Major League Baseball

MLB Quick Hits: Lee, Yu, Tanaka, etc.

Published Mar. 9, 2015 5:36 a.m. ET

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John Halpin

Sunday's big news was that Cliff Lee will not make his scheduled Tuesday start due to elbow inflammation. The team called the inflammation "mild," and said that it's very similar to the issue that shut down Lee last season - in the flexor pronator and not in the ulnar collateral ligament (the latter being associated with Tommy John surgery). Lee will see orthopedic surgeon Dr. James Andrews soon, and until then we'll just need to wait and see on his status. I've got Lee ranked at SP28, but will drop him to the mid-30s until we know more.

In other news ...

There were no updates Sunday on Rangers' ace Yu Darvish, who will probably need season-ending Tommy John surgery. Darvish plans to get a second opinion, but consider him undraftable.

Cardinals SP Lance Lynn left his Sunday start due to a hip flexor strain, but said he wouldn't have come out if it had been a regular-season-game. Probably nothing to worry about.

Yankee SP Masahiro Tanaka will make his spring debut on Thursday. I asked fantasy pitching guru Paul Sporer on a recent podcast how he felt about Tanaka's risk level, and he said, "Terrified." Good times for us Yankee fans, eh?

Tigers 1B Miguel Cabrera (ankle) went through some fielding drills on Sunday, and is nearing a return to action.

The Braves used nine pitchers during a 10-inning no-hitter in a Sunday game that ended in a 2-2 tie. Spring training is weird.

Giants SP Matt Cain (elbow, ankle) will make his spring debut today. Cain made just 15 starts last season.

White Sox ace Chris Sale said Sunday that his injured right foot is doing well, and he hopes not to miss any regular-season time. Sale is at SP4 in the FOXSports.com expert consensus rankings.

Reds SP Homer Bailey is unlikely to be ready when the season begins, according to the team. He doesn't seem too far off, though.

Royals OF Alex Rios has hit three homers so far this spring. He hit four in all of 2014.

Tigers SS Jose Iglesias, who missed last season with fractures in both shins, suffered bruises to his right shin on both Friday and Sunday, with the latter coming after being hit by a line drive in batting practice. I'll take this Saturday in the "When Will Iglesias Hurt His Shin Again?" pool.

The Yankees "believe they can't make a wrong choice" between closer candidates Dellin Betances and Andrew Miller," according to the team's website. That might be true, but we'd all appreciate it if they make the choice quickly. If they choose Miller, there will be a lot of disappointed fantasy owners, as Betances is being drafted as RP6 with Miller at RP32, according to the NFBC's ADP.

See you back here tomorrow morning.

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