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It’s not often that a team is enamored by picking up Brad Wilkerson and Kevin Mench, smiling smugly and uttering something about being all in a days work. The sad reality is that the inconsistent offense was probably reason enough for the moves, but now that star outfielder Vernon Wells is piling up the injuries, the moves were probably a necessity.
Wells injured himself making a great catch on a Franklin Gutierrez fly ball and was forced to leave Friday’s game in the sixth inning with a jammed left wrist and tight right hamstring.
“I knocked the wind out of myself,” Wells told the Globe and Mail after the game in the Jays’ clubhouse. “From top to bottom, I didn’t feel too good.” The 29-year old outfielder will see a doctor today for further tests, but manager John Gibbons knows he’s star center fielder won’t be in the lineup tonight, or for the foreseeable future.
“Sore, really sore,” Wells added, declining to specify whether his wrist or leg was more serious.
It turns out the wrist was more serious, as he found out he’ll miss 6-to-8 weeks after breaking the wrist on Friday. Alex Rios will move to center field and Wilkerson, Mench, and possibly recent call-up Adam Lind (he is back in the minors now) will split time covering the vacant outfield spot due to the Wells malady.
On one hand this stinks because I (a lifelong devoted Jays fan) will be attending two of the three games this coming week against the Twins and want to see as many of my favorite Jays as possible. On a completely different hand this will severely limit my the outfield depth on a couple of my fantasy baseball squads. And don’t even try to suggest that Wilkerson or Mench will replace his production. They have a combined 14 hits between them at the major league level this season, which is partly because Mench has been playing at Triple-A, where he’s been fairly average.
How do fantasy owners replace Wells’ bat in their lineup? Try to see if guys like Ryan Ludwick, Emil Brown, Mark Kotsay, Wladimir Balentien, Eric Hinske, or Elijah Dukes (who may have been dropped due to him missing a month with an injury). None of them will necessarily replace Wells numbers completely, but they might keep your team afloat.
Photo courtesy of USA TODAY
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