Porcello to start in Detroit rotation

Tigers Rookie Rick Porcello not only made the team today, he's also in Detroit's rotation, according to team president and general manager Dave Dombrowski.

“I think he’s one of our best starting pitchers,” Dombrowski said. “He has quality stuff. We’ve seen it. He throws strikes. He’s a confident, mature individual beyond his years.

“He has continued development in his breaking ball. He’ll continue to work hard at it. He’s got a good changeup. He’s very mature. He’s very talented. He does the little things well, fields his position well. He’s a competitor. He holds runners well.

“I think he’s ready. I think he’ll do well. If he has some tough times — every pitcher does — I think he’s mature enough to handle it. Is he a 100% finished guy? No. But he’ll keep working on what he needs to work on. And he has a pitch that can help get him out of jams — a very, very nasty sinker.”

Fantasy Impact: Porcello's never pitched above A-ball, and he's just 20 years old. His numbers, however, don't lie. The lanky right-hander walked just 33 batters in 125 innings last season, and limited opponents to a 1.19 WHIP. He's a classic sinker-baller, so don't expect tons of strike outs. Do expect good numbers in all other categories, especially before teams get a book on him.

Rodney kind of wins Detroit closer job

Francisco Rodney wins the Tigers closer job over newly acquired Brandon Lyon. Jim Leyland's endorsement doesn't exactly sound binding.

"If we have a one-run lead in Toronto for the first game," Leyland said, "Fernando Rodney will come in. Is he going to come in every time? I've not really named him the closer, but he gets the first game. There might be somebody else involved at one point."

Both Rodney and Lyon struggled last season. Neither is going to be a safe bet to retain the role.

Fantasy Impact: So, Rodney goes first. With Leyland's comments it sounds like this 50-50 fight is now more 60-40 or 65-35 Rodney. Lean toward him if you absolutely need saves, but back him up with Lyon if you can. Better yet, stay away from both of them.

Bonifacio wins Marlins third base job; McPherson cut

Emilio Bonifacio not only won the third base job in Florida, he's the Marlins only option after they released fellow third baseman Dallas McPherson.

On Monday, the Marlins sent rookie first baseman Gaby Sanchez to the minors, leaving Emilio Bonifacio, acquired from Washington in the offseason, as the team's starting third baseman and Jorge Cantu as the first baseman.

One month ago, the question was where Cantu would play. After first baseman Mike Jacobs was traded to Kansas City, the options were Cantu at first base and McPherson at third, or whether it would be Sanchez at first and McPherson at third. The prevailing thought was that the team's defense would improve from 2008, a stated goal of team officials, under either scenario. Now they have turned to Bonifacio, a natural second baseman who is still learning to play third and has struggled at times this spring.

Yes, but he can run. With Sanchez and McPherson out of the way, Florida is making a commitment to the corner combo of Bonifacio and Cantu. The Marlins would love to have the speed-burning threesome of Cameron Maybin, Bonifacio and Hanley Ramirez to terrorize opponents at the top of the order.

Fantasy Impact: Bonifacio can fly. Just search his name on Youtube and you'll see. He's stolen 61 bases in a minor league season, and he's likely to get a slot near the top of the batting order. If he can hold down third base, expect a light-hitting burner who can get you 40-plus steals and score 75 runs.

Devine's elbow intervention

Joey Devine's elbow woes will shelve him for the start of the 2009 season. The most dominant pitcher in the A's bullpen will need a doctor visit to explore the severity of the issue. Until then, he'll wait for the news on the disabled list.

"I spent the entire off-season rehabbing it, and then it came back as soon as I got to game-ready (during) the first part of spring training, and that tells me there is something there," Devine said Tuesday before the A's 7-2 exhibition victory over the Kansas City Royals.Coupled with the elbow injury that has sidelined ace Justin Duchscherer, the A's open the season with a revamped offense but lacking two integral members of the pitching staff.

