Manager Joe Girardi's recent remarks that the loser in the starting rotation competition is not guaranteed a bullpen spot merely added fuel to recent media speculation that off-season acquisition Michael Pineda (RHP, NYY) might begin the season in Triple-A. While Pineda's 2011 skills clearly rank him as one of NYY's top rotation options, he reported to spring training camp overweight and has shown less velocity than during his rookie season with SEA.

Along with the regular season's first real game comes the regular season's first injury. Mike Carp (OF/1B, SEA) sprained his shoulder in Wednesday's opener in Japan. It was enough to send Carp to the DL. Carp 's surprising 2011 MLB production in his first extended look (290 AB) was due in part to high hit and hr/f rates (35%, 18%). Still, he had won the LF job in spring training and at 25 and with some pop (12 HR, 136 PX in 2011) he held, and still holds, some promise.

Adam Lind (1B, TOR) has been shut down for at least three days with stiffness in his lower back. He is scheduled to take batting practice on Friday, March 30. The Blue Jays are treating this as a potentially serious issue, since Lind spent 27 days on the DL last season with the same problem. As we know, back problems tend to linger and recur. Manager John Farrell acknowledged that Lind's back would need to be monitored throughout the season. What are the Blue Jays options?

As expected, Mike Aviles was named the starting shortstop in Boston to begin the season. His main assets are his contact rate (86 percent career) and his speed. Aviles has stolen 14 bases each of the past two years, and did so in just 286 at-bats last year. A consistently low walk rate makes getting on base a struggle, though, which could eventually cut into his playing time somewhat. At this point, though, that doesn't seem to be a major concern, as manager Bobby Valentine is thinking of using Aviles in the leadoff spot.

Hands down, the closer position is the most frustrating in fantasy baseball. There are seasons where near 50% of the closers on Opening Day are not in the same role by the end of the season. Some lose their job because of ineffectiveness and even more due to injuries. Any edge you can get for draft day can only help you increase the odds of not getting burned by leaning on a high risk closer.

Previewing the opening series of the MLB season in Japan between the Oakland Athletics and the Seattle Mariners.

Both Pedro Alvarez and Lonnie Chisenhall entered March as their teams’ Opening Day 3B favorites, but their spring performances haven’t cooperated. Thames wins TOR’s LF job, and more observations as April approaches …

On the surface, the National League appeared to have lost a tremendous amount of offense with Prince Fielder and Albert Pujols moving over to the American League. Are there injury risks in the NL outfield pool that will make it even tougher to find top-notch offensive power?

Minnesota OF Josh Willingham will be shifted from right to left field, where he has played most often during his career, manager Ron Gardenhire announced March 25. The fallout from the move may impact the playing time of some of Willingham's OF colleagues.

A quick glance at the American League outfield includes a couple of marquee names in the news this spring: Carl Crawford of the Red Sox and Josh Hamilton of the Rangers. Does that mean the American League is made up of major offensive players with lots of risk this draft day? Let’s find out.

Chris Johnson has reclaimed the Astros' third-base job while trying to make sense of his Jekyll and Hyde 2010 and 2011. We also take a look at developments in the Angels' and Rangers' rotations and some injury updates for prominent hurlers.