This article is part of our Transaction Analysis series.
With the season winding down, there wasn't too much going on in terms of transactions the last week. Here's a look at some of the top moves:
SATURDAY, SEPT. 18
Chris Young activated from the 60-day DL
Young's season began well enough, as he shut down Arizona through six innings while giving up just one hit and three walks in his first start on April 6. It was not only his first start of the year, but also his first start since undergoing shoulder surgery in August last year. Unfortunately, he experienced significant soreness in the shoulder immediately after that start and had been out ever since. He finally returned on Saturday, and the results were mixed. He was on a strict pitch count, which limited him to just 69 pitches and four innings against St. Louis. In those four innings, he gave up just one run and three hits, but walked three batters. He's scheduled to make another couple of starts, and he should be stretched out a little more in each of those starts. With a career ERA of 3.87 and a career strikeout rate of 7.85 per nine innings coming into this season, he could be worth a look down the stretch.
Joel Pineiro activated from the 15-day DL
Pineiro has had some success the last two seasons, after several years of mediocrity. Much of his turnaround can likely be attributed to his reliance on his two-seam fastball, as he all but ditched his four-seamer before the
With the season winding down, there wasn't too much going on in terms of transactions the last week. Here's a look at some of the top moves:
SATURDAY, SEPT. 18
Chris Young activated from the 60-day DL
Young's season began well enough, as he shut down Arizona through six innings while giving up just one hit and three walks in his first start on April 6. It was not only his first start of the year, but also his first start since undergoing shoulder surgery in August last year. Unfortunately, he experienced significant soreness in the shoulder immediately after that start and had been out ever since. He finally returned on Saturday, and the results were mixed. He was on a strict pitch count, which limited him to just 69 pitches and four innings against St. Louis. In those four innings, he gave up just one run and three hits, but walked three batters. He's scheduled to make another couple of starts, and he should be stretched out a little more in each of those starts. With a career ERA of 3.87 and a career strikeout rate of 7.85 per nine innings coming into this season, he could be worth a look down the stretch.
Joel Pineiro activated from the 15-day DL
Pineiro has had some success the last two seasons, after several years of mediocrity. Much of his turnaround can likely be attributed to his reliance on his two-seam fastball, as he all but ditched his four-seamer before the 2009 season. The result has been a much-improved ground-ball ratio, and more important, fewer runs given up. Pineiro began the 2009 campaign with a career ERA of 4.55, but was one of the biggest surprises last year, going 15-12 with an ERA of 3.49. He continued to post decent numbers this year before he strained his left oblique and landed on the DL on July 31. After missing almost two months, he returns to a 10-7 record and 4.18 ERA and could help a fantasy team during the final couple of weeks of the season.
Octavio Dotel traded to Colorado
Dotel now finds himself with his third team of the season after being dealt from the Dodgers to the Rockies on Saturday. He started the season with Pittsburgh, and saved 21 games as the closer, posting an unremarkable 4.28 ERA in 41 games. He fared somewhat better with Los Angeles, posting a 3.38 ERA in 19 games in a middle relief/setup role. Colorado now becomes Dotel's ninth team in seven seasons, and it remains to be seen where he'll play next year. He will not be eligible for the postseason (if Colorado makes it that far), but he will provide additional bullpen depth to Colorado's already deep bullpen. The Dodgers will receive a player to be named in the deal.
MONDAY, SEPT. 20
Brandon Beachy purchased from Triple-A Gwinnett
With Jair Jurrjens suffering from a small meniscus tear in his right knee, the Braves decided to give the 24-year-old Beachy an opportunity to make his major league debut. Beachy was stellar in the minors this year, going 5-1 with a 1.73 ERA in 35 appearances (13 starts) between Double-A Mississippi and Triple-A Gwinnett. He also struck out a whopping 148 batters in 119-plus innings. He had a rough debut against Philadelphia on Monday, as he gave up four hits and three walks in just 4.1 innings. Luckily for him, just one of the three runs that he gave up was earned. Unless Jurrjens is slow to recover, Beachy is unlikely to make another start this season. Even if he does, the youngster is likely to experience some more growing pains.
TUESDAY, SEPT. 21
Jerry Hairston Jr. to the 15-day DL
The versatile Hairston will miss the remainder of the regular season due to a fractured right tibia. He had attempted to play through the injury, believing it was just shin splints, but the injury turned out to be much worse. He is expected be out four to six weeks, meaning that the only way he'll play again this year is if the Padres make it deep into the postseason. Hairston filled in at both second base and shortstop this season due to injuries to David Eckstein and Everth Cabrera, and he saw significant time in the leadoff spot. He set a career high with 50 RBI and finishes the season with a .244 batting average and 10 home runs.
Geovany Soto to the 15-day DL
Soto's season is officially done as he underwent successful arthroscopic surgery on his right shoulder Monday. The shoulder had been bothering him for a couple of months, and he will now get to rehab the shoulder with the Cubs training staff over the last couple of weeks of the season. Soto had already spent a couple of weeks on the DL in August due to a sprained right ankle, so his numbers aren't as impressive as they could have been. Nevertheless, in 105 games this season, Soto hit .280 with 17 home runs and 53 RBI. Koyie Hill and Welington Castillo will handle the catching duties.
Tyler Colvin to the 15-day DL
A freak accident has cost the Cubs' 25-year-old rookie outfielder the remainder of the season. Colvin was hit in the chest by a shattered piece of teammate Welington Castillo's bat while running the bases on Sept. 19. The bat actually punctured his chest, sending him to the hospital, where he was treated with a chest tube in order to prevent a collapsed lung. The tube has since been removed, and Colvin is reported as being in stable condition. He has put up some solid numbers this year, while playing all three outfield positions. Colvin finishes the season with a .254 average, 20 home runs, 60 runs scored and 56 RBI and should be an integral part of the team next season.
Felipe Lopez released
Lopez's days in St. Louis are now over, as the Cardinals gave the 30-year-old infielder his unconditional release. His offensive numbers plummeted this season, as he saw his batting average drop nearly 80 points, from .310 in 2009 to .231 this year. In 109 games, he scored 50 times, hit seven home runs, drove in 36, and stole eight bases. His playing time had been reduced the last month after the Cards picked up third baseman Pedro Feliz from the Astros. His release came one day after he arrived to the ballpark late for a game against Florida, and according to team officials it was not the first time that it had happened this season. Lopez may still have some usefulness to a major league team as a backup infielder, but with the season drawing to a close, it seems doubtful that he'll be picked up by a team before season's end.
