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(*) PLAYING TIME: Surprise 5th starter in KC

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BaseballHQ

Mar 26 2013 11:05pm

(*) PLAYING TIME: Surprise 5th starter in KC

BaseballHQ

Mar 26 2013

Team-by-team playing time allocation charts can be found in our Teamview pages.

American League \| National League

Royals \| Luis Mendoza wins rotation spot
Kansas City Royals SP Luis Mendoza won the No. 5 spot in the rotation. SP Bruce Chen is headed to the bullpen. Source: CBSSports.com - Scott Miller

BHQ take: Mendoza has been on a roll since mid-September of last year and capped it off with a 0.82 ERA and 4.0 Cmd in 11 spring IP. He'd been consistently carrying a sub-2.0 Cmd from 2009 until June 2012, after which his Cmd has been above 2.0. Chen, who gave up 33 HR in 34 starts last year with a 45% FB rate, allowed 7 more HR in 4 Arizona outings (13.2 IP). —Mike Shears

Impact: Med
Mendoza, Luis	PT Gain: 1%
Chen, Bruce	PT Loss: -6%



Blue Jays \| Ricky Romero optioned
The Toronto Blue Jays optioned SP Ricky Romero to Triple-A Syracuse Tuesday, March 26. Source: The Canadian Press - Shi Davidi

BHQ take: Romero gets to regain his command and his confidence in the minors, continuing to rebuild from 2012's disaster. —Matt Dodge

Impact: Med
Romero, Ricky	PT Loss: -5%



Blue Jays \| J.A. Happ to make team
Toronto Blue Jays manager John Gibbons said SP J.A. Happ 'has pitched too good to not be on the team.' Ps Brett Cecil and Jeremy Jeffress are now competing for the final bullpen job as a result. Source: National Post - John Lott

BHQ take: As merited during spring training and hinted at during the second half of 2012, Happ moves into the 5th rotation slot for the Jays, and will hold that position as long as he is effective. A key metric to watch is his HR/9, which he controlled in the second half last year. For a team looking to win in 2013, Cecil's ability to pitch in long relief should give him the upper hand over Jeffress. —Matt Dodge

Impact: Med
Cecil, Brett
Happ, J.A.	PT Gain: 5%
Jeffress, Jeremy



Rangers \| Jurickson Profar sent down
The Texas Rangers will have SS Jurickson Profar begin the season at Triple-A Round Rock, with INF Leury García serving as the utility infielder. OF Jim Adduci, C Eli Whiteside and SP Nate Robertson are also heading to Round Rock. P Coty Woods has cleared waivers, and the Rangers are trying to work out a trade with the Colorado Rockies. Source: MLB.com - T.R. Sullivan

BHQ take: The handwriting for this move has been on the wall ever since Ian Kinsler balked at a move to 1B, but it's a bitter pill for owners hoping Profar's outstanding MLEs (75 BPV posted mostly at Double-A in 2012) to carry to TEX. Just 20, Profar's '13 RC/G already projects as 7th-best among AL SS. While he's currently shut out of a role, don't be surprised to see PT open up for Profar sometime this year. If you can stash him, don't cut bait yet on Profar—and of course, he's the unanimous best prospect in baseball, so he's keeper-league treasure. —Rod Truesdell

Impact: Med
Profar, Jurickson	PT Loss: -30%



Athletics \| Hiroyuki Nakajima could start in minors
The Oakland Athletics are seriously considering sending SS Hiroyuki Nakajima to the minors to start the season. He's hitless in eight straight spring games and is batting only .150. Nakajima clearly hasn't been comfortable, and the team wants him in a groove before he plays in major league games that count. SS Jed Lowrie would likely start at shortstop if Nakajima is sent down. 2B Scott Sizemore is the leading candidate to win the second base job after playing well lately. INFs Eric Sogard and Adam Rosales remain in the mix as well at the keystone. Source: San Francisco Chronicle - John Shea

BHQ take: Sogard will leverage this into some short-term AB at 2B and SS. But he offers next-to-nothing at the plate, unless you count poor plate skills (0.29 Eye in '12) and sub-average speed and power as assets. No need to invest here. Nakajima, on the other hand, was all but annointed the starter when signed, but he has struggled mightily this spring. However, Nakajima's skills in Japan suggest he should at least be above replacement level at SS, assuming he makes the adjustment to American ball. —Rod Truesdell

Impact: Med
Nakajima, Hiroyuki	PT Loss: -25%
Sogard, Eric	PT Gain: 20%



Tigers \| Matt Tuiasosopo makes roster
Detroit Tigers 3B Matt Tuiasosopo will be on the team's opening day roster. He is hitting .327 with six doubles this spring. Source: The Associated Press

