MLB Quick Hits: Jays' Bautista scratched; DL possible?

By John Halpin
Published

Blue Jays OF Jose Bautista aggravated a shoulder injury on Tuesday, probably while trying to throw out archenemy Adam Jones at first base. Bautista was scratched Wednesday, and the team's website says he might be able to DH today but might need a couple of days off from playing the field. SportsNet.ca quotes manager John Gibbons as saying, "If he doesn't show much progress the next couple of days, [a trip to the DL] is always a possibility ... as of today, it's not just a sore shoulder, today he couldn't throw a baseball." Maybe Gibbons was just stating the worst-case scenario, but keep Bautista benched until you see him on the Jays' lineup card.

In other news ...

Rays manager Kevin Cash brought in ace reliever Brad Boxberger in the seventh inning of a tie game on Wednesday and Boxberger came through, whiffing David Ortiz, Hanley Ramirez and Mike Napoli. This is a great real-baseball note, as it seems logical for a team to use its best reliever in the highest-leverage situation. Boxberger's fantasy owners might see things differently, as they probably saw the Sox-Rays boxscore today and said, "Who the $#@! is Steve Geltz and why did he get a save???" It's hard to say how often Cash will handle things this way, but you should not take it as a hint to grab Geltz from your league's free-agent pool. 

Tigers RP Joe Nathan felt a "pop" in his right arm during a Wednesday rehab appearance and had to leave the game. We should learn Nathan's prognosis today, but don't expect to see him for awhile.

Speaking of the Tigers: What the hell was that, David Price?

Before you get too excited about Archie Bradley's latest solid outing, please note that he walked five batters and struck out two in six innings. You can't live like that, Archie.

Pirates manager Clint Hurdle said Wednesday that Mark Melancon is still his closer, but Melancon was unavailable Wednesday after throwing 25 pitches the night before. That's why Tony Watson got a two-inning save against the Cubs.

In other Pirates' news, OF Starling Marte is day to day after getting hit in the right hand by a pitch on Wednesday. X-rays were negative.

Eight day games are on today's schedule, starting with Cubs-Pirates at 12:35 p.m. ET. Set your lineups early.

Ian Kennedy could return to the Padres' rotation as soon as Saturday.

We should know today if A's 2B Ben Zobrist (knee) will return to the lineup or go on the DL.

Rays OF Steven Souza left Wednesday's game due to a forearm cramp, and his status for today is TBD.

On SiriusXM Fantasy Sports Radio yesterday, A's beat writer John Hickey said that closer Sean Doolittle is probably 3-4 weeks away from returning to action, and will probably get his job back.

Cubs OF Dexter Fowler was pulled from Wednesday's game due to tightness in his groin. He's day to day, but today seems unlikely due to the early start.

Dillon Gee pitched pretty well as Wednesday's streaming starter pick, but that's because he's a Met and they do awesome things every single day. Today's options are bad, but if I have to pick one - and honestly, I'd rather not - it's Pittsburgh's Jeff Locke (owned in 12.8 percent of FOXSports.com leagues, $6,700 on DraftKings) against the Cubs.

Here are some #DFS ideas for today:

* Braves OF Jonny Gomes ($3,100 on DraftKings) is 8-for-21 with three home runs against Bartolo Colon. 

* Padres 1B Yonder Alonso ($4,300) is 6-for-8 with two homers and a couple of walks against Jordan Lyles.

* I generally don't like starting hitters against ace pitchers, but both Alcides Escobar (18-for-45) and Lorenzo Cain (13-for-37) hit Chris Sale pretty well.

* There are some bad pitchers on the board, but the worst is probably Philly's Dustin McGowan, so some Marlins might help you. Martin Prado is only $3,900 and bats high in the order, while Dee Gordon is $4,800 and Giancarlo Stanton is $5,300.

* You'll probably need to pay up for at least one starting pitcher. My preferences, in order, are Max Scherzer ($12,100), Clay Buchholz ($7,400), Sale ($11,000), Homer Bailey ($8.200), Jake Odorizzi ($8,200) and Michael Wacha ($8,200).

See you back here tomorrow morning.