Red Sox ace Jon Lester has been scratched from his Wednesday start amid trade rumors, and FOXSports.com's Ken Rosenthal reported Tuesday night that the Pirates, Dodgers, Cardinals and A's are all in the mix to acquire Lester. If you own Lester in a mixed league, you care less about where he'll go - none of these four rumored destinations feature terrible home pitcher's parks - and more about when you'll see him on the mound again. Here are some possibilities, assuming that Lester is actually traded AND that it's not in time to pitch tonight:
Pirates: The Bucs are scheduled to start Jeff Locke on Thursday, Edinson Volquez on Friday and Vance Worley on Saturday in Arizona. All are possible depending on the timing of the deal, but I'd lean toward the Saturday slot, with Friday being the second option. I'd probably ditch Volquez from my rotation before Worley, but I'm not the Pirates.
Dodgers: Clayton Kershaw will be on the hill Thursday, with Hyun-Jin Ryu pitching Friday. Saturday's starter is listed as TBD, so Lester could slide right in.
Cardinals: The Cards are in San Diego right now, so a deal would need to happen immediately for Lester to be able to replace Shelby Miller on Thursday. Adam Wainwright pitches at home Friday, and Lester could move into an open slot on Saturday against the Brewers.
A's: Jesse Chavez is scheduled to start on Sunday, and since he's the guy Lester figures to replace, that's the most likely day for his first Oakland appearance.
Mystery team: It's certainly possible that Lester will be a team other than the four mentioned above. If that happens, the fantasy impact will be covered here.
Tuesday's studs & duds
Stud: Alex Cobb's one-run, 12-strikeout start was my favorite pitching performance of the day.
Stud: Rangers 1B J.P. Arencibia hit two home runs and knocked in seven runs in a loss to the Yankees. Remember that Arencibia has catcher eligibility in fantasy leagues. His horrible OBP makes him a bad real-life hitter, but he has always had power.
Dud: Astros' closer Chad Qualls entered Tuesday's game against the A's with a 4-1 lead and allowed five runs. Ouch.
News & notes
Reds OF Jay Bruce has been placed on the bereavement list due to the death of his grandfather, and is expected to return Friday.
Braves OF Jason Heyward (back) hopes to return to the lineup tonight, but with a 10:10 p.m. ET start in Los Angeles, you should probably play it safe and bench Heyward in daily lineup leagues.
The Nationals said that OF Jayson Werth (ankle) was available off the bench on Tuesday, and they hope to have him in the lineup today. Nats-Marlins is one of four games starting in the noon ET hour today, so set your lineups early.
Coco Crisp's neck MRI didn't show anything new, and the A's trainer "sounded optimistic that (Crisp) could be healthy enough to play when he rejoins the team" on Friday, according to the San Francisco Chronicle.
The Padres hope to have Ian Kennedy (oblique) back on the mound Saturday or Sunday.
Giants SP Matt Cain (elbow) is going to see ... Dr. James Andrews. Uh-oh, keeper league owners.
Cleveland.com reports that Indians OF Michael Bourn (hamstring) will need a "lengthy rehab assignment" whenever he's ready to start one. The article also described Bourn's recovery timeline as "murky."
Pirates OF Starling Marte had his first full post-concussion workout on Tuesday, but his return date is still TBD. Marte hasn't played since July 21.
Streaming starters
Jorge De La Rosa was good enough last night, so we're up to 62-44 for the season. Today's pick is San Diego's Jesse Hahn (owned in 39.9 percent of FOXSports.com leagues) at home against the Cardinals, while Thursday's selection is Tigers' lefty Drew Smyly (15.3 percent owned) versus the White Sox. Smyly whiffed 11 Angels in his last outing.
See you back here tomorrow morning, or earlier if there's a big trade.