This means Brad Ziegler is Oakland's closer for the start of the season, and as long as Devine is a health risk, Ziegler will remain in that role.

Fantasy Impact: Owners who drafted Devine may want to look for a fallback option. If you can't afford to stash Devine on your roster or DL him, releasing him might be the best option. Saves will come available over the course of the year as Ziegler owners will tell you.

As for Ziegler inheriting the closer role, he's suited for the position. He did a good job last year for the A's and set the new MLB record for scoreless innings from his debut wirth 39. The knock on Ziegler is he doesn't strike people out, but he also didn't lose a single game he pitched while tossing nearly 60 innings as a 28-year-old rookie.

Burriss wins 2b job

Emmanuel Burriss has beaten out Kevin Fransden for the Giants second base job. Fransden didn't even make the team as a backup, getting optioned to the minors.
Fantasy Impact: Not too much of a surprise here. Burriss can become a sleeper prospect, but he can still lose starting time to Ray Durham and/or Eugenio Velez. He's worth a flier in deeper leagues at this time.

Valentine time for Team USA?

Jack Curry of the New York Times wants Team USA to consider hiring Bobby Valentine as their next skipper. Why? Because Valentine predicted Japan would win the 2009 World Baseball Classic title among his other obvious credentials.

The next Classic is not until 2013, but if Valentine is available, he should be strongly considered as a candidate to manage the United States team. Valentine has managed in both countries and was the first American manager to win a title in the Japanese Leagues with the Chiba Lotte Marines in 2005. If Valentine were free and the job were offered, he indicated he would take it.

After finishing fourth this season and eighth in the first Classic in 2009, the United States could use an infusion of energy in four years. Valentine would be a good start. He said Japan’s precise, disciplined style was perfectly suited for a three-week tournament, something the Americans should have noticed by now.

“If you rely on a home run in a short series, you’re destined for doom,” Valentine said. “I know teams have won with the home run. But you’ve got to play the game of baseball. Whatever style it is, if you make fewer mistakes, I think you’re increasing your chances of winning a short series.”

Valentine makes sense as Team USA's manager, but it will take more pitchers for the USA to compete. A manager that knows both teams inside and out is one thing, but you have to play the best to beat what's currently better than you.

Franks passes

Former Giants manager Herman Franks passed away Monday at the age of 95. He never won the pennant in San Francisco, but landed four second-place finishes.

Known away from the game as a man who enjoyed cigars and card games and made wise investments, Mr. Franks was hired to replace Alvin Dark after the 1964 season and nearly guided the Giants to pennants in 1965 and 1966. Both times, the Giants lost tight races to the Dodgers.

Chipping in until 2012

As the aging Gary Sheffield is on the outs in Detroid, the aging Chipper Jones is in Atlanta at least until 2012.

A six-time All-Star, Jones was the National League's Most Valuable Player in 1999. His .310 lifetime batting average ranks second among switch hitters, trailing only Frankie Frisch's .316. He has 408 home runs, trailing only Mickey Mantle (536) and Eddie Murray (504) in homers by a switch hitter.

He is the only switch hitter with at least 300 homers and a .300 career batting average.

It's all about production, and Jones still offers a dangerous stick in the middle of any batting order. The fact he's only played 137, 109, 110, 134 and 128 games the past five seasons is a concern, but enough of one to pass on one of the top bats in baseball. Jones is a sure-fire Hall of Famer who is coming up on 1500 R, 1500 RBI and has the ability to hit 500 homers for his career. His record is clean, and he's one of the great third basemen all-time.

Fantasy Impact: Jones is a fringe fifth-round pick who is guaranteed to deliver while he's healthy. He suffered an oblique injury this spring playing in the World Baseball Classic, but that seems to be minor in nature. Draft him early on, but find him a capable backup if you can.

