Kendry Morales
In a lesson for every baseball player from Little League to the Majors, Morales injured himself during a CELEBRATION this weekend. After hitting a walk-off grand slam to give his Angels the win over the Seattle Mariners, Morales jumped on home plate and was mobbed by his teammates. During the celebration, he collapsed to the ground with a fractured left ankle. He was scheduled to have surgery on Sunday, but the swelling in his ankle was too severe so the surgery had to be pushed back a week. The timetable for Morales' return has yet to be determined, but I don't expect him to be back this season. The team says September is not out of the question, but Morales won't even be able to put weight on his ankle for 4-6 weeks after his surgery; then he'll have to build up his strength and commence baseball related activities. Stash Morales on the DL if you can, but don't expect more than a month from him at the end of the season.
Brad Lidge
The Philadelphia closer has returned from the DL. Expect him to take over the full-time closing duties within the next week. Jose Contreras will probably get a save or two this week, but then his mixed league value will deteriorate. Lidge should be active in all mixed leagues by next week as his Phillies should offer him plenty of save chances. As a middle reliever Contreras has little to no value in mixed formats.
Nyjer Morgan
Morgan has struggled this season after his breakout campaign last year. He has hit just .202 with 20 strikeouts in the month of May. With just nine stolen bases on the year and an average of .249, Morgan's value lies only in the deepest of mixed leagues. He was recently demoted to the second spot of the order for the Nationals in favor of Cristian Guzman who is hitting .321 on the year.
Feel free to email me at sandlotsabermetrics@gmail.com with fantasy questions to feature in my weekly Help Me Help You blog.
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