Mark Mulder lives

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports that Mark Mulder is one minor league start away from returning to the big leagues. It's been a long, slow process for Mulder. He went "Mark Prior" for 2006 and 2007, not pitching much or effectively for two seasons. In his last full season Mulder went 16-8 with a 3.64 ERA for the Cardinals back in 2005, his first year in St. Louis after coming over from Oakland. Mulder will pitch Monday for Triple-A Memphis and if all goes well a call-up for a start against Kansas City over the weekend would follow.

Fantasy Impact: None until he gets through his Monday "tune up." From there it's a very measured evaluation process to discern how effective Mulder can be. After all that he's been through (two rotator cuff surgeries) Mulder is like a brand new pitcher -- brand new, but with a lengthy injury history, that is. If things don't go well, there's already been talk of retirement.