Dominican Crackdown

MLB.com plugs ESPN.com for an article on Domincan MLB prospects getting detained because of the crackdown on misinformation coming out of the Dominican Republic. You follow? This is only the beginning.

Sheffield cut by Tigers

The Tigers released Gary Sheffield. This is a big surprise to those covering the Tigers.

Sheffield said he was told by manager Jim Leyland and president/general manager Dave Dombrowski that the team wanted to go with a more versatile lineup. The Tigers did not envision Sheffield playing any position other than designated hitter.

The Tigers will owe Sheffield his guaranteed $14 million salary for this year. If he clears waivers, he'll be free to sign with any team he chooses.

Sheffield, who has 499 career home runs and is on the verge of becoming just the 25th player in history to record 500, said that he was surprised by the move and that he didn't consider it a possibility.

"I never really thought about it, to be honest with you," Sheffield said.

Sheffield spent the last two seasons with the Tigers, batting a combined .247 with 44 home runs and 132 RBIs in 247 games, primarily as a designated hitter. He played in just 114 games last season, missing time because of a sore right shoulder and a strained oblique.

With numbers like those over the past couple of seasons the Tigers must've seen the end of the road coming for their slugger. At $14M this year, that's a ton of money for a guy who struggles to stay healthy. It's not exactly a shock that in this money-saving time in sports a team might cut an aging veteran. The question becomes: who brings in Sheffield after he clears waivers? Nobody but the Yankees can afford to price tag, and New York already owns the ailing Hideki Matsui. There's no way you take on two injury-risk types, especially when you're trying to win a title.

Fantasy Impact: Sheffield is better left for the waiver wire in a fantasy league right now. Let him go and watch to see if he lands with another MLB team. His addition to any lineup will likely steal time from a part-time player or a young up-and-comer, so Sheffield could theoretically hurt the owner than drafts him twice by diminishing his own player and that of another. Stay away for now.

A note on Sheffield's legacy: While some consider him a sure-fire Hall of Famer, and Sheffield's numbers look great on paper, the steroid era and his connection to Barry Bounds should surely diminish Sheffield's chances.

In Correa Giants grab high-end prospect

Most intriguing in the Ronnie Paulino deal from Philadelphia to Florida via San Francisco ia the player San Francisco is acquiring. Hector Correa has major upside.

Correa was named the No. 3 prospect in the New York-Penn League in 2007, earning all-star honors with the short-season Class A Jamestown club, going 6-2 with a 3.22 ERA in 11 starts.

Correa's biggest problem is he's perhaps too hittable. The youngster strikes out more than a batter per inning, but he's given up more than 20 more hits than strikeouts in his minor league career.

Phils land lefty

In the Ronnie Paulino trade, Philadelphia landed lefty Jake Taschner. He's a fill-in for JC Romero while Romero serves his 50-game suspension.

Taschner was 3-2 with a 4.88 ERA in 67 games last season. He gives the Phillies another left-hander in the bullpen to go with Scott Eyre. J.C. Romero was suspended the first 50 games for using a banned substance.

Taschner, however, is no Romero. He's unlikely to see many - if any - save opportunities in Philly.

Paulino to Florida via San Francisco

The Marlins acquired Ronnie Paulino from the Giants after San Francisco received the Phillies' backup catcher in a trade earlier Friday.

Despite being traded twice in one day, Paulino lands with a Marlins team looking for a backup to John Baker. Paulino reportedly had been on the Marlins' radar since the Winter Meetings. Paulino, 27, hit .278 in 304 games with Pittsburgh from 2005-08 before Philadelphia obtained him in an offseason trade. Paulino, who's due to earn $423,500 this season, played in only 40 games for the Pirates last year due to a sprained right ankle, hitting .212 with two home runs and 18 RBIs. But he had his most productive year in 2007, hitting .263 with a career-high 11 homers and 55 RBIs, which matched a personal best. Paulino also owned a .282 lifetime average (11-for-39) against the Giants.

