Saturday Lineup Card: Rangers Reel In Rios

This article is part of our The Lineup Card series.

Projected Starters - A look at Saturday's matchups (All times Eastern)

Tigers (Anibal Sanchez – R) at Yankees (Phil Hughes – R), 1:05
Athletics (Sonny Gray – R) at Blue Jays (Mark Buehrle – L), 1:07
Orioles (Wei-Yin Chen – L) at Giants (Chad Gaudin – R), 4:05
Twins (Mike Pelfrey – R) at White Sox (Andre Rienzo – R), 4:05
Rays (Roberto Hernandez – R) at Dodgers (Zack Greinke – R), 4:05
Angels (C.J. Wilson – L) at Indians (Ubaldo Jimenez – R), 7:05
Phillies (Cliff Lee – L) at Nationals (Taylor Jordan – R), 7:05
Red Sox (Felix Doubront – L) at Royals (Jeremy Guthrie – R), 7:10
Marlins (Nathan Eovaldi – R) at Braves (Alex Wood – L), 7:10
Padres (Tyson Ross – R) at Reds (Tony Cingrani – L), 7:10
Rangers (Derek Holland – L) at Astros (Brad Peacock – R), 7:10
Cubs (Carlos Villanueva – R) at Cardinals (Michael Wacha – R), 7:15
Mets (Zack Wheeler – R) at Diamondbacks (Brandon McCarthy – R), 8:10
Pirates (A.J. Burnett – R) at Rockies (Juan Nicasio – R), 8:10
Brewers (Tom Gorzelanny – L) at Mariners (Hisashi Iwakuma – R), 9:10

Day Game After Night Game: DET/NYY, OAK/TOR, BAL/SF, TB/LAD

Injuries

Day-To-Day
Chris Archer, SP, TB (forearm) – Reported feeling normal while playing catch Friday and is expected to make next scheduled start Tuesday.
J.P. Arencibia, C, TOR (knee) – Still awaiting the results of an MRI on his right knee. Sat out Friday's game.
Alex Avila, C, DET (head) – Received clearance to play Friday against the Yankees.
Alberto Callaspo, 2B, OAK (forearm) – Out of the lineup Friday but not considered a candidate for the DL.
Jose Iglesias, SS, DET (toe) – Returned to the lineup Friday.
Howie Kendrick, 2B, LAA (knee) – Out of lineup Friday, with manager Mike Scioscia confirming Kendrick would land on the DL.
Andrew McCutchen, OF, PIT (shoulder) – Returned to the starting lineup Friday.
Wil Myers, OF, TB (asthma) – Returned to the starting lineup Friday.
Dioner Navarro, C, CHC (ankle) – Diagnosed with Grade 1 ankle sprain and will not require a trip to the DL.
Carlos Quentin, OF, SD (knee) – Out of the lineup Friday for the seventh straight game. Likely to be placed on the DL prior to Saturday's game.
Hanley Ramirez, SS, LAD (shoulder) – Took part in batting practice Friday and was expected to be available as pinch-hitter. Still has yet to throw and has slim chance of returning to the lineup Saturday.
Dayan Viciedo, OF, CWS (thumb) – Scratched from the first game of Friday's doubleheader with discomfort in his left thumb. Returned as DH in Game 2.
Jonathan Villar, SS, HOU (thumb) – Expected to return at some point this weekend.
Michael Young, 3B, PHI (hamstring) – Returned to the starting lineup Friday.

Disabled List
Lance Berkman, DH, TEX (hip) – Had his left knee examined Friday.
Rafael Betancourt, RP, COL (appendectomy) – Threw a bullpen session Friday.
Kyle Blanks, OF, SD (Achilles) – Expected to begin running early next week.
Peter Bourjos, OF, LAA (wrist) – Went 1-for-5 with an RBI single during rehab game at Triple-A Salt Lake on Thursday.
Clay Buchholz, SP, BOS (shoulder) – Had an aggressive throwing session from 90 feet Thursday and completed a 40-pitch bullpen session Friday.
Tyler Chatwood, SP, COL (elbow) – Received an MRI on injured elbow Friday.
Ross Detwiler, SP, WAS (back) – Reported feeling "way ahead of schedule" in recovery from injury but will remain shut down for the next few weeks.
Omar Infante, 2B, DET (ankle) – Experienced no setbacks during a rehab game Thursday at Triple-A Toledo and was scheduled to play again Friday. Could return to the Tigers on Monday.
John Jaso, C, OAK (concussion) – Still has yet to resume baseball activities.
Matt Kemp, OF, LAD (ankle) – Ran in place on flat ground Wednesday and Thursday and manager Don Mattingly believes he's 10-14 days away from returning to action.
Ryan Ludwick, OF, CIN (shoulder) – Expected to be activated from the DL on Monday.
Yadier Molina, C, STL (knee) – Hit in the batting cages Friday.
Matt Moore, SP, TB (elbow) – Played catch Friday and will throw off a mound Sunday.
Felipe Paulino, SP, KC (elbow) – Gave up four runs (two earned) over three innings in his first rehab start at Triple-A Omaha.
Salvador Perez, C, KC (concussion) – Had second headache-free day Friday and has resumed light workouts. Was also cleared to add further baseball activities to his regimen.
Wandy Rodriguez, SP, PIT (forearm) – Scheduled to throw a 25-pitch bullpen session Saturday but will not return to the rotation by the beginning of September.
Jason Vargas, SP, LAA (arm) – Allowed four runs over 4.2 innings of work during Thursday's rehab start at Triple-A Salt Lake. Hopes to return from DL next week during four-game series against the Yankees.
Rickie Weeks, 2B, MIL (hamstring) – Ruled out for the rest of the season.

