Saturday Lineup Card: Astros, Jays Complete Massive Deal

This article is part of our The Lineup Card series.

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Saturday's Starters
Braves (Ben Sheets - R) at Nationals (Edwin Jackson - R), 1:05 (Game 1)
Dodgers (Chris Capuano - L) at Mets (Miguel Batista - R), 1:10
White Sox (Chris Sale - L) at Tigers (Rick Porcello - R), 4:05
Giants (Matt Cain - R) at Phillies (Cole Hamels - L), 4:05
Rangers (Yu Darvish - R) at Angels (Ervin Santana - R), 4:05
Braves (Randall Delgado - R) at Nationals (John Lannan - L), 7:05 (Game 2)
Orioles (Chris Tillman - R) at Indians (Zach McAllister - R), 7:05
Marlins (Carlos Zambrano - R) at Pirates (A.J. Burnett - R), 7:05
Brewers (Yovani Gallardo - R) at Reds (Bronson Arroyo - R), 7:10
Twins (Scott Diamond - L) at Royals (Luis Mendoza - R), 7:10
Mariners (Jason Vargas - L) at Rays (Alex Cobb - R), 7:10
Blue Jays (Carlos Villanueva - R) at Red Sox (Aaron Cook - R), 7:10
Cubs (Matt Garza - R) at Cardinals (Jake Westbrook - R), 7:15
Astros (Dallas Keuchel - L) at Diamondbacks (Wade Miley - L), 8:10
Rockies (Jeff Francis - L) at Padres (Kip Wells - R), 8:35
Yankees (Phil Hughes - R) at Athletics (Jarrod Parker - R), 9:05

Day Game After Night Game: WAS/ATL (Game 1), LAD/NYM, TEX/LAA, CWS/DET, SF/PHI

Injuries

Day-to-Day
Ryan Braun, OF, MIL (groin) -- Returned to the starting lineup Friday.
Matt Holliday, OF, STL (thigh) -- Returned to the lineup Friday.
Brett Lawrie, 3B, TOR (calf) -- Says he is feeling better and will be reevaluated Saturday. Sat out Friday.
Albert Pujols, 1B, LAA (leg) -- Has been dealing with a sore left foot, resulting in his starting at DH on Thursday. Returned to first base Friday.
Kevin Youkilis, 3B, CWS (hamstring) -- Returned to the lineup Friday after missing Thursday's game with a tight hamstring.

Disabled List
Andrew Bailey, RP, BOS (thumb) -- Played catch Friday and could face live hitters next week.
Mike Baxter, OF, NYM (shoulder) -- Rehab assignment moved to Double-A Binghamton.
Andy Dirks, OF, DET (Achilles) -- Hit a setback in rehab Wednesday after he experienced soreness during workout.
Frank Francisco, RP, NYM (oblique) -- Will begin a rehab assignment next Friday.
Jaime Garcia, SP, STL (shoulder) -- Threw a bullpen session Wednesday.
Roberto Hernandez, SP, CLE (suspension) -- Expected to receive a new visa from the State Department soon, allowing him to return to the United States.
Aubrey Huff, 1B, SF (knee) -- Aggravated knee injury Thursday and will return to San Francisco for MRI.
Jonathan Lucroy, C, MIL (hand) -- Went 2-for-3 with a double for Low-A Wisconsin in his first rehab assignment Thursday.
Brandon Morrow, SP, TOR (oblique) -- Pushed back bullpen session from Sunday due to back spasms unrelated to his injury. Hoping to throw Monday.
Hanley Ramirez, 3B, MIA (hand) -- Visited hospital Friday with a right hand infection and could miss a few games.
Brian Roberts, 2B, BAL (hip) -- Throwing light toss at the Orioles' spring training facility in Sarasota.
Troy Tulowitzki, SS, COL (groin) -- Progressing on schedule in his rehab and hopes to begin hitting soon.
Vernon Wells, OF, LAA (thumb) -- Will receive medical clearance and begin a rehab assignment with Triple-A Salt Lake on Friday that is expected to last 7-10 games.
Jayson Werth, OF, WAS (wrist) -- Will now begin his rehab assignment with High-A Potomac on Saturday due to rainout Friday.

