Waiver Wire: American League

Exhausted, so we’ll get right to it.

Mark Teixeira | TEX | 1B – Owned in 100% of ESPN leagues, but he is at the top of CBS Sportsline’s “Most Added Players” list. If he is available in your league, pick him up. Even if you don’t need a 1B, he is good enough that you could trade your current one.
Recommendation – Should be owned in all leagues.

B.J. Upton | TB | 2B/3B/OF – Also owned in 100% of ESPN leagues, but he is No. 2 on CBS Sportsline’s “Most Added Players” list. His batting average will come down and his power might be a tiny bit inflated, but it seems like he’ll be hitting in the No. 3 spot for a while. Good for RBI, runs, and SBs along with all right BA and HR numbers.
Recommendation – Should be owned in all but shallow leagues.

Kason Gabbard | BOS | SP – Four games in and Gabbard has three wins and a 3.38 ERA. With his eight-strikeout performance on Monday, he is beginning to spark the interest of fantasy owners. I’d still stay away. He never had very good control in the minors, and his K/BB in those four starts is 4.30. Might pick up a few wins, but his LIPS ERA is 4.85.
Recommendation – Should be owned only in very deep mixed leagues. Should be owned in 12 and 14-team AL-only leagues.

Ervin Santana | LAA | SP – Sent down to the minors, Santana has lost most of his value. I warned to stay away during the preseason, so hopefully you did. His 4.45 LIPS ERA is much better than his 6.22 ERA, but he is still not the pitcher some had thought he would be this year. Will probably return in a month or so, but at that point he’ll only give you a handful of starts. He can be safely dropped in shallow and moderate leagues. If you’re gonna stash someone who might contribute for only a month or a month and a half, a guy like Pedro Martinez would be a better bet.
Recommendation – Can be dropped in all but deep mixed leagues. Can be dropped in all but 12 and 14-team AL-only leagues.

Akinori Otsuka | TEX | RP – Finally DLed, Otsuka isn’t expected to be activated before the trade deadline, hurting his prospects for closing. I don’t think this will affect the Rangers’ decision to trade Gagne. Since they’re 15.5 games out of first, I don’t think having a top-notch replacement closer immediately after completing the trade is going to stop them from trading Gagne, if they were intent on doing so anyway. This actually might help Otsuka’s value in that he won’t be traded to a team that would use him only as a setup man. If Gagne goes, he should take the job sometime in the beginning of August.
Recommendation – Should be owned in 12 and 14-team mixed leagues. Should be owned in all AL-only leagues.

Octavio Dotel | KC | CL – Listed as a closer, but that tag could come off soon. If he is traded, there is a good chance it will be into a setup role. He should be owned in all leagues for now, but if you own him, I’d explore trades. Quickly.
Recommendation – Should be owned in all leagues.

Joakim Soria | KC | RP – He’s been quite good so far this year, and with the potential trade of Octavio Dotel, Soria is worth owning by those speculating on saves. High strikeout rate helps a lot, and his control has been decent.
Recommendation – Should be owned in deep mixed leagues. Should be considered in 10 and owned in 12 and 14-team AL-only leagues.

Zack Greinke | KC | RP – Has been fantastic as a reliever this year—better than Soria, even—and is likely first in line for saves if Dotel is traded. If he takes the job, he would need to be owned in all leagues.
Recommendation – Should be owned in 12 and 14-team mixed leagues. Should be owned in all AL-only leagues.

Huston Street | OAK | CL – Little analysis needed here. Could come off the DL by Monday and should be closing shortly after. He’s a must own if he was dropped, for whatever reason, in your league.
Recommendation – Should be owned in all leagues.

Al Reyes | TB | CL – Off the DL now and closing again. He could be traded, but you need to hang onto him until the deadline passes. Seems less likely to be traded than Dotel.
Recommendation – Should be owned in all leagues.

Gary Glover | TB | CL – Drop in all leagues.
Recommendation – Should be avoided in all leagues.

Mike Mussina | NYY | SP – A guy I liked pre-season, Mussina has begun to disappoint. He’s 38 years old now, and that could be the primary culprit. While he’s keeping his walk rate down, his strikeout rate is also down. A 4.28 LIPS ERA and 1.29 DIPS WHIP aren’t bad, so a pickup is warranted in many leagues. I don’t see him getting much worse than this—for the remainder of this year, anyway—mostly because of his good control. Having Alex Rodriguez, Derek Jeter, and crew helping him pick up wins further helps his cause.
Recommendation – Should be considered in deep 12 and owned 14-team mixed leagues. Should be strongly considered in 8 and owned in 10, 12, and 14 AL-only leagues.

Mike Piazza | OAK | C – We’ve talked about him a lot already, so we won’t go into an analysis. He was activated this week. As long as his injury hasn’t hampered his abilities, he should be a Top eight catcher for the remainder of the year.
Recommendation – Should be owned in all leagues.

Kenny Lofton | TEX | OF – Tell me, what is the difference between Lofton and Juan Pierre? Both can hit .300 with a lot of steals and a lot of runs. Neither has much in the way of HRs or RBIs, although Lofton does have more HRs and three fewer RBIs than Pierre. How is it that Pierre is owned in 100% of ESPN leagues and Lofton is owned in just 13%? Injustice.
Recommendation – Should be owned in all but shallow leagues.

Andrew Sonnanstine | TB | SP – Given his own post the other day, Sonnanstine seems like a good one.
Recommendation – Should be strongly considered in deep 10 and owned in 12 and 14-team mixed leagues. Should be owned in all AL-only leagues.