Pittsburgh placed RHP Josh Fogg on the disabled list on Tuesday. Fogg left his Easter Sunday start against the Cubs after pitching only one inning. He reportedly felt a pull in his side during an at-bat in his April 15th start against the Mets, but he didn't believe the injury would trouble him sufficiently to prevent him from pitching. Unfortunately, he's strained an oblique muscle on his left side. Recovery from such an injury will likely take at least six weeks. Consequently, I don't expect Fogg back before June.

The Pirates called up RHP Brian Meadows to replace Fogg on the roster while RHP Salomon Torres will move into Fogg's rotation spot. Torres needed a week to warm up at the start of the new season, but he's recently pitched effectively for Pittsburgh. Meanwhile, Meadows compiled a 12:0 K:BB with 10 H and 1 HR allowed in 18 IP for a 1.00 ERA over his three AAA starts. Pittsburgh seems quite set on trying Torres first, even though Torres has traditionally struggled with his command at this level and Meadows demonstrated last season that he's capable of starting in the majors. I imagine that after Meadows mops up a game or two for Torres, the Pirates will switch their roles. Pittsburgh's off-season acquisitions well prepared them for injuries to their pitching staff, so this isn't a major blow.

L.A. placed RHP Paul Shuey on the disabled list yesterday with a sprained medial collateral ligament in his right knee. The circumstances that led to the injury have not yet been revealed. Shuey should need two to three weeks to recover from the injury, and the Dodgers may want to send him on a short rehab assignment to make sure he's not rusty when he returns. At the time of his injury, Shuey had compiled a 9:6 K:BB with 5 H allowed in 13.1 IP for a .68 ERA, allowing his only earned run of the season in his first outing, so L.A. looks forward to his return. However, the Dodgers' pen has pitched well as a whole, so this loss shouldn't hurt them too much.

The Dodgers called up UT-R Jason Romano to replace Shuey on the roster, moving to an eleven-man pitching staff. Most of the Dodgers' bench spots are committed to specific players, so unless someone is injured, Romano is going to have difficulty finding a roster spot. However, his position flexibility insure that as long as he's performs adequately at AAA, he'll receive a call-up when the team has an opening.

Kansas City placed LHP Jeremy Affeldt on the disabled list on April 20th. Affeldt left his April 19th start after three innings with a blister. When healthy, he is the Royals' ace, so it is quite inconvenient to lose him periodically to blisters. Consequently, while he is on the disabled list, the Royals intend to have him attempt to change his grip on his fastball, which is the pitch that has led to his blisters. However, they still expect him back as soon as he's eligible to return from the DL.

The Royals called up RHP Jeremy Hill to replace Affeldt on the roster. However, Hill likely will return to the minors when Kansas City calls up a starter to replace Affeldt in the rotation. The 25-year-old wasn't pitching particularly well at AAA, where he'd compiled an 11:7 K:BB with 9 H and 2 HR allowed in 10 IP for an 8.10 ERA over 7 appearances. Additionally, the Royals are currently fairly satisfied with their bullpen. I expect him to return to the majors later in the year when his AAA numbers look better and Kansas City once again has a need for a reliever either due to injury or ineffectiveness. Hill's demotion has been delayed a few days because the Royals' Wednesday game against the Twins was rained out, pushing back their need for a spot starter. The Royals plan to call up RHP Kyle Snyder to fill the rotation opening.

Kansas City drafted Snyder out of the University of North Carolina with the 7th overall pick of the first round of the 1999 draft. After spending the remainder of that season with Spokane in the Short-Season Northwest League, Snyder only made two appearances in 2000 and missed all of 2001 following Tommy John surgery in September of 2000. Returning from the injury, he spent most of last year at A+ Wilmington in the Carolina League, advancing to AA Wichita in the Texas League near the end of season.

Snyder impressed the Royals during Spring Training, prompting them to start him at AAA this season as opposed to returning him to AA. So far this year, he's compiled a 25:8 K:BB with 24 H and 2 HR allowed in 28 IP for a 2.89 ERA over seven starts at AAA Omaha in the Pacific Coast League. While the 25-year-old's skills appear strong in every area, I'm inclined to hope the Royals send him back to AAA when Affeldt leaves the DL. He's spent very little time in the minors and likely shouldn't throw too many innings this year after only logging 74 last season. However, with the Royals suddenly contenders for the division title, I suspect they will keep him in the rotation if they think he'll give them a stronger chance at winning games.