3/28 Daily Update

Ryan Klesko/Adrian Gonzalez

Padres sent first baseman Walter Young outright to Triple-A Portland.

And

PER FANTISTICS: According to the San Diego Union-Tribune, "First baseman Ryan Klesko, encouraged by the results of a cortisone shot for his left shoulder, said he expects to return to the lineup today and should be ready for the start of the season. ... Klesko, who is in the final guaranteed year of his contract, said if the pain worsens, he could have surgery that could sideline him 4-6 months. But Klesko said he's determined to have a fun, productive season – even if his home run power is compromised. ... Bochy said Klesko's ailment increases the chances that reserve first baseman Adrian Gonzalez will make the team. The Padres still must trim eight players from the roster by Opening Day."

Young was the only other 1B backup, so looks like Gonzalez will stay up??

Matsui/Anderson Hernandez

The Newark Star-Ledger reports that "Randolph confirmed the obvious when he said that Matsui, who has missed the past two weeks with a knee sprain, will open the season on the 15-day disabled list."

Hernandez should be the starting 2B in NY, could keep the job, but he probably isn’t a good enough hitter to own.

Danny Ardoin

Yorvit Torrealba’s shoulder issues will likely make Danny Ardoin the Rockies’ primary catcher early on, but it should be a temporary arrangement.

Ardoin should be an interesting end game catcher Eli Marrero/Shealy Since Ryan Shealy is Triple-A bound, Eli Marrero figures to be the usual right fielder against left-handers. When he eventually becomes catcher eligible, he’s going to be handy to have around in NL-only leagues.
I’m not convince Eli can hit anymore, but if he does play catcher, he’d be an interesting pickup

Jerry Hairston

If the Cubs follow through with their old plan to dump Todd Walker, Jerry Hairston Jr. could be one of the NL’s better bargains. He’d likely hit second in the lineup, which might help him get back to 25 steals

He’ll probably get bid up like last year, but Haiston is still an interesting player. We probably need to increase his Inflated value and lower Walker

JD Drew

I was concerned about whether J.D. Drew’s power would come back right away, so it’s encouraging that he has managed to slug .613 while returning from wrist and shoulder injuries this spring. …

Looks like JD is back for now and he may not get much love from the other bidders

So Taguchi

The stress fracture in Larry Bigbie’s left foot will likely make Taguchi the Cardinals’ Opening Day left fielder. Bigbie didn’t make much of an impression before getting hurt, so he’ll probably have quite a bit of trouble breaking into the lineup after returning in mid- to late April.

Where was So when we needed him 2 years ago? He’s going to get some AB’s.

Nationals OF

National CF the Nationals only have to settle on a center fielder. GM Jim Bowden seems to prefer Ryan Church, whereas Frank Robinson is intrigued by having a pure leadoff hitter in Brandon Watson. A Church/Marlon Byrd platoon would be quite a bit more productive than Watson, though it wouldn’t quite measure up defensively.

Brandon Watson has speed and would be a reasonable low cost option/risk

Craig Wilson

The latest rumor has Craig Wilson being traded to the Braves for John Thomson. Rarely has a team been so interested in trading one of their best players at any cost. "At this point, I'm really not going to worry about it," Wilson said. "The only thing I can do is go out and hit the ball and catch the ball and throw the ball. If something happens, it happens. I'll pack up and go.

He could be cheap now that Greg sent him back to draft