It looks like the C.C. Sabathia deal is basically done, and he could start for the Brewers as early as Tuesday. The main fantasy impact will be seen in both teams' rotations. Here's what they'll probably look like post-trade:
Brewers (UPDATED 8:40 P.M. ET): Sabathia, Ben Sheets, Manny Parra, Dave Bush, Seth McClung. McClung was going to probably be the odd man out until Jeff Suppanwent on the DL with elbow irritation.
Indians:Cliff Lee, Paul Byrd, Aaron Laffey, Jeremy Sowers. That's four, and Fausto Carmona will be the fifth if he comes off the DL shortly after the All-Star break, as expected. The team also signed journeyman Jeff Weaver over the weekend, so he's a possibility as well.
Matt LaPorta is the prospect to keep your eye on, and the guys at DiaTribetake a good look at the 23-year-old slugger. LaPorta's playing the outfield now, but reports on his defense are consistently unenthusiastic, and that could mean a return to first base. Which could mean that come September or April, Ryan Garko might be looking for a new job.
That's all on the trade front. Now, back to our regularly scheduled programming.
Who's off: Yanks, O's, Blue Jays, White Sox, Indians, Tigers, Nationals, Cubs, Cardinals, Reds, Giants, Diamondbacks
First pitch: The Royals and Rays get the AL slate started at 12:40 p.m. ET, while there are a couple of NL games at 7:05. Here's the full schedule.
Pitcher to start:Braden Looperhad a solid outing Friday. On Saturday, Kevin Sloweygave up too many runs, but got a win and helped in the other categories. John Danks closed out our strong weekend with a nice win Sunday. Today I take what is probably my last shot with Tampa Bay's Matt Garza, since he's up to 37.1 percent owned.
On to the news:
The nightmare season continues for Rockies SS Troy Tulowitzki, who will miss a couple of weeks after cutting his hand on a bat in the middle of a small temper tantrum Friday night. If you took him in the fifth round or so, would it make you feel better if I said he could have a good August and September? In other Rox news, 1B Todd Helton is also on the DL with his constantly bad back.
As I noted late Friday, the Braves optioned OF Jeff Francouer and his miserable slump to Double A. He'll reportedly be there no more than 20 days, and there's a mish-mash of guys taking his place at the moment.
Mariners SP Erik Bedard felt tightness in his shoulder on Friday, and his next start will be pushed back.
A's SS Bobby Crosby is on the DL with an injured hamstring, and he's being replaced by a couple of guys (Donnie Murphy and Gregorio Petit) that you don't need to worry about.
Nats OF Elijah Dukes will have knee surgery today and miss 4-6 weeks. I actually picked up Dukes in a league on Saturday morning, and dropped him 24 hours later. Dammit.
Remember when people thought Pittsburgh's Tom Gorzelanny was a good pitcher? Maybe he'll be good for Triple-A Indianapolis, which is where he is now. Here's an update on the Pirates' rotation.
Rangers C Jarrod Saltalamacchiashould play today after missing Sunday's game with a groin injury.
If the Indians would ever win a game we might see who their new closer is. Masa Kobayashi is still owned in just 3.8 percent of leagues around here, and he's the rumored candidate.
Mark Mulder is expected to make his first start of the season on Wednesday for the Cardinals. If you're feeling lucky - or desperate - he's owned in just 1.3 percent of FOXSports.com leagues.
Here's a Marlins update that includes news on 2B Dan Uggla, 3B Jorge Cantu and rookie starter Chris Volstad. Volstad's 21, and regarded as a good (but not great) prospect. Don't expect much for now.
If you're a J.J. Hardy owner, don't you feel good about being patient with him, since he has six home runs in his last six games? If you waived him out of frustration, you probably feel something a little different. Rage, maybe.
D'backs reliever Juan Cruz is on the DL with the dreaded strained oblique.
