Bailey Reds' latest pitching problem

News of Homer Bailey hitting the DL with a sprained shoulder adds to the compounding problems the Reds are having with starting pitching. Chad Reineke appears to be the spot starter for Bailey's supposed short DL stint.

Fantasy Impact: Bailey had been pitching well and deserves a DL spot in fantasy play. Reineke, despite some decent MiLB numbers at Triple-A this year, is not much of spot-start option in fantasy.

DL possible for Ankiel

Although initial reports said Rick Ankiel was fine after his head-first dive into the left-center field fence in St. Louis, Ankiel's prognosis might mix in a DL stint.

Tony La Russa said the Cardinals would likely wait a few more days before deciding on whether to put Ankiel on the 15-day disabled list. The decision depends on his improvement.

La Russa says Ankiel is "more sore in some places and not as sore other places."

Ankiel watched from the dugout during Tuesday's loss to the Phillies. La Russa said it was highly unlikely Ankiel could play Thursday in the finale of a four-game homestand.

Fantasy Impact: The more time Ankiel misses, the more chances rookie Colby Rasmus gets to show his promise. Rasmus is certainly worth the flier for a couple of weeks if Ankiel hits the DL.

Guerrero DL stint good for Wood?

As expected, Vlad Guerrero hit the disabled list Friday with a torn pectoral muscle and will miss at least a month. Speculation has Brandon Wood the likely call-up. His power bat might fit nicely in the middle-end of the Angels lineup.

Fantasy Impact: Guerrero's not a factor for at least a month or beyond. DL him asap. Wood looks like the obvious call-up candidate with his power abilities. He strikes out a ton, however, so in leagues that penalize whiffs, you might have second thoughts.

Alex Gordon disabled

Alex Gordon returned from his right hip problem only to suffer further trouble with the injury. He's going on the disabled list with a cartilage tear, and the injury requires surgery. There's no word on his eventual return.

***Update -- 8:39 p.m. CST -- Gordon tore the hip labrum, and he's visiting the same Vail, Colorado doctor who performed surgery on Alex Rodriguez.

Fantasy Impact: Mike Aviles and Mark Teahen played some third with Gordon on the shelf. We'll assume Teahen takes over full-time until Gordon can return. With surgery you have to expect he'll miss at least a couple of months. That's territory for a potential release in fantasy play as Gordon hasn't produced at all this season.

Carpenter disabled

The Cardinals place Chris Carpenter on the disabled list after straining his ribcage in Arizona Wednesday night. He's out at least a month.

Fantasy Impact: Always the danger with Carpenter, injuries seem to be getting the better of him these days. This is his ninth trip to the disabled list. If you drafted him, you new injury risk was a concern. This qualifies as a bad injury, but not quite a devastating one. Here's hoping you took him late, when you already rounded out your staff. Carpenter will remain an injury-risk sleeper for the second half of the season.

Matsuzaka disabled

Daisuke Matsuzaka hit the disabled list with "arm fatigue." File this one under W-B-C. He gave up five runs in one inning last night, growing his ERA to 12.79.

Fantasy Impact: Daisuke will miss a few starts going on the DL. If he "feels fine," hopefully this is only a minor setback.

Webb disabled

Brandon Webb might have no structural damage in his right shoulder, but he's on the disabled list, anyway. The Diamondbacks' stopper will be out at least another ten days.

Scott Lewis disabled

Indians starter Scott Lewis landed on the disabled list with soreness in his elbow. Vinnie Chulk takes his place on the roster.

Lewis' last two Cactus League starts weren't good ones. He gave up 15 runs on 21 hits in 6 2/3 innings and told reporters the dry air was affecting his ability to grip the ball. He had one last spring tuneup in a Minor League intrasquad, but that was merely a three-inning warmup. Lewis said the elbow gave him trouble the more he pitched and the more he got up and down between innings.

"It kept getting worse, and I think that's why I haven't been finishing pitches," he said. "I had been over-rotating my changeup and putting extra stress on it. It's just not calming down with treatment. Hopefully it's just tendinitis or something and the shutdown will help."

Fantasy Impact: There's no word on how serious the injury is at this point. Lewis wasn't much of a fantasy option. He was a surprise to make Cleveland's rotation in the first place. Chulk will work out of the bullpen, so we'll wait on Cleveland's consideration for a fifth starter during Lewis' absence.

