AJ Mass, ESPN Staff Writer 8y

Fantasy 30: Correa's shoulder, Fernandez's future

Fantasy MLB, MLB

Even when you're a fan of one major league baseball team, it can be difficult to keep track of all the news that surrounds your favorite club on a daily basis.

However, when you're a fantasy baseball owner, you have to multiply that effort by 30 in order to be as up to date as possible with each and every club. It's a fool's errand that borders on the impossible.

Fear not! We're here each and every week to give you a snapshot of what's going on in the world of baseball, with one fantasy takeaway from each of the league's 30 teams. Think of it as your one-stop shop for the week ahead.

Here are the takeaways for this week, as September rosters expand even more quickly than some teams' playoff chances start to slip away:

Arizona Diamondbacks: Although he went 0-for-3 in his return to action yesterday, it was good to see Chris Herrmann (hamstring) back on the field for the D-backs. The catcher was batting .290 on the season prior to getting hurt on July 16, and even if the banged-up Welington Castillo (shoulder) doesn't have to miss much time, the team should find a way to get his Herrmann's bat in the lineup going forward.

Atlanta Braves: Williams Perez was able to get back on the mound for the Braves on Tuesday after having missed three months of action due to a rotator-cuff strain. That's the good news. The bad news is that he lasted just 2 1/3 innings, giving up six runs on eight hits to the Nationals before getting the hook. Still, health-wise, Perez got through the return in one piece and manager Brian Snitker says the pitcher will remain in the rotation.

Baltimore Orioles: Chris Davis left Tuesday's game early after complaining that his left hand "didn't feel right." We'd wager that his right hand "didn't feel left" either. All jokes aside, X-rays showed the slugger was fine and his sitting out Wednesday's game as well was just manager Buck Showalter's way of giving Davis two consecutive days off, given the O's day off on Thursday. Davis said the injury has bothered him for most of the season, and was not all that concerned about missing time down the stretch.

Boston Red Sox: Outfielder Andrew Benintendi was shagging fly balls in the outfield before the Red Sox game on Tuesday, wearing a custom-made knee brace. The rookie has made phenomenal progress from his knee injury and may be able to return to the Boston lineup as early as next week. Should either of Boston's minor league teams that are currently in the playoffs advance to the next round, Benintendi could join them in order to see some live at-bats before making his big-league return.

Chicago Cubs: Has manager Joe Maddon already begun to set up his playoff rotation? It seems like he's using the last few weeks of the regular season to experiment. This weekend, he's flip-flopping Jake Arrieta, who will now pitch on Sunday and John Lackey, who will take the mound on Saturday. "It's just to break up Jon Lester and Jake," Maddon said. "It was strategical because we could." Lester opens up the weekend series in Houston on Friday.

Chicago White Sox: An MRI showed no structural damage in James Shields' tight back, amid discussion of a possible September shutdown for the veteran pitcher. Although it now appears as though Shields may indeed make his next start, there's still a good chance it may be his last of 2016, either through a recurrence of the injury, or simply poor performance. Carson Fulmer, whose Triple-A team failed to make the playoffs, could potentially (though unlikely) be recalled to step into the rotation.

Cincinnati Reds: Billy Hamilton suffered an oblique injury on Sunday - a bizarre happening, given it occurred on what barely registered as a check swing. The outfielder has already missed three games as a result, and is expected to sit out all weekend as well before being re-evaluated by team doctors. Jose Peraza has been batting leadoff in his stead, and the .524 September batting average has made it easy for the Reds to forget that Hamilton is out.

Cleveland Indians: Yan Gomes, out with a shoulder injury since July 17, appears to be in line to be activated when eligible to come off the disabled list on September 16. The catcher was able to get behind the plate for five innings with Triple-A Columbus yesterday, and the plan is for a repeat outing as catcher today. Gomes had been primarily DH-ing in his rehab stint, but showed enough progress throwing the ball to accelerate his progress.

Colorado Rockies: Owners of Gerardo Parra should be crossing their fingers that his hamstring injury is not serious. The new Colorado first baseman got hurt in the first inning of Wednesday's game while stretching for a ball during a bang-bang play. For now, the team is hoping it's just a tweak, but anything more serious than that might mean Parra's 2016 is over. Stephen Cardullo would be the biggest beneficiary of playing time should Parra need to sit.

