Jorge Posada: Posada, who has been on the DL with a hamstring injury, could return as early as today. His nagging injuries will prevent him from catching on a regular basis, but his bat is still strong enough, 5/20/.312 in 92 PA, to keep him in the lineup at DH when he doesn’t catch. Although the sample size is small, if he keeps hitting fly balls at a 47% rate, a bunch of those should have no problem clearing the short porch in Yankee Stadium’s right field.
Xavier Nady: Nady, who has been out since early April with an elbow injury, is playing in extended spring training games. He could begin a minor-league rehab assignment early next week which would put him on target for a mid to late-June return to the Yankees. In his first full season as a regular in 2008, Nady put up nice numbers across the board, 25/97/.305 with 37 doubles in 607 PA. At 30 years of age, he is still in his power prime years and the homer-happy Yankees Stadium should make an inviting target. With Nick Swisher not exactly tearing it up, .223 batting average, if healthy Nady should have no problem sliding right back into the starting right field job.
Coco Crisp: Crisp, who has missed the last couple of games with a sore shoulder, should be back in the lineup tonight. Put back into a starting role, Crisp has been a disappointment, 3/14/.233 in 195 PA, except in the speed department, 11 steals in 13 tries. There doesn’t seem to be anything wrong with Crisp’s approach at the plate, 14% BB% and an 88% Ct%. All he needs is more luck, .172 BHIP%, which will not only add points to his batting average but will also increase his steals as he will be on base more often.
Travis Hafner: Hafner, who has been out since late April with a shoulder injury, could return as early as Monday. In 2006, Hafner was considered amongst the premier power hitters in the game, 42 home runs in just 454 AB, but last year he hit just 5 home runs in 198 AB. This year he was showing signs of rediscovering his power stroke, 4 home runs in 63 AB, but then the shoulder that he had off-season surgery on began bothering him. With the shoulder looking like it will be a nagging problem; don’t expect Hafner to return to his 2006 level. The “new” Hafner lies somewhere in between his 2006 and 2007 numbers.
Tomo Okha: The Indians called up Okha from Triple-A where he was putting up good numbers, 3-3 with a 3.42 ERA in 9 starts. However his soft skills, 4.4 K/9 and a 1.5 BB/9, means that you are more likely to see the 2007 version of Ohka, 2-5 with a 5.79 ERA while pitching for the Blue Jays, rather than the 2002 or 2003 version of Ohka when he was an effective pitcher. Add in that he will be pitching in long relief and he has no fantasy value.
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