Monday Lineup Card: Cubs Look To Future

This article is part of our The Lineup Card series.

Projected Starters – A look at Monday's matchups (all times Eastern):

American League
Mariners (Jason Vargas – L) at Orioles (Chris Tillman), 7:05
Yankees (Ivan Nova – R) at Tigers (Justin Verlander – R), 7:05
Twins (Scott Diamond – L) at Indians (Zach McAllister – R), 7:05
Rangers (Yu Darvish – R) at Red Sox (Aaron Cook – R), 7:10
Royals (Luis Mendoza – R) at White Sox (Chris Sale – L), 8:10
Angels (Jered Weaver – R) at Athletics (Jarrod Parker – R), 10:05

National League
Diamondbacks (Wade Miley – L) at Pirates (Erik Bedard – L), 7:05
Braves (Ben Sheets – R) at Phillies (Vance Worley – R), 7:05
Nationals (Edwin Jackson – R) at Astros (Dallas Keuchel – L), 8:05
Reds (Bronson Arroyo – R) at Brewers (Yovani Gallardo – R), 8:10
Giants (Matt Cain – R) at Cardinals (Jake Westbrook – R), 8:15
Cubs (Travis Wood – L) at Padres (Eric Stults – L), 10:05
Rockies (Drew Pomeranz – L) at Dodgers (Chris Capuano – L), 10:10

Day Game After a Night Game: None

Injuries - A brief look at players that have been missing time with minor ailments and their expected returns.

Day-to-Day (includes players expected to make their return from the DL)

AL
Josh Beckett, P, BOS – (Back) Will make his next start on Wednesday.
Mike Carp, OF, SEA – (Personal) Left team for birth of child.
Miguel Cabrera, 3B, DET – (Ankle) Is the DH Sunday due to sore ankle.
Francisco Liriano, P, CHW – (Quadriceps) Left Sunday's start with right quad contusion, check back to learn about severity of injury.
Mike Moustakas, 3B, KC – (Knee) Out of Sunday's lineup, questionable for Monday.
Colby Rasmus, OF, TOR – (Groin) Sat on Sunday but should return Tuesday.
Brendan Ryan, SS SEA – (Elbow) X-rays negative Saturday but was not in Sunday's lineup.
Carlos Villanueva, P, TOR – (Personal) Left team for unknown personal reason, will miss Tuesday's scheduled start.

NL
Henry Blanco, C, ARI – (Thumb) Left Sunday's game with a thumb injury.
Willie Bloomquist, SS, ARI – (Back) Took grounders Saturday but held out of Sunday's lineup.
Matt Garza, P, CHC – (Triceps) Good bullpen session, says he will make Tuesday's start.
J.D. Martinez, OF, HOU – (Elbow) Out of Sunday's lineup with soreness.
Brandon Phillips, 2B, CIN – (Calf) Was available to pinch hit Sunday.
Jonny Venters, P, ATL – (Elbow) Was available Sunday.
Edinson Volquez, P, SD – (Finger) Left Saturday's start with blister, but will make next start.

Players on the DL

AL
A.J. Griffin, P, OAK – (Shoulder) Left Saturday's start and placed on DL with strain.
Jason Hammel, P, BAL – (Knee) Throwing from 90 feet, but is weeks away from returning.
Evan Longoria, 3B, TB – (Hamstring) DH-ing Sunday, could return to Rays Tuesday.
Brandon McCarthy, P, OAK – (Shoulder) Good rehab start Saturday, will throw in bullpen before being activated.
Brandon Morrow, P, TOR – (Oblique) So-so outing in High-A, moving up for two rehab starts at Double-A.
Carl Pavano, P, MIN – (Shoulder) Will pitch two innings in rookie league Tuesday, looks like late-August or September return makes sense.
Cliff Pennington, SS, OAK – (Elbow) Appears headed for more rehab.
Andy Pettitte, P, NYY – (Lower Leg) Having x-rays Sunday.
Ryan Raburn, 2B, DET – (Thumb) Placed on DL with sprain.
Alex Rodriguez, 3B, NYY – (Hand) Doing baseball activities, mid-September return.
Luke Scott, OF, TB – (Oblique) Could start rehab later this week.

