Finding a spot for Schoop Baltimore Orioles

A pleasant surprise for the Baltimore Orioles has been rookie infielder Jonathan Schoop, whose four-hit game against the Red Sox on Friday night raised his season average to .304.

Eduardo A Encina of the Baltimore Sun says he is starting to get questions from fans as to what the Orioles are going to do at third base when Manny Machado returns from the disabled list. It's likely Machado will go on a rehab assignment at some point next week, and the hope is he will be back by early May.

Finding a spot for Schoop is a good problem to have. A lot can happen between now and then, but Schoop has made a serious case to keep a roster spot even when Machado returns. The question will be whether the Orioles will be content for Schoop to get limited at-bats as a backup infielder rather than have him play every day at Triple-A Norfolk.

Schoop also has played second base in the minors, but the Orioles have received solid production this season at that position from Stephen Lombardozzi (.308 BA).

Baltimore Orioles Johan Santana ahead of schedule?

When the Baltimore Orioles signed Johan Santana to a minor league deal in early March, it was hoped that he would be able to help the big league club sometime in June. Could the two-time Cy Young Award winner be ahead of schedule?

Peter Gammons tweets Saturday that Santana’s velocity is up to 85 miles per hour and “is not far away.” Gammons says Santana is motivated to break the record for most wins by a Venezuelan pitcher, currently held by Freddy Garcia with 156. Santana has a career mark of 139-78.

Santana is currently throwing live batting practice as he continues to progress from his second shoulder surgery. According to an MLB.com report earlier this week, Santana “is on a five-day rotation-esque progression.”

It remains to be seen how the Orioles would work Santana into a rotation where Bud Norris (3.75 ERA) is currently at the back end.

Atlanta Braves' Finding a fit for Gavin Floyd

The Atlanta Braves' rotation appeared to be in shambles a few short weeks ago when the club learned Kris Medlen and Brandon Beachy would be lost for the season.

Enter journeyman Aaron Harang, who pitched seven no-hit innings against the Mets on Friday night to lower is earned run average to a miniscule 0.70 in four starts. Once desperate for healthy arms, the Braves may soon have to decide which effective starter gets bumped once Mike Minor and Gavin Floyd are ready to return.

Minor, who began the year on the disabled list with shoulder tendinitis, was scheduled to start for Triple-A Gwinnett on Friday night, but the game was postponed by rain. There is a chance he could join Atlanta's rotation next week, reports MLB.com’s Mark Bowman.

Floyd, who is attempting to return from Tommy John surgery, allowed four earned runs in 4 2/3 innings in a rehab start for Double-A Mississippi on Friday against Huntsville. Given Floyd has yet to complete five innings, he could be a few weeks away.

Following the last-in, first-out philosophy, the leading candidate to be bumped is David Hale, who has a 1.43 WHIP in four major league starts. Hale also could be kept as a reliever.

Finding a fit for Floyd, however, will be more difficult given Harang’s dazzling start. But some regression to the mean seems inevitable given Harang did have a 5.40 ERA last season. Remember, Paul Maholm got off to a similar start for the Braves last season (0.00 ERA in first three starts) before the bottom fell out.

At the very least, Harang’s performance takes away any temptation to rush Floyd back.

Where Fox would fit in Miami

Jason Walker of ESPN.com reports this morning that free agent offensive tackle Jason Fox is visiting Miami this week, according to a league source. What type of role would the four-year pro have if he decides to sign with the Dolphins? Lets have a look.

 

Fox is a career backup who started only three games in his four seasons in Detroit, but all of those came last season. With Branden Albert signed to play left tackle and the addition of Shelley Smith at guard, Fox would join the competition at right tackle.

 

Walker adds of Fox, a fourth-round pick in 2010: "He is not the long-term answer for the Dolphins. But they need bodies at right tackle, where they only have the versatile Nate Garner and maybe 2013 third-round pick Dallas Thomas on the roster."

 

Kansas City could be the main competition the Dolphins face here; Fox visited the Chiefs on Monday, according to ProFootballTalk.com.

Will New Orleans go WR in Rd. 1?

Drew Brees and the New Orleans Saints are one team that could benefit from the highly rated crop of receivers in the 2014 NFL draft, and they may look to address that as early as the first round.

 

The problem with having a pick late in the first round this year isn't that there is a shortage of options -- it's choosing the right receiver from the talented group that may present the biggest challenge.

 

"Where the Saints are picking at No. 27, LSU's Odell Beckham Jr., Oregon State's Brandin Cooks and USC's Marqise Lee could be awfully attractive options if they fall that far," Mike Triplett of ESPN.com wrote on Tuesday. "They all have that dynamic speed element. And as a bonus, all three could potentially serve as return men, as well -- another top need for the Saints.

Jets in Chris Johnson's future?

If Chris Johnson is released by Tennessee this week, and after several failed trade attempts that has become a likely scenario, the New York Jets may be his strongest suitor.

 

At least, that's what Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com suggests.

 

"Still expecting Chris Johnson's release to come this week. When it does, look for the Jets to pounce on the RB," La Canfora tweets this morning: "Would be a strong fit."

 

Earlier this week, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com speculated on Twitter that the reason the Jets were reluctant to dive into the DeSean Jackson derby might have been because they were allotting money for Johnson.

 

Adding Johnson would make a lot of sense; the home run threat he provides would serve as an ideal complement to the Jets' primary back, Chris Ivory, a bruising and powerful runner who earns his money running between the tackles.

No panic yet for Jays and Reyes

As ESPN.com's Jayson Stark reports, "oft-injured Toronto Blue Jays shortstop Jose Reyes is back on the disabled list after reinjuring his left hamstring in the first inning of his team's 9-2 Opening Day loss Monday to Tampa Bay."

 

An MRI taken on Tuesday revealed that the shortstop had mild inflammation, which was news that pleased Reyes. "It is a relief," Reyes said. "That's good news. Just some inflammation there, no damage at all. Just some rest and I should be fine." However, as Gregor Chisholm of MLB.com points out, Reyes had a similar diagnosis back in 2011, and he ended up missing 29 games over two separate trips to the disabled list as a result.

 

"Toronto has decided to go with infielder Jonathan Diaz at short during Reyes' absence," Chisholm writes. "Diaz has the reputation of being an elite defender and should help save some runs for the staff, but there's not a lot of upside with his bat. He's a career .230 hitter in the minor leagues and the Blue Jays' hope is that he'll be able to bridge the gap until Reyes returns."

 

That said, if two weeks comes and goes and Reyes is not ready to roll, perhaps the Blue Jays will turn to the Seattle Mariners and try to pry Nick Franklin from their clutches. If Brad Miller continues his hot start for the Mariners -- the shortstop hit two home runs on Tuesday -- Seattle shouldn't have a problem with letting the demoted Franklin go.