Arod, Santana and Manny

Let's start with the biggest news of the last week, the bizarre saga of Alex Rodriguez. After the buzz of the steroid controversy cooled off, we were left with a seemingly normal spring training from Arod. He was playing and practicing without any issues. Then the news comes in that he's dealing with a cyst on his hip. Then a trip to see a specialist. Then he's having hip surgery and he's out at least 10 weeks. Then he's going to try rehab, no surgery, and might not miss a beat. Then finally we get news this week. He will undergo surgery, but it's a "combo" surgery on the hip that should allow him to return quicker than the original plan, but still means a recovery time from 6 - 10 weeks. So, now that we know how long he will be out, what does it mean for fantasy? Well, he's obviously going to drop, but how far should he drop? I'm guessing he returns mid-May and misses about 4-6 weeks of the regular season. I also think it'll take him some time to get back to playing shape and get his timing down. I'd still take a shot at Arod around round 3 or 4 of a standard 12 team mixed league (assuming you can throw him in your DL slot), but he'll still come with a ton of risk and even though the upside is huge, I'd probably let someone else take a chance on him.

We had another injury scare last week when news of Johan Santana's elbow soreness popped up. He was shut down and the talk was of him missing the season opener. Well, the fear has subsided as he's had a few successful bullpen sessions. He's scheduled to make his spring debut this Thursday and he is still planning to start opening day. I wouldn't totally dismiss this news, but see how he performs the rest of spring to determine if this should bump him down your rankings at all.

Last, but not least is the news of Manny Ramirez finally signing in LA. It's about time. We all knew Manny wasn't going to sit out. We also knew Manny wasn't stupid. The new contract allows him to opt out after 1 year and go after bigger money yet again next winter. He is a year older, but this immediately bumps up the value of the rest of the LA lineup once again. If Furcal can stay healthy, he'll be one of the best leadoff hitters in the league. I also like Kemp and Either to build on their breakout years last season. I even like Russell Martin to return to dominance at the catcher position. Manny's presence can only help the Dodgers team. Now that's assuming Manny doesn't mentally check out like he did in Boston. Only time will tell. As for drafting Manny, he's going in the late 2nd round to mid 3rd round. He will be a year older, but I still see solid enough production to make him a #1 OF.