Smoltz goes on DL, May return as Closer – Updated
By: mbohn
John
Smoltz was placed on the 15 day DL on Tuesday, and he hopes to be
back on the mound in 15 – 30 days. The good news is that he will not
need surgery to repair his rotator cuff, and that his biceps tendon
seems to just need some rest. The better news is that he is willing
to return to the bullpen, and fix the Bravos’ closer issues. With Peter
Moylan likely lost for the year, and Rafael Soriano encountering
“soreness” in a recent bullpen session, it sounds like this could
actually be a possibility.
While we will not know for sure
if he will be moved to the bully for a while (or until Bobby Cox
squashes the idea), it may be worth trying to buy low on Smoltz before
this news goes national. If you are in a Yahoo league, and he is named
the closer, he’ll be an SP/RP which gives him a huge boost in value.
Buy low if you can, but understand the risk that he may not get moved to
the pen and he may be on the DL much longer than expected.