It was a feel-good story last year for Mike MacDougal as he finally regained the closer role that he lost back in 2003. Unfortunately, his good fortune has come to an end... at least for the next six weeks.
"Right now I'm looking at a minimum of four weeks, at the two-week mark we'll repeat his MRI and make another assessment.''
So he's out at least six weeks. It's not the end of the world, especially with the start of the regular season more than weeks ago away, but it's certainly not a good start to the season.
Buddy Bell went on to say Ambiorix Burgos would step in as the primary closer until MacDougal returns. Burgos was up and down as a rookie, finishing the year with a 3.98 ERA, 1.44 WHIP and two saves in six chances. He was briefly given a chance to win the closer job when Jeremy Affeldt went down last year before ultimately succombing to inconsistency.
This situation is a bit of a pickle for fantasy owners -- do we trust that MacDougal will return in six weeks? And if he does, will the Royals even win any games before then for Burgos to close? Speaking from experience (I drafted Affeldt last year before shelling out big FAAB bucks for MacDougal), I'd let someone else take on this headache. MacDougal was already going to be one of the last AL closers drafted, so now you can afford to wait at least another round or two before taking a shot on him.
[Hat tip to Royals Review, where I originally spotted this news.]