Transactions

Called Up (from Triple-A Unless otherwise noted)
Carlos Carrasco, SP, CLE
Kevin Chapman, RP, HOU
Avisail Garcia, OF, CWS
Scooter Gennett, 2B, MIL
Sonny Gray, SP, OAK
Liam Hendriks, SP, MIN
Koyie Hill, C, MIA
Charles Leesman, SP, CWS
Josh Lueke, RP, TB
Blake Tekotte, OF, CWS

Sent Down (to Triple-A unless otherwise noted)
Travis Blackley, RP, HOU (designated for assignment)
Rob Brantly, C, MIA
Kyle Farnsworth, RP, TB (designated for assignment)
Preston Guilmet, RP, CLE
Jean Machi, RP, SF
Evan Scribner, RP, OAK
Delmon Young, OF, PHI (designated for assignment)

Activated from the Disabled List (15-day DL unless otherwise noted)
Ryan Vogelsong, SP, SF
Josh Willingham, OF, MIN

Placed on the Disabled List (15-day DL unless otherwise noted)
Ryan Doumit, C, MIN (7-day DL)
Ryan Hanigan, C, CIN
John Jaso, C, OAK (transferred to 15-day DL from 7-day DL)
Corky Miller, C, CIN

Traded
Alex Rios, OF, from CWS to TEX

Signed
Chase Utley, 2B, PHI (two-year extension worth $27 million, with $15 million vesting options for 2015, 2016, and 2017)

Closer Watch

Pirates: It looks like Jason Grilli (forearm) will start playing catch this weekend, a little more than two weeks after suffering what appeared to be a season-ending injury. It's obviously great news for the Pirates, and while the team hasn't outlined a clear timetable for return, Grilli could return to the bullpen at the end of the month. He'll be immediately thrust back into the closer's role even though Mark Melancon has been excellent in his stead, going 5-for-5 in save opportunities while not allowing a run.

Royals:Luke Hochevar picked up a rare save Thursday despite giving up one run on two hits over 1.1 innings against the Red Sox. It was simply a fluky save for Hochevar, as Greg Holland is entrenched at closer and has perhaps been one of baseball's best relievers since the beginning of May. In any case, Hochevar would seem to be a capable replacement should Holland suffer an injury, as he boasts a 1.80 ERA and 0.89 WHIP to go along with 43 strikeouts over 45 innings.

Bruce Chen, SP, KC – Chen has been almost perfectly mediocre throughout his 15 seasons in the majors, owning a career 4.47 ERA and 1.37 WHIP to go along with a 76-72 record. In other words, serviceable numbers at the back end of a big league rotation, but not the kind of production that had fantasy owners salivating. When the Royals announced that Chen would serve in a long relief capacity at the beginning of the season, it appeared as though it would dash any usefulness he might have enjoyed in AL-only leagues this season. However, after excelling in the relief role for the first three-plus months of the season, Chen was slotted back in the rotation in July, and the Royals have reaped incredible benefits since. Remarkably, Chen has gone at least six innings in each of his five starts since joining the rotation, allowing two or fewer runs on each occasion. It wasn't necessarily a cupcake schedule either, as three of those outings came against the Red Sox, Orioles and Indians. For all his successes, Chen still has a marginal strikeout rate on the year (6.47 K/9) and has benefitted greatly from a .241 BABIP, 89.6 percent strand rate, and 5.9 percent HR/FB, all well below his career norms and likely signaling some forthcoming regression. However, he should have at least one more quality outing in him before he turns back into a pumpkin. He'll get to face the lowly Marlins in his next start Tuesday, enabling fantasy owners to possibly pick up a cheap win while gaining some ground in the ERA category.

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