He's back - now what?

Here we go again, off for another look at the week in transactions:

My beloved New York Mets addressed their injury-riddled starting pitching (Pedro Martinez and Orlando Hernandez remain out indefinitely) by signing Claudio Vargas to a minor league deal. Vargas has always had good "stuff," but with a career earned run average of 4.95, the results have not backed up that stuff. Still, Vargas should be called up to the Mets rotation by mid-May, although he is probably only worth a look if you play in a deep NL-Only Leagues.

The Chicago Cubs brought up Sean Marshall from Triple-A earlier this week. After a solid 2007 campaign (7-8, 3.92, 1.374), Marshall was in the mix for a rotation spot in the spring, but given the sheer number of starting pitchers, he did not stand much of a chance. He will probably stay in middle/long relief for now, which certainly minimizes his impact, but keep an eye on him in NL-Only leagues, as he may secure a rotation spot by the end of the year.

The Toronto Blue Jays activated B.J. Ryan from the disabled list. Ryan, of course, missed almost all of 2007 as he recovered from Tommy John surgery. Ryan is unlikely to close on back-to-back days in the early going, and you can certainly expect some difficulties with Ryan as he rounds back into form. However, all you need to do is look back at 2004-2006 to know how well Ryan is capable of performing. Grab him as a second closer for the rest of 2008, and run with it.

In other closer news, the Braves placed Rafael Soriano on the disabled list with tendonitis in his pitching elbow. Soriano struggled with some elbow problems in the spring, and there certainly should be some warning bells going off in your head. He probably will be back in early May, but at this point, there is some uncertainty as to his health going forward. For now, Peter Moylan should be the primary candidate for saves. If Moylan struggles, Bobby Cox may go with a closer by committee, which could include Manny Acosta, Chris Resop, and Blaine Boyer. If the Soriano injury linger, former Pittsburgh closer Mike Gonzalez could return from elbow surgery by early June.

Although it was earlier than expected, the annual occurrence of a Dave Roberts injury has visited us again. Roberts had knee surgery and the Giants expect him to miss at least two months, if not more. For now, Fred Lewis looks like he will be the man in left field, although Rajai Davis could find himself with a few starts, and given the last two nights, marginal prospect John Bowker may ultimately find some at-bats in the San Francisco outfield. Despite Bowker's hot start, Lewis and Davis are probably the only ones with fantasy value: Lewis in deep mixed leagues, and Davis in NL-Only leagues only.

2004 first round draft pick Jeff Niemann was called up from Triple-A for the Rays this week, as they struggle to deal with the injuries to Scott Kazmir and Matt Garza. Niemann handled himself quite well in his first major league start, going six innings, and allowing only one run. Niemann is a fine prospect, with excellent potential, but he is probably another year away before really establishing himself as a fantasy contributor.

That will do it for this week. As always, post any other transactions that you feel were worth mentioning. See you next week.