I'm flying to the Bay Area this morning and will be checking in from the Oakland Coliseum later today.
As noted here last week, Manager Ron Gardenhire hasn't used his Opening Day lineup -- or those same nine position players all together -- since Opening Day.
Now, with Alexi Casilla on the disabled list with a strained hamstring, seven of the Opening Day nine have landed on the DL this year. The only two who've avoided the DL are Michael Cuddyer and Danny Valencia. A closer look:
1. *Denard Span, CF (concussion)
2. Tsuyoshi Nishioka, 2B (broken fibula)
3. Joe Mauer, C (bilateral leg weakness)
4. *Justin Morneau, 1B (strained wrist/neck surgery)
5. Delmon Young, LF (strained oblique/sprained ankle)
6. Michael Cuddyer, RF
7. Jason Kubel, DH (sprained foot)
8. Danny Valencia, 3B
9. *Alexi Casilla, SS (strained hamstring)
* -- On the DL now.
For comparison, the A's have been decimated by injuries, too, using the DL a club-record 25 times. But they at least managed to use their Opening Day lineup 10 times.
Question for the group: We study OPS+, UZR, WAR and wOBA, but I'm curious how much value a team should place on a player who manages to answer the bell day after day. This seems particularly relevant for Cuddyer, coming up on his next contract negotiation.
