UPDATE: The Rays placed Longoria on the DL Sunday. He’s expected to miss at least three weeks.
Tampa Bay Rays’ third baseman Evan Longoria expects to miss no more than a week after leaving Saturday’s game with a sore left oblique. Manager Joe Maddon, however, has not ruled out a DL stint. Longoria will be reevaluated on Sunday.
In the meantime, Sean Rodriguez will move from second base to third. Ben Zobrist will move from right field to second base, opening up right field for Matt Joyce…
St. Louis Cardinals’ outfielder Matt Holliday is out indefinitely following an appendectomy on Friday.
The team has not yet set a timetable for his return, but the St. Louis Post-Dispatch notes it usually takes 4-to-6 weeks before a player can begin “strenuous activity.”
Holliday’s absence will create a giant hole in the Cardinals’ and fantasy lineups alike…
Opening Day has come and gone, but not without incident.
Rickie Weeks and Carlos Gomez led off the Brewers’ season with back-to-back jacks, while John Axford blew a three-run ninth inning lead. Curtis Granderson hit a home run on Opening Day for the third consecutive season, and Jason Heyward hit a home run in his first at-bat on Opening Day for the second straight year.
While all of these players (save Gomez) are probably already rostered in your league, a few others contributed noteworthy production as well. Some of them could even rise from the depths of your waiver wire to offer surprising fantasy relevance this season. Take a look at these Opening Day waiver wire fliers…
The Phillies placed Chase Utley on the 15-day disabled list with a sprained ligament in his right thumb on Tuesday, making him the fourth player in recent weeks (Aramis Ramirez, Victor Martinez and Jason Heyward being the others) to be shelved due to a thumb injury.
It’s unclear how long the Phillies (and more importantly, your fantasy squad) will be without Utley’s services. Through 72 games this season, the 31-year-old was batting .277 with 49 runs, 11 homers, 37 RBI and five steals.
In his absence, Utley’s owners will be forced to ponder these waiver wire fliers as short-term replacements at second base…
After batting just .181 with one homer over 94 June at-bats, rookie sensation Jason Heyward’s batting average fell from .292 (on May 31) to .251 following last Saturday’s 0-for-4 game.
Heyward’s recent ineffectiveness can be blamed on a lingering thumb injury that’s been bothering him since late May. Instead of continuing to let him play through the pain, the Braves decided to place the 20-year-old on the 15-day disabled list, retroactive to June 27.
Heyward’s injury won’t require surgery, and he’s expected to be back in the lineup after the All-Star Break.
While his long-term value is through the roof, his short-term value can easily be replaced with one of the following waiver wire fliers:
Sunday, April 3, 2011
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