This week we see some players finding themselves in new homes, players returning from the DL after getting hurt in Spring Training, and the end of the line of a long time player.

Red Sox Purchase the contract of RHP Justin Masterson from Double-A Portland.  

The Red Sox are batting the flu and Daisuke Matsuzaka was unable to make his start.  They need someone to make one start and Masterson will get the chance.  He’s a great pickup in a keeper league assuming you can stash him for a while.

Athletics Agree with DH Frank Thomas.

The A’s find themselves in a bit of a quandary.  They are supposed to be rebuilding, but they have gotten off to a really good start.  The Angels are missing a big chunk of their rotation.  Seattle was supposed to be much better, but they’re at .500.  The other big advantage of signing Thomas is the price.  They only have to pay the league minimum as the Jays will eat the rest of the Thomas’ contract.  Now, this does complicate things.  They have four first baseman / designated hitters in Thomas, Mike Sweeney, Daric Barton and Jack Cust.  I’ll call Cust a DH, because he is poor defensively.  Barton is the future and you want him to get full-time at-bats.  Logic says that you’d platoon Sweeney and Barton with Barton getting the most at-bats.  You’ll have to wait and see what happens.

Rangers Place LHP Kason Gabbard on the 15-day disabled list with a sore back; Optioned RHP Wes Littleton to Triple-A Oklahoma; Recalled RHP Scott Feldman from Double-A Frisco and RHP Kazuo Fukumori from Triple-A Oklahoma.

Gabbard hurt his back when he slipped on the pitching rubber and is expected to only miss the minimum 15 games.  While he sports a 2.18 ERA, his 9 walks to 8 strike outs in 20 innings is not inspiring.  Feldman will be either used in long relief or start on Saturday.  Needless to say, you should avoid him.

Diamondbacks Activate C Miguel Montero from the 15-day DL and optioned OF Alex Romero to Triple-A Tucson.  

While Montero only hit .224 last year, he did hit 10 homeruns in 214 at-bats which isn’t too bad for a 23 year old catcher.  He bats left-handed, and Chris Snyder is only hitting .204 with a .315 slugging percentage.  Montero is clearly the future for Arizona, so I suspect that he’ll get a good chunk of at-bats.

Reds Reinstate C David Ross from the 15-day disabled list; Placed OF Norris Hopper on the 15-day disabled list, retroactive to April 19, with right elbow inflammation.  

David Ross takes over behind the plate and will hit .220-.240 with double-digit home runs.  Hopper is the odd man out, so he goes on the DL.

Tigers Activate OF Curtis Granderson from the 15-day DL and Option OF Clete Thomas to Triple-A Toledo.  

Granderson is the spark plug for the Tigers and he immediate makes an impact.  In his first game, Granderson goes 2-for-4 with 2 walks, scores 3 runs and plates 2 RBI.  Clete Thomas played admirable in Granderson’s absence and he’ll find himself back up in a couple of years.  Brandon Inge is the odd man out as he returns to his previous role as super utility / #2 catcher.

Brewers Activate OF Tony Gwynn from the 15-day DL.

With the Mike Cameron clock ticking, Tony Gwynn once again gets a chance to prove that he’s more than just a speedy #4 outfielder.  Wait!  Who is this?  Gabe Kapler?  Kapler is hitting .368 with 4 home runs.  That is more home runs than Ryan Braun and Prince Fielder?  You can’t take that hot bat out.  Oh well, sorry Mr. Gwynn Jr.  It looks like more bench time.  Look at it this way, the Brewers traded away Gabe Gross so you no longer have to fight for a spot on the bench.

Athletics Claim OF Rajai Davis off waivers from the San Francisco Giants.

Davis has incredible speed, but lacks power, batting eye, and is hitting a whopping .056.  That is the difference between Roto and Simulation.  Davis is worth a $1 in Roto because if he gets any batting time, he’ll steal 40 bases.  In simulation he is just place useless.

Rays Designate INF Dan Johnson for assignment.

Johnson was designated when the Rays acquired Gabe Gross.  He didn’t appear in a game and now has just one at-bat all year.

Indians Place RHP Jake Westbrook on the 15-day DL, retroactive to April 20th, with a left intercostal strain and Recall OF Ben Francisco from Triple-A Buffalo.

The left intercostal muscle is located in the lower back.  He is expected to miss between two to four weeks.  An MRI indicated that it is just a strain.  They didn’t need a starter right away so Ben Francisco will come up for now and be sent down when they need a starter again.  Jeremy Sowers will get the chance to redeem himself.  The two time first round draft pick was 0-2 in Triple-A, but was sporting a 3.18 ERA and has a solid 2:1 SO:BB ratio.

Brewers Trade OF Gabe Gross to the Rays in exchange for RHP Josh Butler.  

Gross is a prototypical #4 outfielder.  He’s got some pop and a left-handed bat.  The Brewers don’t need him with Tony Gwynn Jr. on the roster.  He’ll get some at-bats against right-handers, but won’t be a full-time starter.  Josh Butler was a #2 pick for the Rays in 2006 and has a mid-90’s fastball with good sinking action, an average slider and curveball and was working on a changeup.  The Brewers are considering converting him into a reliever.

