Cold stops Soriano's first TB outing

The guy who is supposed to stop the revolving door as Rays closer fell sick in his first trip to the hill in 2010. Rafael Soriano only has a chest cold.

Manager Joe Maddon said it was "no cause for concern," and that he was impressed Soriano came out on the field at all. Soriano said it was not a big deal, something he'd had before at the start of camp: "I think it was just too cold for me."

Besides, he said, he doesn't need much work in the spring, planning to wait until next week to throw his first bullpen session and working in only 7-8 games. He said he threw a few bullpen sessions before leaving the Dominican Republic and felt "great."

Fantasy Impact: None. Soriano should be ready to go soon, and he's likely to win the Rays closer job as he's getting paid $7.25 million this year to do exactly that.

Branyan signs with Indians, could cause fantasy ripple effect

The Indians landed cornerman Russell Branyan, signing him to a one-year, $2 million deal. He can slug with the best of them - as evidenced by his 31 homers and .520 SLG, but he's only played more than 100 games three times in his 12-year career.

Fantasy Impact: We can only believe Branyan decided to sign with Cleveland because he has a good shot at starting. With Jhonny Peralta at third and Matt LaPorta at first, Branyan could diminish both players' opportunities in 2010. He's certainly a much-needed power source on a team with a lot of offensive question marks. Fantasy owners hoping LaPorta and Peralta could come through with productive seasons will now have to temper their enthusiasm.

If Branyan takes over predominantly at first LaPorta may need to find at bats in left field, which could reduce the impact of youngster Michael Brantley. That becomes abundantly clear if Grady Sizemore ends up the Cleveland leadoff hitter. The again, if Travis Hafner struggles to hit consistently or merely stay healthy, somebody will take over his spot as DH. The sorting will occur over the next six weeks and probably into the regular season.

Feliz as a starter? Wilson, too?

Neftali Feliz will in fact get a look as a starter for the Rangers this preseason, potentially ending immediate interest in his closer-in-waiting status. With Frank Francisco's designs on the closer role, setup man C.J. Wilson looks to earn a shot as a rotation guy, too.

"It's no secret I don't think I should be limited to the set-up role. I have too many weapons," Wilson said. "Here is the reality. It is real simple. There are not very many guys that have the stuff that I do that would be willing to sign here if they were free agents. There is no experienced pitcher that has my stuff that would sign here, historically."

Fantasy Impact: These two setup men are going up against a competitive group of pitchers for the fourth and fifth spots in the Rangers rotation. Texas has more good arms than perhaps ever before. If either Wilson or Feliz makes the rotation, their value can skyrocket to potential breakthrough sleepers.