Fantasy Baseball Morning Update: Sale's dead arm
Reminder: The FOXSports.com fantasy team will review the fantasy impact of every important MLB trade until Tuesday's 4 p.m. ET deadline. You can find everything at this page.
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The amazing Mike Fiers got it done again on Friday, new Marlin Nathan Eovaldi was solid on Saturday, and Travis Blackley stumbled on Sunday. With the streaming starter record at 63-42 on the season, today's pick is Oakland's red-hot A.J. Griffin (owned in 12.9 percent of FOXSports.com leagues), while Tuesday's selection is Homer Bailey (30 percent owned) versus the Padres.
On to the news:
- The acquisition of Francisco Liriano will allow the White Sox to delay Chris Sale's next start. Sale says he's going through a "dead-arm" phase, and South Side Sox gets into detail this morning on Sale's recent velocity drop. We've discussed Sale's apparent fragility in this space before - remember when the Sox moved him to the bullpen temporarily in May because they thought his arm wouldn't hold up? - and the thought here is has been that while he's got elite skills, an increased workload would eventually catch up to him this season. Try one last time to sell high on Sale if you still can. If you can't, hold him and hope for the best.
- Exhale, Mike Trout owners. Your man expects to play tonight after being scratched Sunday due to a bruised left knee.
- Marlins OF Logan Morrison is on the DL due to a knee injury, and might miss the rest of the season. Teammate Giancarlo Stanton is targeting an August 10 return from his DL stint.
- Despite a rehab setback over the weekend, the Mets still hope to get closer Frank Francisco back this week.
- Poor John Axford. Even as part of a committee, he's still blowing saves.
- If you've been following MLB trade activity, you know that the Astros have gutted their roster in an attempt toward building for a better future. We'll be picking starters against them as often as possible, and you should, too.
- The Red Sox hope to get DH David Ortiz off the DL when eligible on Wednesday. Don't write that return date in ink, though.
- Giants 3B Pablo Sandoval is on the DL with a hamstring injury. The Giants hope Sandoval can return on August 9, and will use new acquisition Marco Scutaro in his place.
- With Neftali Feliz being scratched from his Sunday rehab start because of elbow discomfort, the Rangers are apparently planning to put Alexi Ogando in their rotation. I'd suggest grabbing Ogando in deep mixed leagues, but you might want to wait one more day to see if the Rangers deal for someone like Josh Johnson or James Shields (or even Josh Beckett).
- Orioles 2B Brian Roberts will have season-ending hip surgery. Please don't ask me about him in 2013, OK?
- The Cubs hope to get Matt Garza (triceps) back on the mound - for them or another team - later this week.
- The Astros have called up Brett Wallace, who will get at bats at the infield corners and apparently be an option at ... shortstop? Come on.
- The Royals hope that 3B Mike Moustakas (knee) will be back in the lineup on Tuesday.
- Nick Swisher DH'd for the Yankees on Sunday after missing more than a week with a hip injury, and could play the field again tonight.
- The Pirates say that they're not ready to skip James McDonald's turn in the rotation, despite his recent struggles.
- Cardinals SS Rafael Furcal hopes to return to the lineup on Tuesday after missing two games over the weekend due to back stiffness.
- The Tigers have activated SP Drew Smyly from the DL and sent him to Triple A. After getting Anibal Sanchez last week, there's no room for Smyly in the rotation.
- Nationals 1B Adam LaRoche left Sunday's game due to back tightness, and has "no clue" if he'll be ready to play on Tuesday. Speaking of the Nats, here's a look at how scorching hot 3B Ryan Zimmerman has been over the past month. Everybody should get such great cortisone shots in their shoulders. I might even get one today, just for the heck of it.
- Here's a link to this week's edition of Free Agent Frenzy. Two words: 1) Mike, and 2) Carp.
See you back here tomorrow morning.