Transactions

Called Up (From Triple-A unless otherwise noted)
Cody Allen, RP, CLE
Travis Snider, OF, TOR
Eric Sogard, 3B, OAK
Ryan Wheeler, 3B, ARI

Sent Down (Triple-A unless otherwise noted)
Scott Barnes, RP, CLE

Placed on Disabled List (15-day disabled list unless otherwise noted)
Robert Coello, RP, TOR (transferred to 60-day DL)
Cliff Pennington, SS, OAK

Traded
J.A. Happ, SP (from HOU to TOR)
Brandon Lyon, RP (from HOU to TOR)
David Carpenter, RP (from HOU to TOR)
Francisco Cordero, RP (from TOR to HOU)
Ben Francisco, OF (from TOR to HOU)
Joseph Musgrove, P (from TOR to HOU)
Asher Wojciechowski, SP (from TOR to HOU)
David Rollins, SP (from TOR to HOU)
Carlos Perez, C (from TOR to HOU)
Jeremy Guthrie, SP (from COL to KC)
Jonathan Sanchez, SP (from KC to COL)
Omar Quintanilla, SS (from NYM to BAL)

Released
Geoff Blum, 3B, ARI

Closer Watch

Chicago (AL) - Manager Robin Ventura made the curious choice to bring out Matt Thornton rather than Addison Reed for Thursday's save decision, and ended up paying for it. Thornton allowed two batters to reach base before summoning Reed into the game. Reed promptly gave up a walk-off three-run homer to Cody Ross, giving the Red Sox a 3-1 win. Reed should be secure as the White Sox closer, but Ventura may be more careful about bringing him into the game in the future when runners are already on base.

Houston - The Astros made a little noise Friday by completing a 10-player trade with the Blue Jays, acquiring reliever Francisco Cordero while shipping out bullpen arms Brandon Lyon and David Carpenter, two players who were thought to contend for closer duties going into spring training. The team ultimately elected to go with Brett Myers, who has served as the closer all season and will continue to do so even after the team acquired Cordero. Still, the move for Cordero, who has 329 career saves to his name, gives the Astros a potential fill-in should the team decide to move Myers before the trade deadline, which has been discussed all season. Keep tabs on the situation, as Cordero should get the first crack at save opportunities if Myers is dealt, though the younger Wilton Lopez could ultimately be groomed into the role.

Oakland - Cook surrendered a solo homer in the ninth inning to Nick Swisher but was otherwise unscathed in a 4-3 win over the Yankees on Thursday. The All-Star retired the next two batters to seal his tenth save on the season.

Toronto - The Blue Jays received Brandon Lyon and David Carpenter in a trade with the Astros on Friday, but both are unlikely to challenge Casey Janssen for the closer's role. With a 2.21 ERA and 13 saves to his name, Janssen has filled in admirably for the injured Sergio Santos and should have a long leash if struggles crop up. Santos (shoulder) was recently ruled out for the season, so fantasy owners in yearly leagues should feel comfortable dropping him. As a result, Janssen should remain the closer for the rest of the season, while Lyon will slide into a middle relief role and Carpenter will try to get back on track at Triple-A Las Vegas.

Jeremy Guthrie, SP, KC - If ever there were a poster boy for the damage Coors Field can wreak on a pitcher's statistics, it would be Guthrie. Though a quick glance at Guthrie's overall numbers (3-9, 6.35 ERA, 1.69 WHIP, .324 batting average against) suggest he has been downright atrocious with the Rockies this season, Guthrie may have the most dramatic home and road splits of any pitcher in baseball. Among pitchers who have thrown at least 40 innings at home this season, Guthrie ranks dead last with a home ERA of 9.50; the next highest is the Orioles' Jake Arietta, whose home ERA is nearly three runs lower (6.63). Amazingly, Guthrie has an ERA almost six runs lower (3.67) in 49.1 innings on the road this season, which is more in line with what we saw with his overall numbers in Baltimore the past five seasons, when he recorded an ERA of less than 4.00 on three occasions. Guthrie was traded to the Royals on Friday for Jonathan Sanchez, and to say that he'll benefit from a change of scenery will be an understatement. By upgrading from the thin air of Coors Field to the much more neutral Kauffman Stadium, Guthrie should begin to resemble the pitcher the Rockies thought they acquired in their offseason trade with the Orioles. Don't expect anything overly spectacular, as he doesn't strike out many batters and will probably earn more losses than wins, but Guthrie will be particularly serviceable in AL-only leagues. By the season's end, he could ultimately prove to be the Royals' top starting pitcher given that the team's appointed "aces," Bruce Chen and Luke Hochevar, both have ERAs over 5.00.

Other recent recommendations:Sergio Romo, Francisco Rodriguez, Anthony Gose, Jacob Turner and Adam Lind

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DraftStreet Lineup
C: Salvador Perez, KC ($7,199)
1B: Paul Goldschmidt, ARI ($6,594)
2B: Brandon Phillips, CIN ($6,770)
3B: Michael Young, TEX ($5,505)
SS: Yunel Escobar, TOR ($5,337)
OF: Josh Willingham, MIN ($10,247)
OF: Ryan Braun, MIL ($10,983)
OF: Justin Upton, ARI ($6,251)
UT: Michael Morse, WAS ($3,796)
UT: Carlos Peguero, SEA ($2,807)
SP: A.J. Burnett, PIT ($12,392)
SP: Scott Diamond, MIN ($9,975)
RP: Jonathan Papelbon, PHI ($2,323)
P: Edwin Jackson, WAS ($9,688)

Total:$99,867

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