Fantasy Impact: Something tells us Paulino will be more than just a backup in Florida. His numbers are good enough to challenge for playing time. In fact, offensively he compares closely to Yadier Molina. Keep an eye on his playing time to see if he can compete with Baker.

Bonifacio the Burner

In a matter of several months from late last season into the offseason, Emilio Bonifacio went from the Diamondbacks to the Nationals to the Marlins in a pair of trades. Now he's emerging as a probable starter for the Marlins at third base.

Bonifacio is building a strong case to be on Florida's Opening Day roster.

If that comes to fruition, the Marlins will have the chance to place three burners in their lineup -- Bonifacio, Cameron Maybin and Hanley Ramirez.

Nothing in terms of the final roster is official yet, but Bonifacio is on a path to make an impact from the time the season opens on April 6 against his former team, Washington.

"I like him. I like him in that lineup, someplace," Marlins manager Fredi Gonzalez said. "He has made unbelievable improvement at third base, a position he didn't play [before]. He's been learning under the gun a little bit. He's done a terrific job learning that position.

"We know he can play the middle of the diamond, and we know he can play the outfield a little bit. We may run him out in the outfield and get a little more flexibility."

Fantasy Impact: Bonifacio might have been a minor option if he was coming off the bench, but now that he's going to get an opportunity to start, watch out! This is a player who stole 61 bases in the minors in a single season. He can fly, if he can get on base. While his OBP climbed to .361 in two minor league stints last year, his career OBP stood at .338 heading into last season. In the majors, Bonifacio managed to reach base at a .300 clip.

We're intrigued to see what he can do for the Marlins this year. He's hitting .266 with an OBP of .309 this spring. He has the potential to become a player with the upside of Chone Figgins or the unreliability of Michael Bourn.

Tejada receives probation

Miguel Tejada basically gets a slap on the wrist for lying under oath about his steroid use. A one-year probation penalty means he's available immediately to the Astros and your fantasy baseball team.

"I take full responsibility for not answering the question," Tejada told U.S. Magistrate Judge Alan Kay.

Standing at a lectern facing Kay, Tejada spoke softly for less than a minute, the talented hands he normally uses to grip a bat or field ground balls stuffed in the pant pockets of his pinstriped, three-piece suit.

He apologized to Congress, to the court, to baseball fans — "especially the kids" — and added: "I learned a very important lesson."

Tejada is the first high-profile player convicted of a crime stemming from baseball's steroids era.

"What people are not entitled to do, your honor, is to provide untruthful or dishonest answers. No one has that right," Durham told the court. "Not the people who are well-known — and not the people who are unknown."

Tejada faced up to a year in prison and a fine of up to $100,000. But Kay followed the recommendation of prosecutors who said he deserved a lighter punishment, issuing a sentence of probation, 100 hours of community service and a $5,000 fine. Kay waived drug testing often required of other convicts on probation and said he wouldn't restrict the player's travel.

The plea deal is unlikely to affect Tejada's immigration status because green-card holders are not normally deportable unless the maximum possible sentence is more than one year in prison.

Fantasy Impact: It's safe to draft/acquire Tejada in all leagues. He hit 206 home runs from 2000 through 2006 but hasn't reached 20 homers since the steroid talk surfaced. Tejada has slipped to a middle-round draftee, and he still deserves attention thanks to playing his home games at Minute Maid Park.

Pitching In

A lot of pitching odds and ends this week as teams get their staffs together for opening day.

David Price will not make Tampa's rotation, which is more of an effort to limit his innings than it is on Price's Major League readiness.

Fantasy Impact: Not quite a devastating blow, but certainly trouble for owners who took a risk and drafted Price high. He'll be up eventually, but that's what was said all last year when Price never surfaced in time for regular season help. Here's guessing he makes it into Tampa's rotation by June.

Anthony Reyes landed in the Cleveland Indians' rotation as the 4th starter while Scott Lewis is the team's 5th starter. Lewis beat out Aaron Laffey.

