Good news, Aroldis Chapman owners! The Reds' closer will begin a rehab assignment today at Class A Dayton, and is expected to make at least four rehab appearances before coming off the DL in 7-10 days, according to manager Bryan Price.
On to the rest of the news:
Brewers SP Matt Garza left his Wednesday outing with a bruised right thumb, but expects to make his next start.
Blue Jays OF Melky Cabrera is day to day with a bruised shin after getting hit by a pitch last night. Figure that Cabrera will sit today, and hope that he'll play tomorrow.
The Indians will decide today or tomorrow if 2B Jason Kipnis will need a DL stint.
Streaming starters: Blog mascot Nathan Eovaldi had another strong start, raising our record to 19-11. Pick him up already! Today's not-so-confident pick is Bud Norris (owned in 1.9 percent of FOXSports.com leagues) versus the Pirates, while Friday's selection is Mike Leake (17.3 percent owned) against the Brewers.
Scheduling note: There are THREE doubleheaders today - Rays-Red Sox, Dodgers-Twins and Pirates-Orioles.
Look for Brewers 3B Aramis Ramirez (elbow) to return to the lineup today. OF Ryan Braun (strained rib cage) is still out, and while the DL has been avoided so far, he could miss another couple of games.
Clayton Kershaw had a strong rehab start last night, and is on target to return to the Dodger rotation early next week.
Speaking of the Dodgers, they demoted C Tim Federowicz and called up Miguel Olivo to replace him. Olivo could hit a few homers for you NL-only owners.
The Rockies placed SP Tyler Chatwood (elbow) on the DL. Jhoulys Chacin will come off the DL to take Chatwood's rotation slot on Sunday.
In other Rockies' news, C Wilin Rosario (bruised hand) is still day to day. Rosario took BP on Wednesday, and the Rox sound optimistic about his return.
Royals CF Lorenzo Cain (groin) will begin a rehab assignment tomorrow with an eye on returning next week. However, manager's pet Jarrod Dyson continues to impress the Royals, and will always be a threat to Cain's playing time, no matter what the team says about him being a backup.
With Collin McHugh getting another start on Sunday, the Astros won't bring Scott Feldman off the DL until sometime next week.
The Giants seem confident that Matt Cain (cut finger) will return to the mound on Monday. Hopefully, the scourge of clubhouse cutlery will be banished from baseball in the wake of Cain's Wednesday mishap.
Tigers' pitching prospect Robbie Ray (1.59 ERA at Triple A) will make his major league debut on Tuesday. Ray's stay in Detroit could be short, as he's filling in for the injured Anibal Sanchez.
See you back here tomorrow morning.
