thank you very much Lyle Overbay).
There was some talk about that possibility along with also hitting cleanup, but the fact of the matter is no matter where you put this guy, he is going to produce just as he did in 2009.
Last year he was a 30/30 hitter and it wasn’t a fluke here is my projected line:
.298 AVG, 34 HR, 118 RBI, 45 DBL, 97 R, 5 SB, .978 OPS.
For more fantasy news and advice check out our NFL – NBA – and NHL sections.