Detroit Tigers: Saturday marks the return of Jordan Zimmermann (neck), who will start for the first time since August 4 when he takes the mound against the Orioles. Although Zimmermann's last rehab start (Monday) was a rocky one in terms of the box score, the pitcher said he was pain-free, feeling great and "as strong or if not stronger than I did in April." Keep an eye on this start, and if all goes well, this could be a nice waiver-wire add for the homestretch. Zimmermann is currently owned in only 66.1 percent of ESPN leagues.

Houston Astros: The Astros are hoping that Carlos Correa will be back in action on Friday night, assuming that team doctors are satisfied with what they saw in the shortstop's shoulder when he was examined yesterday. Alex Bregman shifted over to short, with Yulieski Gurriel manning third base while Correa was out. If the injury does prove to be more than a minor sprain, that positional shift is likely to continue.

Kansas City Royals: Salvador Perez got hit on the wrist on Tuesday, and the Royals held their breath all the way through receiving the results of X-rays taken yesterday. Exhale, everyone. Perez has a bruise, and no fracture. Manager Ned Yost believes that Perez will be back in the Royals lineup on Friday, provided that the swelling goes down. If not, either Drew Butera or Tony Cruz could fill in for a day or two, as needed.

Los Angeles Angels: Yunel Escobar may be back in the Angels lineup come Friday. The third baseman last played on September 3, when he got hit by a pitch on the hand. He did take both batting and fielding practice before Wednesday's game, so it's looking good for a return to action in the upcoming series against the Rangers.

Los Angeles Dodgers: It's not looking good for Scott Kazmir, as the rehabbing pitcher was unable to last a full inning for Triple-A Oklahoma City last night. Kazmir threw 33 pitches, walking two, hitting two and serving up a home run. More disturbing were the neck and rib cage issues that accompanied the poor outing. The timetable for a return to the Dodgers seems to be pushed way back now, although owners of Jose De Leon may benefit from this news, as he's likely to remain in the team's rotation.

Miami Marlins: Fantasy owners who are counting on Jose Fernandez to give their team a late-season push may not like what Miami manager Don Mattingly has to say about the pitcher's September playing time. The team plans to shut Fernandez down should they be eliminated from playoff contention. The "tragic number" for the Marlins is currently 18, so at least two more starts can likely be counted on, unless the team decides to pull the plug on their post-season early.

Milwaukee Brewers: Andrew Susac may not get a lot of playing time for the Brewers in September, but manager Craig Counsell is hoping that just being with the club will help the catcher's chances of making Milwaukee's roster for 2017. "I think (this) will make Spring Training a lot easier for him next year," Counsell said. "I feel like we can accomplish something no matter how many games we see him." Martin Maldonado will be up for arbitration after the season, and Manny Pina is the only other catcher (besides Susac) on the 40-man roster.

Minnesota Twins: The numbers were great for Trevor Plouffe, hitting .306 with five home runs in his last 12 games. Unfortunately, those games may have been his last with the Twins. The free-agent-to-be strained both his oblique and intercostal muscles during a hard swing on Tuesday and is expected to miss at least two weeks as a result. At that point, if he's not at 100 percent, there's really no reason for him to come back at all, save perhaps for nostalgia's sake and a chance for the fans to maybe say goodbye.

New York Mets: Rather than talking about Tim Tebow, how about we focus on someone who may actually have some fantasy impact? Robert Gsellman beat the Nationals in his last start, lowering his Mets ERA to 2.87 in the process. New York has managed to turn their season around quickly and should be in the wild-card hunt the rest of the way. Gsellman should continue to start, and potentially twice each against the Braves and Phillies. Ya gotta believe?

New York Yankees: His six innings of shutout ball, complete with 11 strikeouts on August 15 against the Blue Jays was easily the highlight of Chad Green's season. That season is now officially at an end, though, as the pitcher has been placed on the 15-day disabled list with a right forearm tendon injury. The good news is that Tommy John surgery, which had been feared, will be avoided as no UCL tear was detected by doctors. Expect a full recovery in time for the spring.