NL
Anthony Bass, P, SD – (Shoulder) Will throw bullpen session Wednesday, rehab could follow.
Andrew Cashner, P, SD – (Back) Will throw bullpen session Wednesday, rehab could follow.
Jason Castro, C, HOU – (Knee) Good rehab debut over the weekend.
Francisco Cordero, P, HOU – (Will visit team doctor to discuss inflammation issue.
Michael Cuddyer, OF, COL – (Oblique) Placed on DL Saturday.
Jorge De La Rosa, P, COL – (Elbow) Threw all fastballs in bullpen session, still hopes he can make some September starts.
Rubby De La Rosa, P, LAD – (Elbow) Good rehab appearance Saturday, likely moving to bullpen when he returns.
Christian Friedrich, P, COL – (Back) Placed on DL Saturday, out for the season.
Yasmani Grandal, C, SD – (Oblique)
Placido Polanco, 3B, PHI – (Back) Says he is making progress, but no timetable.
Jonathan Sanchez, P, COL – (Biceps) Placed on DL after leaving Friday's start after three innings.
Pablo Sandoval, 3B, SF – (Hamstring) Manager Bochy says said Sandoval is about a week from returning.
Johan Santana, P, NYM – (Ankle) Limited to 45 pitches Sunday, but will be able to throw 90 pitches in first start for Mets next Saturday.
Tim Stauffer, P, SD – (Elbow) Will make rehab start Tuesday at High-A.
Joey Votto, 1B, CIN – (Knee) Will travel with team on road trip, but no indication at when he will be activated or if he needs rehab.

Transactions - Players that have been demoted, called up, traded, released, you name it. We'll cover it here.

Called Up
Evan Scribner, OF, OAK
Pedro Figueroa, P, OAK
Tyler Chatwood, P, COL
Brett Jackson, OF, CHC
Josh Vitters, 3B, CHC
Chad Jenkins, P, TOR
Cory Burns, P, SD

Sent Down
Michael Taylor, OF, OAK
Mike Fontenot, 2B, PHI (released)
Jeremy Accardo, P, CLE (designated for assignment)
Danny Valencia, 3B, BOS
Tony Campana, OF, CHC
Jesse Chavez, P, TOR
Miles Mikolas, P, SD

Placed on DL (15-day unless otherwise noted)
A.J. Griffin, P, OAK
Jonathan Sanchez, P, COL

Activated from DL
None

Signed
Jake Fox, 3B, PHI
Xavier Nady, OF, SF
Jack Cust, OF, TOR

Traded
Jeff Baker, 1B, to DET from CHC
Danny Valencia, 3B, to BOS from MIN

Closer Watch - A closer look at intriguing ninth-inning situations (check out our Closer Grid with the link to the left).

Houston – Save situations have not been aplenty in Houston lately. An opportunity finally presented itself for newly anointed closer Wilton Lopez and he converted successfully on Saturday.

Minnesota – We touched on the battle between Glen Perkins and Jared Burton yesterday. Burton earned Saturday's save.

Oakland – Ryan Cook's numbers this season look very good, but he blew a second save opportunity in a row on Saturday and made it four of his last five. It seems he still has some job security for now, but that could easily change.

Other Recent Recommendations:Ryan Ludwick, Dan Straily, Josh Rutledge, Carlos Gomez, Greg Holland

DraftStreet Competition

If you missed out on our recent free roll with DraftStreet, don't worry - we have another chance for you to take home some serious cash.

Register for a free account at DraftStreet.com today and start practicing. Remember to use bonus code Rotowire on your first deposit to get some extra cash released into your account as you play.

As a reminder, the competition will be an MLB Salary Cap league where values for each player are set based on projected fantasy value each day and your mission is to find the bargains and make the best 14 player team possible within the $100,000 budget.

Be sure to come back to RotoWire's Daily Lineup Card every day for all the analysis you need to dominate the competition and take home cash on DraftStreet.

Draft Street Lineup
C – Jesus Montero ($5,416)
1B – Ryan Howard ($4,976)
2B – Jose Altuve ($6,923)
3B – Adrian Beltre ($7,896)
SS – Asdrubal Cabrera ($5,635)
OF – Michael Brantley ($5,046)
OF – J.D. Martinez ($4,947)
OF – Hunter Pence ($5,858)
UTIL – Andre Ethier ($5,928)
UTIL – Dustin Pedroia ($7,119)
SP – Chris Sale ($15,805)
SP – Matt Cain ($14,227)
RP – Ernesto Frieri ($1,818)
P – Chris Tillman ($8,343)
Total: $99,937