Mauer takes BP

MLB.com reports that Joe Mauer is back to playing some baseball. He's catching bullpen sessions and finally took batting practice for the first time since September. His bad back still does not allow him to run.

Mauer told the newspaper that he still hasn't gotten to the point of running, meaning there remains no timetable for his possible return to the team. While there is nothing specific in terms of him coming back, the club believes their catcher will be back by the end of April.

The only time that Mauer has experienced pain in his inflamed right sacroiliac joint -- where the base of the spine meets the pelvis -- is when he tried to run earlier this spring. The club has said that they are going to wait until all of the inflammation is out of the joint before Mauer attempts to run again.

Fantasy Impact: Is this good news? Anything positive on Mauer is a plus for owners who drafted the batting-title challenger high this year. Mauer is still a ways away from the Majors, however, and a lack of timetable makes us believe he'll miss at least all of April.

The good news is backup Mike Redmond should be able to return as Twins catcher as early as Thursday. His groin pull will not require DL time. Those who picked up Redmond as a replacement backstop should get him back in the lineup.

Hoffman's slow return

Trevor Hoffman will not be available on Saturday, the first day he's eligible to come off the disabled list. His oblique strain is causing the Brewers to bring him along slowly, allowing Carlos Villanueva a chance to close games to start the year.

"Will he be ready on the 11th? Probably not," manager Ken Macha said Sunday before the Brewers worked out at AT&T Park. "Let's wait until he gets on the mound and then we'll start looking at what the possibilities are."

Macha said Hoffman would throw off a flat surface at a longer distance during a workout Monday.

"If he comes through that, Roger said they may be able to give you a plan for what's going to happen," he said, referring to trainer Roger Caplinger. "It's going to be awhile."

In Hoffman's absence, Macha plans to give right-hander Carlos Villanueva first crack at closing games. Villanueva has not previously filled that role in the majors.

Fantasy Impact: Villanueva is a decent saves option for week one of the sesaon. When Hoffman returns, however, the job is his. Milwaukee owns a bullpen filled with pitchers with a handful of saves each, so if Villanueva falters you can pounce on another arm.

Tweaked Twins land on DL

Catcher Joe Mauer and pitchers Scott Baker and Boof Bonser all ended up on the Twins disabled list to start the season. While Mauer's still dealing with his lower back soreness and hasn't played or practiced all spring, the pitchers' problems sound much more serious.

Baker, who was scheduled to start on Opening Day against the Seattle Mariners, has soreness in his pitching shoulder and was placed on the DL retroactive to March 28. Francisco Liriano is expected to start in place of the righthander on Monday. Bonser is recovering from surgery to repair a torn labrum and rotator cuff in his right shoulder."

Minnesota is looking less and less the favorite to win the AL Central, which should have a razor-thin margin for error with several above-average ball clubs.

Fantasy Impact: Mauer's situation is fairly fluid, and he's fallen down the list of a ton of draft boards. He'll continue to slide outside of the top five catchers now that he's going to miss the start of the season and likely needs some rehab at bats in the minors.

Baker's shoulder soreness is not a good thing, and the mid-level fantasy starter falls into limbo. Bonser had relatively zero fantasy appeal, anyway.

Another ailing Santana

Ervin Santana will open the year on the disabled list thanks to discomfort in his throwing elbow. The Angels right hander enjoyed a breakout 2008 season, but now faces uncertainty in 2009.

An MRI scan traced discomfort in his pitching elbow to a sprained medial collateral ligament, the team said on its website (http://losangeles.angels.mlb.com/).

"We'll slow him down, let the stuff in his elbow calm down, and go from there," manager Mike Scioscia said.

"We don't anticipate that it's the sort of setback that will cost him an appreciable part of the season."

The 26-year-old Santana, a native of the Dominican Republic, was 16-7 with a 3.49 ERA in 2008 for the Angels, who won the American League West with a 100-62 record.

Santana slotted nicely behind John Lackey for a 1-2 punch at the top of the rotation. This is certainly another blow to Los Angeles, which lost Mark Teixeira and failed to sign CC Sabathia in the offseason. Had Bobby Abreu not decided on a late signing this might have been a complete loss of an offseason.

Fantasy Impact: Santana slips into that gray area of potential keeper. He doesn't have a complete body of work, but his one good season is borderline greatness. Now that he's hurt, protecting him in only the deepest of keeper rosters makes sense.