Welcome all to the office of the Fantasy Pharmacist. Here, I’ll check out any boo-boo’s your fantasy team might have and we’ll give you some suggestions as to how to get better (or at least well enough to get back to work).

Whether a player is placed on the DL or is playing through a nagging injury, I’ll use my medical expertise to give you a prescription for the pain. I’ll give you two suggestions. The first will be your over-the-counter medication, which will be a player who is a known commodity who is available in most leagues. My second recommendation will be a doctor’s prescription for a player that will come with substantial risk, but has the possibility to cure all illnesses. The doctor’s prescription is designed to be a solution for teams in the most competitive of leagues.

In the weeks following the all-star break, we are seeing more players returning from injuries than getting them. That’s great for fantasy owners, but bad for business here at the office. This week though, one position in particular seems to have been hit hard. It’s of the toughest commodities to replace following an injury, both in the Majors and in fantasy baseball: a closer.

Lucky for you however, this might be the best time of the year to find a replacement closer. With the trade deadline approaching quickly, and with a few big name relievers rumored to be on the move, the make-up of the fantasy closer seen is about to be shaken up a little bit. Every team that trades a closer or loses a closer to injury has to choose someone to give ninth inning responsibilities to. As a fantasy owner with a closer opening, now is a better time than ever to try and scoop up a replacement.

Takashi Saito – RP – 15 Day DL (Sprained Right Elbow Ligament)
Kerry Wood – RP – 15 Day DL (Blister on Right Index Finger)
When an above-average closer goes down with an injury, fantasy owners obviously expect to see their weekly saves numbers go down. When closers of Takashi Saito and Kerry Wood’s caliber go down with injuries, fantasy owners should expect to see their K/9 numbers go down. Saito and Wood are 5th and 6th respectively in K/9 numbers, both averaging above 11 punch-outs per nine innings for pitchers with over 40 innings pitched.

Wood has been on the DL 12 times now in his 10 year career, so the fact he is injured should come as no surprise to fantasy owners. He hasn’t pitched since July 11th and is eligible to come off the DL on July 29th, so Wood owners should search for nothing more than a temporary fill-in. Saito, on the other hand, is expected to be out until the end of August at best. Once he is reevaluated then, his two likely options are returning to LA bullpen or surgery. If it is the later of those, it is even more essential that Saito owners find a quality replacement.

Over-the-Counter Medication:
Joel Hanrahan – Washington Nationals
Tyler Yates – Pittsburgh Pirates
Joel Hanrahan and Tyler Yates are in very similar situations. Both are right-handed relievers who have not been very impressive in their careers, but have now found themselves in a situation where they are the lead candidate to be closer for a bad National League team. Both are in their current situation due to an injury to their team’s best closer then a trade of their second best option.

After the Nationals learned that Chad Cordero would be lost for this season, as well as some of next season, they handed the job to Jon Rauch, who was recently given away (sorry Nats fans, but Emilio Bonaficio isn’t good) to Arizona. Now enter Joel Hanrahan, who in the rare case the Nationals are winning in the ninth, will attempt to get the save. Tyler Yates has become the favorite to win the Pirates’ closer job due to an injury to Matt Capps and the trade of Damaso Marte to the Yanks.

Don’t expect either Hanrahan or Yates to put up jaw-dropping numbers, but this late in the season, they are two of the better options that are most likely to be available in your league. They’ll get the occasional save and won’t inflate your ERA very much.

Doctor’s Prescription:
Carlos Marmol- Chicago Cubs
Jonathon Broxton – Los Angeles Dodgers
These are two of the most powerful prescriptions you can get. Unfortunately, they are name brand antidotes so in many leagues, they may be long gone. They have been gone all season in holds leagues. Still, they remain the best options if available and have huge upside.

Dodgers’ manager Joe Torre has yet to name an official replacement for Saito, but it is apparent that youngster Jonathon Broxton will continue seeing most of the appearances and rightfully so. The Dodgers like Broxton as their closer of the future. Broxton is a flame-thrower who could not only rack up saves, but put up K/9 and WHIP numbers comparable, if not better than, Saito and Wood. At 24, Broxton has a K/9 of 10.47 and a WHIP of 1.16. He has shown that he can be depended on as a durable pitcher, having appeared in the 3rd most games by NL pitchers last season in his set-up role, meaning that he’ll most likely be kept out of the Fantasy Pharmacist’s office except when being recommended as a cure. Saito may have lost his spot forever considering his injury and age.

Marmol is of the same mold but has a more imposing, yet easily injured, pitcher to contend with in Kerry Wood.

Jorge Posada – C – 15 Day DL (Right Shoulder Pain)
Since 1998, very few catchers have put up offensive numbers that have been as consistent as Jorge Posada. Posada showed no signs of slowing down in 2007, putting up a career high batting average of .338 and hitting 20 bombs along with 90 RBI’s. What a difference a year can make. After his second trip to the DL this season, Posada has said that if he returns this season, he will play 1B or DH. And if he plays again comes with a mighty big if. Posada has once again been recommended surgery, but has elected to attempt to put it off in hopes he can contribute to a Yankees post-season run. While Posada will be classified as a catcher for the rest of this season and next in fantasy baseball, it will be very odd to see the Yankee mainstay anywhere besides behind the plate.

Over-the-Counter Medication:
Miguel Olivo – Kansas City Royals
Miguel Olivo’s stock could skyrocket within the next few days if the rumors are true. It is being said by multiple news outlets that some teams, including Posada’s Yankees’ have expressed interest in Olivo. Olivo has played well in Kansas City this year while splitting time with John Buck. In 57 games, Olivo is hitting .251 with 9 HR and 29 RBI. If Olivo get traded, especially to a lineup in which he’d be hitting behind the likes of Jeter, A-Rod, and Giambi, expect to see his RBI total to jump when he’s behind the plate. Even if he stays in Kansas City, he has begun to see more time as a DH, making him an alright fantasy choice when paired with another catcher splitting time, such as Colorado’s Chris Iannetta.

Doctor’s Prescription:
Kelly Shoppach – Cleveland Indians
With Victor Martinez still out until mid August at the earliest, Kelly Shoppach will continue to be the main masked man in Cleveland. Shoppach has hit .253 and shown some pop with 8 HR’s while filling in for the outstanding, yet apparently powerless Martinez. Shoppach has an .OPS just a shade under .800, which isn’t too shabby for a career backup catcher. Shoppach’s value will dip significantly should Martinez come back soon, but the longer he’s out, the more value Shoppach could give a fantasy owner over the next weeks.