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Rockies shortstop Troy Tulowitzki was drilled in the elbow by a pitch from former teammate Ubaldo Jimenez, but x-rays showed no broken bones, and he should be fine. But he returned from the hospital with his elbow wrapped heavily, so we should know more in the next few days if he will miss any time as a result.
In the last few days, I have read several negative articles about the Phillies, and wonder if they have reached the end of their run. I know its only spring training, but Roy Halladay struggled a bit this spring with an ERA that approached 6.00, and the Phillies offense could struggle to score runs this season without Chase Utley and Ryan Howard for at least the first month of the season, and probably more. I have a feeling they will be playing a lot of 3-2 and 2-1 games this season.
Sunday brought us news that Phillies shortstop Jimmy Rollins will start the season in the 3rd spot in the Phillies lineup. Outfielder Juan Pierre will leadoff, followed by Placido Polanco, Rollins, Hunter Pence and Shane Victorino in the 1-5 spots in their lineup. I imagine Rollins will be counted on to hit for a bit more power this season, and we will find out how that will impact his running game.
More Roto Roundup after the jump:
Rangers outfielder Josh Hamilton will be their everyday center fielder again this season, as guys like Craig Gentry and Julio Borbon failed to win over manager Ron Washington. The Rangers would be smart to deal for a center fielder at some point this season, just to save Hamilton from more injuries. David Murphy will man left field and Nelson Cruz, when he is healthy, will start in right field.
The Braves dealt one of their pitching prospects for Reds third base prospect Juan Francisco on Sunday. I read that Braves GM Frank Wren loves Francisco, so he could see plenty of time at third base while Chipper Jones is recovering from knee surgery.
The Cardinals made it official last evening, as they sent starter Chris Carpenter to the 15 day DL with nerve irritation in his right shoulder. He is expected to return in May, but we have yet to hear when he will start to throw again. I imagine the later he starts his throwing, the more likely we see Carpenter return toward the end of May.
The Cardinals also sent outfielder Allen Craig to the 15 day DL as he continues to rehab from offseason knee surgery. Craig should return in mid-April, so he won't miss much time at all.
Red Sox closer Andrew Bailey could start the season on the DL with an injury to the thumb on his right hand. Should he miss time, Mark Melancon will probably get the first chance to close, with Daniel Bard setting him up.
Speaking of closers landing on the DL, Nationals closer Drew Storen is expected to start the season on the DL, and I think Brad Lidge will close for him while he is out, I would pick up Lidge if he is available in your league. Henry Rodriguez is another option to close, but he will more than likely be the set up man while Storen is on the DL.
With Michael Morse hitting the DL, the Nationals will turn to veteran utility man Mark DeRosa to play left field on a regular basis. Morse was recently allowed to increase his baseball activities, but he has yet to play in a spring training game since he was sidelined. There are worse options out there than DeRosa, who is draftable in very deep NL-only leagues.
Dodgers shortstop Dee Gordon has had a solid spring, hitting .390-.463-.508 with 11 stolen bases in 15 attempts, and a 7-7 strikeout to walk ratio. Gordon makes plenty of contact and is going to run a lot this season. If his spring training stolen base opportunity percentage is any indication, you can expect him to run at least 50% of the times he gets on base this season. His success rate will have to be better than it has been this spring.
Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez had offseason knee surgery, as he used the same doctor who performed the knee surgery on NBA player Kobe Bryant. Do you think this surgery will help ARod return to the 30 HR level in 2012?