BHQ take: DET's lack of proven RHB bench players capable of spelling starter Andy Dirks in LF provided Tuiasosopo a longshot opening, and he earned a spot with his solid Grapefruit League performance. Tuiasosopo's MLEs include below-average power and speed and sub-70% ct%, so he should be to left to the free agent bin on draft day. —Tom Kephart

Impact: Low
Tuiasosopo, Matt	PT Gain: 20%



Yankees \| Lyle Overbay signs
The New York Yankees signed free-agent 1B Lyle Overbay (Red Sox) to a minor league deal Tuesday, March 26. Source: Newsday - Erik Boland

BHQ take: Overbay quickly lands in the primary backup position at 1B for the Yankees after being released by BOS earlier in the day. If he can get the loft back into his swing after a recent career low 24% FB ratio in 2012, he can take advantage of the short right field porch, and his glovework will allow Youkilis to stay at 3B which the Yankees prefer. —Matt Dodge

Impact: Med
Overbay, Lyle	PT Gain: 10%



Orioles \| Wilson Betemit out 6-8 weeks
Updating a previous report, Baltimore Orioles DH Wilson Betemit (knee) will miss six to eight weeks with a torn PCL. Source: MLB.com - Brittany Ghiroli

BHQ take: Update: another candidate has joined the mix for DH AB in Baltimore. Team officials are suggesting that Ryan Flaherty's average power (PX 96) with 6 HR in 141 AB vs RHP may win him the lion's share of DH time in the early season. —Matt Dodge

Impact: Med
Flaherty, Ryan	PT Gain: 10%
Betemit, Wilson



Athletics \| Adam Rosales to DL
The Oakland Athletics placed INF Adam Rosales (intercostal) on the 15-day disabled list Tuesday, March 26, with a strained left intercostal. Source: Twitter

BHQ take: Just when it looked as though Rosales would catch a break, this injury will hold him back (and may cost him even more PT than indicated). But as we noted previously, this is not a skills set to own regardless, as at 30 he's already past a meager peak, and has only a decent walk rate to offer. —Rod Truesdell

Impact: Low
Rosales, Adam M	PT Loss: -5%



Yankees \| Prefer to keep Kevin Youkilis at 3B
The New York Yankees prefer to leave 3B Kevin Youkilis at third base with 1B Mark Teixeira (wrist) out. OF Juan Rivera will see the majority of playing time at first base, but the Yanks also have 1B Dan Johnson and are considering options outside the organization. Source: MLB.com - Bryan Hoch

BHQ take: The signing of Overbay allows Youkilis to stay at 3B, keeps Rivera in the mix at 1B (while Teixeira is out) as well as OF/DH and probably assures Johnson of starting the season at AAA. —Matt Dodge

Impact: Med
Johnson, Dan R	PT Loss: -5%
Rivera, Juan	PT Loss: -5%





National League \| American League

Marlins \| Sign Matt Diaz
The Miami Marlins signed OF Matt Diaz (Yankees) Monday, Mar. 25. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. Source: CBSSports.com - Jon Heyman

BHQ take: Given the timing of Diaz' signing by the Marlins, it seems likely that he'll get some playing time against lefties and as a righthanded pinch hitter. Whether he'll do much with that playing time is unlikely. Last year his PX was 79 and his Spd was 75 and now he's going to a pitcher friendly environment. —Phil Hertz

Impact: Med
Diaz, Matt	PT Loss: -25%



Brewers \| Two put on DL
The Milwaukee Brewers placed 3B Taylor Green (hip) and RP Mark Rogers (arm) on the 15-day disabled list Monday, March 25. Green's DL stint was backdated to March 22. Source: The Sports Network

BHQ take: Green's injury virtually guarantees that veteran Alex Gonzalez will get bulk of 1B PT in Corey Hart's absence to open season. Injury is unfortunate occurrence for Green, depriving him of potential PT opportunity. With projected .234 xBA and 84 PX, Green now can be safely scratched from deep NL sleeper lists. —Tom Kephart

Impact: Low
Green, Taylor	PT Loss: -15%



Brewers \| Kyle Lohse's contract breakdown
Milwaukee Brewers SP Kyle Lohse will make $4 million this year with $7 million deferred to 2016-2018, plus $11 million in each of the 2014 and 2015 seasons. He can make an extra $1.05 million in performance bonuses; $350,000 each for the three seasons that he tops 190 innings. The team is already set in their rotation with SPs Yovani Gallardo, Marco Estrada, Wily Peralta, Chris Narveson and Mike Fiers. They may choose to carry Lohse as part of their 13-man staff to begin the year, and Lohse said he should be game-ready shortly. Fiers and Peralta have minor league options left, so they are the most likely to be bumped from the rotation to make room for Lohse when he's ready. Both young pitchers have struggled this spring, too. Source: MLB.com - Adam McCalvy

