Monday Lineup Card: Hamming It Up on the Big Stage

This article is part of our The Lineup Card series.

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Projected Starters - A look at Monday's matchups (all times Eastern)

White Sox (Jose Quintana – L) at Yankees (Phil Hughes – R), 1:05
Mets (Daisuke Matsuzaka – R) at Braves (Paul Maholm – L), 1:10
Cardinals (Adam Wainwright – R) at Reds (Mat Latos – R), 1:10
Tigers (Doug Fister – R) at Red Sox (John Lackey – R), 1:35
Twins (Andrew Albers – L) at Astros (Paul Clemens – R), 2:10
Pirates (Charlie Morton – R) at Brewers (Tyler Thornburg – R), 2:10
Mariners (Felix Hernandez – R) at Royals (Danny Duffy – L), 2:10
Marlins (Henderson Alvarez – R) at Cubs (Travis Wood – L), 2:20
Giants (Barry Zito – L) at Padres (Ian Kennedy – R), 3:40
Orioles (Bud Norris – R) at Indians (Justin Masterson – R), 4:05
Rangers (Derek Holland – L) at Athletics (Dan Straily – R), 4:05
Dodgers (Clayton Kershaw – L) at Rockies (Chad Bettis – R), 4:10
Blue Jays (Esmil Rogers – R) at Diamondbacks (Brandon McCarthy – R), 4:10
Nationals (Stephen Strasburg – R) at Phillies (Cole Hamels – L), 6:05
Rays (Chris Archer – R) at Angels (Garrett Richards – R), 9:05

Day Game After Night Game: NYM

Injuries

Day-To-Day
Yonder Alonso, 1B, SD (hand) – Remained out of the lineup Sunday and remains on 7-10 day recovery timetable.
Elvis Andrus, SS, TEX (back) – Unlikely to play Monday after back didn't respond well Sunday.
Cody Asche, 3B, PHI (hamstring) – Returned to the lineup Sunday.
Carlos Beltran, OF, STL (back) – Dealing with tightness in back and was limited to a bench role Sunday.
Domonic Brown, OF, PHI (Achilles) – Remained out of the lineup Sunday but was able to pinch-hit for second consecutive day.
Miguel Cabrera, 3B, DET (abdomen) – Remained out of the lineup Sunday.
Tyler Chatwood, SP, COL (thumb) – Exited in third inning of Sunday's game in return from DL after taking a comebacker off his hand.
Jacoby Ellsbury, OF, BOS (thumb) – Jammed his thumb on a swing in Sunday's game but expected to play Monday.
Wilmer Flores, 3B, NYM (ankle) – Has been nursing injury of late but expected to play Monday.
Josh Hamilton, OF, LAA (shoulder) – Reported feeling better Sunday but sat out for third straight contest.
Bryce Harper, OF, WAS (knee) – May require offseason surgery but expected to play regularly for the remainder of the season.
Chris Heisey, OF, CIN (hamstring) – Left Sunday's game with an apparent hamstring injury.
Austin Jackson, OF, DET (shoulder) – Held out of Sunday's lineup after suffering a minor shoulder injury in Saturday's game.
Chris Johnson, 3B, ATL (leg) – Was removed from Sunday's lineup as a precaution after dealing with some minor leg soreness of late.
Alex Rodriguez, 3B, NYY (illness) – Returned to the lineup Sunday.
Michael Saunders, OF, SEA (hamstring) – Returned to the lineup Sunday.
Justin Upton, OF, ATL (hand) – Returned to the lineup Sunday and should be fine moving forward.
Shane Victorino, OF, BOS (hip) – Expected to play Monday after he was removed from Sunday's game with a left hip bruise.