Fantasy Impact: Reyes owns a nice minor league pedigree, striking out nearly a batter an inning while limiting hits. His problem is giving up the long ball, but he's certainly worth a late-round flier for his upside. Lewis isn't a bad flier option himself, but he's less sexy than Reyes, who has more big league and postseason experience.

Rangers to be sold

Tom Hicks is lining up resources to sell the Texas Rangers.

Hicks, who also co-owns Liverpool F.C. with George Gillett, has hired Merrill Lynch to sell his Rangers stake, MLB.com said, citing two baseball sources. The minority shares may be sold in whole or in part.

The timing might be good for Rangers fans, who would love to see Hicks bail. Texas is building a talented young nucleus with players like Chris Davis and Elvis Andrus.

Fontenot Cubs starter at 2nd

Mike Fontenot has been named the Cubs starter at second base. He takes over for Mark DeRosa, who was traded to Cleveland in the offseason.

Fontenot is the projected sixth hitter, with Kosuke Fukudome in second and Milton Bradley fourth.

"I don't want to get caught with two left-handed hitters sixth and seventh or sixth and eighth at the tail end of the lineup," manager Lou Piniella said. "So 2-4-6 is a real nice way to break things up."

In his fifth year with the Cubs after being traded from Baltimore in the Sammy Sosa deal, Fontenot never has been penciled in as a starter.

Fantasy Impact: If you project Fontenot's at bats over a full 600 at bats, he looks pretty good. Fontenot appears capable of 20 HR power, and he's capable of scoring runs (.395 OBP in 243 at bats last season). In the article, however, Piniella says both Fontenot and Aaron Miles will get 350 at bats this season. Miles will slide around the infield as a utility man, but will still steal time from Fontenot against left-handed pitching. Fontenot is therefore a later round pick in most fantasy drafts. He's valuable as a second baseman with pop who might start 5 or 6 days a week.

Hamels elbow exam

Hours after this fairly rosy review of Phillies ace Cole Hamels' velocity issues this spring, this far-from-rosy story on an elbow examination comes out.

According to several media sources, including the Philadelphia Daily News, Hamels will fly back to Philadelphia to be looked at by team doctor Michael Ciccotti after having steady soreness in the elbow.

However, team general manager Ruben Amaro, Jr. indicated it is not presently a serious issue, and the team is taking a cautious approach.

Much was made about the 227 1/3 innings Hamels pitched -- not including his postseason innings -- last season. There may be some merit to those concerns. The young ace will have to be watched for the rest of the spring.

Baseball cards and web cams

In its never-ending quest to remain relevant, Topps is designing new baseball cards that come to life online in order to attract new, young card collectors.

Consumers who buy the Topps 2009 Series 1 deck of baseball cards for $1.99 have an option to pull the "magic" card from the deck, sign onto ToppsTown.com with a code, download a browser plug in and pitch, bat or catch in games served up from the Web site. The cards, which sport members of major league baseball (MLB) franchises, also are available through the Topps Attax baseball card game.

The consumer's Web camera pointed at the two-dimensional card laying on someone's desk or in their hand projects the picture of Tampa Bay's Evan Longoria to the computer screen, for example, allowing the picture of the baseball player to come to life in 3D.

The augmented reality technology from Total Immersion lives on Topps's server. It recognizes the image of the player on the card. One player from each baseball team has been digitized.

"Topps hopes to stir new excitement about baseball cards, particularly kids who tells us they like collecting trading cards but no longer rely on them for information," said Steve Grimes, chief digital officer, The Topps Co. "So, we want to give them new uses for the cards, whether that's 3D animation or playing games or unlocking other experiences online."

It's an interesting idea, but my guess is enthusiasm wanes rather quickly. Offering online games based on the cards and the players' statistics might be a better way to maintain interest, but that's what video games are all about. Good luck, Topps.