Daily TIPS: Monday's Recap

In a surprise move on Sunday, the Blue Jays cut DH Frank Thomas. From a purely performance-based aspect this wasn’t that surprising — Thomas was hitting just .167 with three home runs (in three straight early April games) and is 39 years old. However, by cutting him, Toronto is also paying him just over $7 million for the rest of the year to not be on the team. 

In the baseball world of guaranteed contracts big money players very rarely get cut. This isn’t the NFL where a cut player doesn’t get any money. There aren’t many teams that are willing to swallow a large chunk of money and Toronto certainly isn’t in the same money-making league as New York and Boston. 

This is very refreshing, and if you’re a Blue Jays’ fan, you’ve got to be pleased. Management took a stand against a player who wasn’t performing, didn’t want to take a reduced role, and was threatening to become a clubhouse cancer. The added bonus for the Blue Jays is that they won’t have to pick up a $10 million option that would have automatically kicked in if he had 376 plate appearances. 

What will come of Thomas? If you are relying on him for your fantasy team it’s hard to suggest that you keep him. He’s been awful so far and it’s hard to say where he could catch on. First off, he’s a DH, so that eliminates half of the teams. Second, he wants to play wherever he goes, so that eliminates any AL team that has an established DH. Third, if you’re a young team, do you really want an aging player who’s going to be cranky anytime he loses at-bats? Doubtful. Thomas finds himself right alongside Barry Bonds — waiting for a contending team to find themselves desperate for a DH. Seattle seems like the most likely fit. 

Elsewhere...

* Edwin Encarnacion has quietly put together a nice stretch as of late. He went 2-for-4 with a dinger last night and has hit safely in 11 straight games. He is just 25 years old and has shown flashes of greatness before. He should be owned in all keeper leagues and deserves a hard look in yearly leagues.

* How will Joba Chamberlain be spending his next couple of months? After ranting and raving about moving him to the rotation immediately, Hank Steinbrenner is now backing off from that and agreeing with Brian Cashman. The Yankees have had a plan for Chamberlain since he was called up last year, and that includes not ratcheting up his innings at a quick rate. Just because Boss-wannabe Hank has gotten impatient with the starters doesn’t mean they should toss that plan out the window. However, I think this rant does mean that Chamberlain ends up in the rotation at some point this year (July) as opposed to staying in the pen all year as some have speculated.

* Pat Burrell hit his seventh home run last night and is putting together a monster season (.364/.476/.742, 19 RBI). Burrell is usually the ol’ reliable of fantasy outfielders. Each year he’ll give you a .260 AVG, 30 HR, 90+ RBI, and .900 OPS. Chances are he’ll end the season right around those numbers so now might be an ideal sell high opportunity.

* Chase Utley has now homered in five straight games and continues to prove why he’s a first round pick (.354/.430/.823; 9 HR, 18 RBI, 17 runs).

* After starting the season with just three hits in his first nine games, Russell Martin is coming back to life. After last night’s 3-for-3 performance he has 12 hits in his last 10 games. As with all fantasy studs there’s only one thing you can do when they slump — ride it out.

* Who is the worst pitcher in the majors right now? It’s hard to argue with Matt Morris who had another awful start last night (L, 4 IP, 8 ER, 9 H, 1 BB, 2 K). He has pitched past the fifth inning only once this year and has an ERA of 9.15 and a WHIP of 1.98. The real question is this: Why did the Pirates trade a serviceable outfielder (Rajai Davis) for him and his $10 million contract? This is just one of the reasons the Pirates haven’t won since the early ’90’s.

* Ben Sheets will miss his start on Wednesday with soreness in his triceps. He has not been placed on the DL yet as the Brewers hope he will just miss the one start and then be able to pitch at the beginning of next week.

* The Phillies finally decided to put Jimmy Rollins on the DL. He was injured on April 8 but wasn’t initially placed on the DL. He then pinch hit several times, the last time being Saturday. This means they can only make the DL stint retroactive to April 19 (the last time he played) instead of the original injury date. Obviously this injury will need plenty of time to heal and hopefully the Phil’s will actually let it heal now. Rollins’ owners may want to pick up Christian Guzman (.304, 14 runs) as a stopgap for him.

* Rafael Soriano is eligible to come off the DL today, but won’t. He’s supposed to start throwing this week, but won’t throw off a mound until he’s pain free (he reportedly still has soreness). This is not a good sign for Soriano owners as there’s really no timetable for his return.

* Alex Rodriguez has a strain of his quadriceps and is questionable for today’s game. It’s really not worth sitting him since a big game is always a possibility from A-Rod.

 QuickTIPS 

Spot-start candidates:
Justin Verlander vs. Texas. Career 2.49 ERA and a nearly 4:1 K/BB ratio in 25.1 IP against the Rangers. Look for Verlander to get back on track tonight.
Brett Myers at Colorado. Myers has a career 2.29 ERA against the Rockies and also boasts a 2.63 ERA at Coors Field over 27.1 IP. 

Avoid:
Gil Meche vs. Cleveland. Meche is 2-6 with a 5.32 ERA in 66 IP against the Indians.