Disabled List
Jesse Crain, RP, TB (shoulder) – Played catch Saturday without any incident and hopes to throw off a mound by week's end.
Octavio Dotel, RP, DET (elbow) – Manager Jim Leyland indicated he's "99.9 percent" certain that Dotel would be shut down for the remainder of the season.
Jason Grilli, RP, PIT (forearm) – Will pitch Monday after tossing a scoreless inning at Double-A Altoona on Saturday.
Ryan Howard, 1B, PHI (knee) – Expected to miss the remainder of the season.
Matt Kemp, OF, LAD (ankle) – Still isn't comfortable hitting and will likely head to Arizona instructional league to get more at-bats.
Corey Kluber, SP, CLE (finger) – Could start for the Indians on Friday if Monday's simulated game goes according to plan.
Joe Mauer, C, MIN (concussion) – Twins are targeting a Friday return in an ideal scenario.
Josh Reddick, OF, OAK (wrist) – Has experienced no pain over the past day and a half and hopes to return from DL when first eligible.
Wandy Rodriguez, SP, PIT (forearm) – Told by Dr. James Andrews that he has arthritis and inflammation in left elbow.
Mike Zunino, C, SEA (hand) – Will be activated from DL on Monday.

Transactions

Called Up (from Triple-A unless otherwise noted)
Tony Abreu, 2B, SF
David Adams, 3B, NYY
Jim Adduci, OF, TEX
Bryan Anderson, C, CHW
Eric Beaulac, P, BAL
Quintin Berry, OF, BOS
Dellin Betances, RP, NYY
Vic Black, RP, NYM
Ryan Brasier, RP, LAA
Francisley Bueno, RP, KC
Cory Burns, RP, TEX
Drew Butera, C, LAD
Tim Byrdak, RP, NYM
Cesar Cabral, RP, NYY
Alberto Cabrera, RP, CHC
Nick Castellanos, OF, DET
Adron Chambers, OF, STL
Wei-Yin Chen, SP, BAL (from rookie-level)
Robinson Chirinos, C, TEX
Michael Choice, OF, OAK
Steve Clevenger, C, BAL
Trevor Crowe, OF, HOU
Erik Davis, RP, WAS
Rubby De La Rosa
Jorge De Leon, RP, HOU
Kyle Farnsworth, RP, PIT
Stephen Fife, SP, LAD
Pedro Figueroa, RP, OAK
Freddy Garcia, RP, ATL
Chris Gimenez, C, TB
Dee Gordon, SP, LAD
Preston Guilmet, RP, CLE
Nick Hagadone, RP, CLE
Donovan Hand, RP, MIL
Chris Hatcher, RP, MIA
Brett Hayes, C, KC
Cesar Hernandez, 2B, PHI
David Hernandez, RP, ARI
Kris Johnson, P, PIT
Ian Krol, P, WAS
Ryan Lavarnway, C, BOS
Tom Layne, RP, SD
Charles Leesman, P, CHW
Sandy Leon, RP, WAS
Josh Lueke, RP, TB
Zach Lutz, 3B, NYM
Brett Marshall, RP, NYY
Michael Martinez, 2B, PHI
Peter Moylan, RP, LAD
J.R. Murphy, C, NYY
Andy Parrino, 2B, OAK
Curtis Partch, RP, CIN
Zach Phillips, RP, MIA
Jose Ramirez, 2B, CLE (from Double-A)
Evan Reed, RP, DET
Chris Robinson, C, SD
Derrick Robinson, OF, CIN
Henry Rodriguez, 2B, CIN
Josh Rutledge, 2B, COL
Kelly Shoppach, C, CLE
Tony Sipp, RP, ARI
Chris Snyder, C, BAL
Scott Van Slyke, OF, LAD
Jemile Weeks, 2B, OAK
Tom Wilhelmsen, RP, SEA
Blake Wood, RP, CLE
Danny Worth, 2B, DET
Delmon Young, OF, TB

Sent Down (to Triple-A unless otherwise noted)
Daniel Bard, RP, BOS (designated for assignment)
Joe Benson, OF, MIN (designated for assignment)
Robert Carson, RP, NYM
Juan Diaz, SS, CLE (designated for assignment)
Tim Fedroff, OF, CLE (designated for assignment)
Melky Mesa, OF, NYY (designated for assignment)
Luke Montz, C, OAK (designated for assignment)
Eduardo Sanchez, RP, CHC (designated for assignment)
Taylor Teagarden, C, BAL (designated for assignment)
Eric Thames, OF, BAL (designated for assignment)