BHQ take: Still unclear who among Peralta, Fiers and Narveson will be odd man out in rotation battle. All are likely to get rotation chances throughout season. Fiers' impressive 2012 rookie performance featured 9.5 Dom, 3.8 Cmd and 114 BPV makes him favorite for one of the two remaining slots. —Tom Kephart

Impact: Med
Peralta, Wily	PT Loss: -1%
Fiers, Mike	PT Loss: -2%
Lohse, Kyle	PT Loss: -1%



Nationals \| Christian Garcia to DL
The Washington Nationals placed RP Christian Garcia (forearm) on the 15-day disabled list retroactive to Friday, March 22, with a right forearm tendon ailment. INF Carlos Rivero was also outrighted to Triple-A Syracuse. Source: The Associated Press

BHQ take: At the start of spring training, Garcia was being touted by the Nationals as a potential option for the rotation if one of the their top five starters went down. However, he never got started as he dealt with this arm injury. If he regains his health and pitches well—the latter is a strong possibility—he could re-emerge in the team's plans either in the bullpen or in the rotation. After being recalled last September, he put up a 160 BPV. —Phil Hertz

Impact: Low
Garcia, Christian	PT Loss: -2%



Padres \| Logan Forsythe may open on DL
San Diego Padres 2B Logan Forsythe (foot) had a setback and was in a ton of pain Tuesday, March 26, while dealing with plantar fasciitis in his right foot. It looks like he'll need to open the season on the disabled list. Source: MLB.com - Corey Brock

BHQ take: No change here, since we already project Forsythe as a part-timer in part due to his foot problems. But expect his PT projection to be cut further if Jedd Gyorko and/or Alex Amarista get off to good starts. —Jock Thompson

Impact: Low
Forsythe, Logan	PT Loss: -10%



Brewers \| Yuniesky Betancourt signed
The Milwaukee Brewers signed free-agent SS Yuniesky Betancourt (Phillies) to an undisclosed one-year deal Tuesday, March 26. Source: ESPN.com - Jayson Stark

BHQ take: Betancourt has played regularly most of his MLB career, but has recently slid into a backup IF role. Free-swinging Betancourt has a history of strong contact skills and middling xBAs, but his Eye is subpar, and he lacks speed and his power is no better than average, as reflected in his 2012 career-high 104 PX. —Tom Kephart

Impact: Low
Betancourt, Yuniesky	PT Gain: 10%



Nationals \| Danny Rosenbaum to pitch at Syracuse
Updating a previous report, Washington Nationals SP Danny Rosenbaum will start the regular season at Triple-A Syracuse. Source: CSNWashington.com and NatsInsider.com Â– Mark Zuckerman

BHQ take: Rosenbaum was lights out at the start of 2012 at AA Harrisburg and then tailed off. However, he was impressive enough for the Rockies to give him a look. If he impresses at Syracuse, he could get a spot start in DC, given the dearth of sixth starter candidates in the Nats system. That's not a reason to draft him, at least not at this time. —Phil Hertz

Impact: Low
Rosenbaum, Daniel	PT Gain: 1%



Dodgers \| Two sent down
The Los Angeles Dodgers optioned SS Dee Gordon to Triple-A Albuquerque and OF Yasiel Puig to Double-A Chattanooga Tuesday, March 26. Source: MLB.com - Ken Gurnick

BHQ take: Gordon will head for Triple-A to hone his OBP and defense while the Dodgers begin with Luis Cruz at SS in place of the injured Hanley Ramírez. LA's SS issues and potential offensive woes make Gordon's progress worth tracking, even though that running game is his only plus skill. —Jock Thompson

Impact: Med
Gordon, Dee	PT Loss: -5%

News feed provided by:

Playing Time Key

The playing time percentage changes at the bottom of most news items correspond to BaseballHQ.com's Teamview pages. The percentages approximate changes in AB, IP and Saves in the following manner:

For batters, each 5% of PT% ~ 31 AB (100% total for each position = 618 AB)
For pitchers, each 3% of PT% ~ 44 IP (100% total for a team's entire pitching staff)
For relievers, each 5% of Svs ~ 2 saves (100% of a team's total = about40 saves)

A complete explanation of BaseballHQ.com's playing time allocations can be found in the article "How the Projections are Created."