Athletics Recall LHP Dallas Braden from Triple-A Sacramento.

Braden was used as a starter last year, but this time around, the A’s are going to use him purely as a reliever.

Mariners Activate RHP J.J. Putz from the 15-day DL and Option RHP R.A. Dickey to Triple-A Tacoma.  

Putz owners in the world rejoice.  Dickey’s knuckleball did a good job.  It was his mid-80’s and straight fastball that did him in.

Reds Place RHP David Weathers on the 15-day DL with ulnar nerve irritation in his right elbow.  

Weathers has given up 8 walks in 7 innings while only striking out 1.  He no longer earns saves either.

Astros Place LHP Wandy Rodriguez on the 15-day DL with a groin injury and purchase the contract of LHP Tim Byrdak from Triple-A Round Rock.

The groin injury is mild and Rodriguez is expected to only miss the minimum.  Jack Cassel will start for Rodriguez until he returns.

Royals Designate RHP Hideo Nomo for assignment and recalled RHP Luke Hochevar from Triple-A Omaha.

It looks like the end of the road for Nomo who had an 18.69 ERA and had an amazing 1:1 SO:HR ratio.  You don’t see that very often.  Hochevar gave up 6 runs in 4 innings and looks to be not quite ready yet.  He’ll get one more chance and if he doesn’t so well return to Triple-A for further seasoning. 

Angels Recall 1B Kendry Morales from Triple-A Salt Lake and Option RHP Jason Bulger to Triple-A Salt Lake.

Honestly, I don’t know what to make of Morales.  The boy can hit.  He hit .385 in spring training and .294 for the Angels last year, but he’s a first baseman only.  He gets some at-bats just from Casey Kotchman’s regular trips to the DL for assorted reasons.  What he needs is a trade so that he could get some real playing time.

Brewers Activate RHP Yovani Gallardo from the 15-day DL and option utility man Joe Dillon to Triple-A Nashville.

Get him in your rotation, just in case you were looking for some advice on the matter.

Cubs Recall OF Matt Murton from Triple-A Iowa and option INF Eric Patterson to Iowa.

I was wondering why the Cubs chose to promote Patterson over Murton.  They are looking to trade Murton and have an open spot in the outfield.  Why not showcase him?  Well, they have now.

Twins Place SS Adam Everett on the 15-day DL, retroactive to April 15, with a right shoulder strain and recalled INF Brian Buscher from Triple-A Rochester.  

The Twins were concerned enough to give Everett an enhanced MRI, the kind where they inject a dye before taking the MRI.  It showed no structural damage.  Nick Punto is starting at short in the meantime.

Nationals Activate RHP Shawn Hill from the 15-day DL.

While the 4 earned runs in 5 innings wasn’t great, the six strikeouts and no walks was good.

Braves Place LHP Tom Glavine on the 15-day disabled list.

He will miss just the minimum.

White Sox Activate OF Jerry Owens from the 15-day DL and optioned him to Triple-A Charlotte.

Carlos Quentin has hit 5 home runs and more importantly has a .387 on-base.  Owens will stay in Triple-A until there is an injury or Quentin falters.

Angels Placed 2B Howard Kendrick on the 15-day DL, retroactive to April 14, with a strained left hamstring.

Kendrick must be frustrating to own.  He was only hitting .500 in 36 at-bats when het got hurt.  The good news is that it looks like he’ll just miss the minimum.

Nationals Place C Paul Lo Duca on the 15-day DL, retroactive to April 14, with a bruised right hand.

Johnny Estrada has started in Lo Duca’s place.

Tout Wars Update

Well, I continue to struggle.  It is kind of funny, my second echelon players are all doing well.  It is my first echelon players, the meat and potatoes of the fantasy team that aren’t doing anything.

I’ve been right about Conor Jackson.  He’s been an impact player and the power is coming.  I’ve been right about spending an extra buck on Rafael Furcal.  His down year last year was injury related and he’s healthy now.  Other than that the rest of my players (Mark Teixeira, Ryan Zimmerman, Delmon Young and Corey Hart) have struggled, so I’m in last place.

Pitching wise, Ted Lilly had a good start finally, but that is 24 innings of 7.30 ERA.  I’ve tried to find some help in the free agent pool, but I’ve been coming up short on my FAAB bids and have lost out on the guy I wanted and ended up with the fallback player.  Those fallback players haven’t help me either.  Now I have to deal with the Manny Corpas situation.  My instincts told me to get Brian Fuentes as a backup, but I didn’t want to roster him for the week according to Tout rules and I need wins.  Now I’m going to have to pay full price for him instead of a $0 bid.

It is frustrating, but the season is still early.

On a more pleasant note, my NFBC team is third in Chicago #2 and #51 overall.  I’m doing that despite both Mike Lowell and Alfonso Soriano on the DL.  Once they are healthy, I should be able to move up some more.

JP Kastner is the winner of the 2007 Strat-O-Matic Baseball Online Expert League World Series.  In five seasons of SOMBOE, JP Kastner has five winning seasons, four playoff appearances, three World Series appearances and now one World Championship.  He is in his third season in the Tout Wars mixed league.