Activated from the Disabled List
Lance Berkman, DH, TEX
Tyler Chatwood, SP, COL
Chris Coghlan, OF, MIA
Tony Cruz, C, STL
Steve Delabar, RP, TOR
Neftali Feliz, RP, TEX
Michael Kirkman, RP, TEX
Dustin McGowan, RP, TOR
Luke Scott, OF, TB
Travis Snider, OF, PIT
Brandon Snyder, 3B, BOS
Ryan Sweeney, OF, CHC
Nick Tepesch, SP, TEX
Luis Valbuena, 3B, CHC

Placed on Disabled List (15-day DL unless otherwise noted)
Eric Beaulac, P, BAL
Josh Beckett, SP, LAD (transferred to 60-day DL)
Luis Marte, RP, DET (transferred to 60-day DL)
Jayson Nix, SS, NYY (transferred to 60-day DL)
Ramiro Pena, 3B, ATL (transferred to 60-day DL)
Kevin Slowey, SP, MIA (transferred to 60-day DL)

Traded
Michael Blazek, RP, (to MIL from STL)
Rob Rasmussen, P, (to PHI from LAD)
Rusty Ryal, 1B, (to LAA from LAD)
Michael Young, 1B/3B (to LAD from PHI)

Released
Aaron Harang, SP, SEA
Justin Miller, RP, TEX

Closer Watch

Angels: The Angels called upon Ernesto Frieri in the eighth inning Sunday to relieve Dane De La Rosa, who ran into some trouble in allowing two walks and a single to his first four batters, leaving the bases loaded for Frieri to clean up. Frieri responded accordingly by striking out the next two batters to end the threat, then picked up two more K's in a perfect ninth inning to earn save No. 30 of the season. Frieri seemed to be on the outs as the team's top ninth-inning option after back-to-back blowups in early August that prompted manager to anoint De La Rosa as a co-closer, but Frieri has responded with 10.2 consecutive scoreless innings, while delivering his typically high strikeout rates. His resurgence, coupled with De La Rosa's rough outing Sunday, should re-cement Frieri as the full-time closer sooner or later.

Tigers: Entering Sunday's game against the Indians in the ninth inning with the score knotted at 0-0, the typically dependable Joaquin Benoit imploded, walking three of the first four batters and then allowing them all to score on Mike Aviles' grand slam. The four earned runs were easily a season-high for Benoit, who hadn't allowed more than two runs in any appearance this season. Though he took his first loss of the season, he wasn't officially charged with a blown save in the outing because he entered in a non-save situation, keeping him at a perfect 17-for-17 in his opportunities. Sunday's misstep will not change his status as the Tigers' ninth-inning man.

Billy Hamilton, OF, CIN – Monday will mark the long-awaited big league arrival of Hamilton, perhaps the most heavily-discussed prospect since Bryce Harper, though for entirely different reasons. While Harper was viewed as a once-in-a-generation hitting talent while he was coming up through the minors, Hamilton has yielded comparisons to the likes of Rickey Henderson and Vince Coleman on the bases, with Hamilton even breaking the latter's minor league single-season stolen base record by swiping 155 bags between High-A Bakersfield and Double-A Pensacola last season. Hamilton has found much more difficulty getting on base at Triple-A, which has stifled him in the running game to a degree (though he still has 75 steals this season), and there remain serious questions whether he'll ever be able to hit enough to become a reliable everyday player. However, the playoff-contending Reds won't attempt to find that out now, as Hamilton will largely be asked to contribute to the squad as a pinch-runner and defensive replacement as much as possible. Even in that specialist role, it wouldn't be surprising to see Hamilton rack up 10 or 15 steals before the season ends, making him especially attractive to fantasy owners looking to solidify that particular category. Because he's likely just a one-category play (albeit an elite one) at this stage of his career, he should probably only be viewed as a deeper mixed league or NL-only option, though if your shallow mixed format allows for multiple keepers beyond this season, an exception could be made for the young speed demon.

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