Oakland Athletics: With Sean Manaea ready to return next week, the A's will move to a six-man rotation the rest of the way, which means we may only see Jharel Cotton a few more times before Oakland calls it a season. In his debut on Wednesday, Cotton threw 6 1/3 innings of two-hit ball before leaving the game to an ovation after 102 pitches. His catcher, Stephen Vogt, was duly impressed, "He was amazing, really good. He was locating, getting weak contact, making pitches when he needed to in big spots." Dynasty leaguers, take note - and others, file the name away for 2017.

Philadelphia Phillies: Maikel Franco had played in every Phillies game since July 24 prior to sitting out yesterday's game due to a jammed thumb. Manager Pete Mackanin said that his third baseman was available for pinch-hit duties, but he ultimately opted not to use him, leading to speculation Franco might still need a day or two more before being able to return to action.

Pittsburgh Pirates: Starling Marte is dealing with back spasms, and has missed the last two games for the Pirates due to the problem. The outfielder has had multiple nagging injuries over the course of the season, but in spite of the varied bumps and bruises, has missed just nine games. In his last 12 starts, Marte has hit .340 with a pair of home runs, so as soon as he's back in Pittsburgh's lineup, he should also return to yours.

St. Louis Cardinals: Matt Holliday is not yet prepared to give up on a 2016 return, and in fact, he's amping up his efforts to do so. Doctors have given Holliday permission to resume baseball activities, following a screw being inserted in his thumb on August 17. For now, the Cardinals are eyeballing two-to-three weeks of recovery time before Holliday can get back on the field.

San Diego Padres: An erratic season may have come to a premature end for Jarred Cosart. The winless pitcher this season, acquired by the Padres in a deadline deal, strained his right groin and hamstring while covering first on a grounder. He was pulled from Wednesday's start after just 3 1/3 innings and may subsequently be shut down for the season. Manager Andy Green didn't have an answer when asked who might replace Cosart in his rotation: "We don't really have a wealth of starters banging on the door to get here right now."

San Francisco Giants: Denard Span is just 1-for-24 since August 30, part of the reason manager Bruce Bochy has given his outfielder the last two games off. Bochy says Span is also still dealing with soreness in his knee from getting hit by a pitch on August 28. However, the plan is to play Span in all three games this weekend, in the hope that this little breather will rectify all that ails him.

Seattle Mariners: Manager Scott Servais was pretty clear as to how he planned to handle the fact he currently has three corner outfielders for just two lineups spots. "I do think we owe an opportunity to find out what Ben Gamel can do. So he's going to play... It doesn't mean he's going to play every day, but I want to try to get him in there and see what we've got." Gamel, however, is hitting just .063 in his first 16 at-bats, so with Seattle still not out of the wild-card chase, don't write off Nori Aoki and Seth Smith just yet.

Tampa Bay Rays: Matt Duffy has officially been shut down by the Rays, and the shortstop will undergo surgery on his left Achilles later this week. Brad Miller and Nick Franklin will likely split time at the position the rest of the month, as the organization declined to add either Tim Beckham or Taylor Motter to the team's expanded roster.

Texas Rangers: Colby Lewis hasn't pitched for the Rangers since June 21. However, Lewis was undefeated entering his start that day - a game in which he lost 8-2 and suffered a strained lat muscle that sent him to the DL. Sunday marks Lewis' return to the Rangers rotation, as he'll start against the Angels. Manager Jeff Banister said he may decide to go with a six-man rotation for now, though he may ultimately opt to skip A.J. Griffin if he continues to struggle.

Toronto Blue Jays: If you see a few extra starts going forward from Dioner Navarro, don't be surprised. In addition to the likelihood of Navarro catching on Friday when Marco Estrada is on the mound, Russell Martin is also dealing with some knee issues. Martin says he's fine behind the plate, but has been experiencing pain when swinging the bat - so much so, that he had to be pulled for a pinch-hitter on Wednesday.

Washington Nationals: Stephen Strasburg's return form the disabled list lasted just 42 pitches. Whether or not we'll see him again this season now hinges on an MRI, scheduled to take place today on his right elbow. "We're hoping it's something minor," manager Dusty Baker said after the game, but given Strasburg's injury history, we're not sure that hope is warranted here. Stay tuned.

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