Daily Dose: Buster Is Busted

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Buster Posey's "little fracture" could cause a big problem for fantasy owners.

Posey underwent an X-ray on his right ring finger on Thursday after tearing his fingernail on the finger during Tuesday's game, and the results showed a small fracture in the finger. The injury is playable. The question now is how much he'll play.

The Giants have very little to gain by pushing their star into service, as they've long been out of playoff contention and aren't hurting for attendance -- their 41,665 average attendance for home games is third in the league. There's little incentive in risking further injury by allowing Posey to continue to play with what amounts to a broken finger.

For his part, the 26-year-old Posey sounds intent on trying to push through.

"Hopefully in a couple days, once it calms down, I'll be able to play through it," Posey said after Thursday's game.

Giants manager Bruce Bochy has already said he'll give Posey a few days off to rest the finger, so at the very least Posey owners will be forced to look elsewhere for catching help in the near term. But even if and when Posey does return, a finger injury has the potential to diminish his results for the remainder of the season. A middle finger sprain sidelined Rockies star Carlos Gonzalez for almost a month recently and the injury has been nagging him since before the All-Star break. Since sustaining the injury on July 7, CarGo has played in just 19 games, slugging .418 after slugging .619 up to that point.

Owners have little choice at this point but to dance with the one that brought them and hope Posey can at least have a representative showing over the season's last three weeks. And speaking of sidelined catchers...

Click here for the latest MLB Player News on Posey and everyone else, and follow @Rotoworld_BB on Twitter for all the newest developments. Feel free to shoot any fantasy questions to @Nate_Grimm as we head down the home stretch as well.

No Go For Joe

Joe Mauer is still dealing with concussion symptoms that are threatening to end his season.

It was reported as recent as September 1 that Mauer was making improvements, but on Thursday it came out that Mauer is still nowhere close to returning to the Twins lineup. Mauer is still struggling to get through a workout without experiencing symptoms.

"I start feeling symptoms when I start to get my heart rate up," Mauer told the Minneapolis Star-Tribune.

As with Posey, there are few reasons the Twins would be inclined to push the limits with their franchise catcher. The Twins just dealt a player in Justin Morneau who struggled with concussion symptoms for over a year, so they would be wise to give Mauer all the time he needs to get his head right.

In the event Mauer misses the rest of the season -- and even if he does return, it seems it won't be soon -- Josmil Pinto becomes an interesting name. The 24-year-old hit .309/.400/.482 over 126 games between Double-A and Triple-A this season before being promoted on September 1. With the Twins going nowhere, it's not hard to see them giving the keys to Pinto for the remainder of the season. He's 7-for-10 very early in his pro career, so Mauer owners or owners in AL-only leagues looking for a boost should take Pinto for a spin.

Votto Motive

Joey Votto's struggles have been a cause for concern to the outside world of late, and they're concerning the slugger, too.

"I genuinely do not have a single explanation for it," Votto said. "I feel really good at the plate. And I honestly I don’t understand it. It doesn’t make sense to me."

In 25 games since August 10, Votto is hitting just .189/.357/.367. He's hit four home runs but has just 10 RBI in that span, a number that detractors like to focus on in making a case against Votto's greatness.

But aside from a dip in batting average and a lack of run production, Votto seems to be as right as he claims to be at the plate. He continues to draw walks despite the low average -- he'd walked 23 times through Wednesday's game and walked twice more on Thursday -- and the first baseman hasn't had luck on his side, as he owns just a .217 batting average on balls in play over that period.

There's nothing wrong with Joey Votto. It's only a matter of time before the ship rights itself. And Votto knows it.

"I’m just not getting results. It’s not a good stretch. The timing is not great. People are going to notice.

"But you know what? I’ve gone through things in the past. I’ll learn from this. I’m grateful for the things I’ve faced in my career because they make me better — every single one of them. The challenges of my career have made me better and tougher overall and made me resilient.

"That’s the reason I can have this conversation with you and tell you I’m going to get over it and I’m going to be fine and be a better version of myself. Everyone else is just a talking head. As Jay (Bruce) would say: It’s all just noise."

National League Quick Hits: An MRI on Allen Craig's left foot showed no fracture, just a sprain. He's expected back before the end of the regular season, but when that will be is still unknown ... Tony Cingrani was activated from the 15-day disabled list and beat the Cardinals on Thursday. The left-hander struck out seven over 5 1/3 innings of work ... Domonic Brown (heel) is still at least a week away from doing baseball-related activities. Brown hasn't played since Sunday with mild tendinitis in his right Achilles tendon ... Brandon Phillips left Thursday's game with a bruised left quad. The Reds are saying the move was precautionary, and he should be good to go on Friday ... Nolan Arenado (thumb) is day-to-day. The third baseman left Wednesday's game after aggravating the thumb during a swing ... Chad Gaudin (carpal tunnel syndrome) played catch from 90 feet on Thursday. The throwing was the first he's done since the injury sidelined him two weeks ago ... Johnny Cueto (back) threw a 40-pitch bullpen session that went "tremendous," according to Reds trainer Paul Lessard. Cueto is close to returning but will likely do so in a relief role, at least in the beginning ... Devin Mesoraco missed Thursday's game with a slight hamstring strain ... Yonder Alonso received a pain-killing injection in his right hand on Wednesday. The first baseman is likely still at least two weeks away from game action.

American League Quick Hits: Felix Hernandez had his next scheduled start pushed back due to a back issue. Hernandez left his last start with cramping in his lower back, and the Mariners are calling the move precautionary. He'll now start Wednesday against the Astros ... Josh Fields worked 1 1/3 innings to earn the save on Thursday. Enter the dragon that is the Astros' closer situation at your own risk ... Mariano Rivera sustained his sixth blown save of the season on Thursday. The run came on two singles and a throwing error, so it's not as though the 43-year-old is getting plastered ... Jason Castro (knee) took batting practice on Thursday. He'll likely get into a game as a pinch hitter once or twice in the next few days before returning behind the plate ... Kevin Youkilis (back) has started taking dry swings. His return this season is improbable ... Clay Buchholz (shoulder) allowed two runs over 3 2/3 innings in a rehab start with Triple-A Pawtucket. The start was his last before rejoining the Red Sox rotation next week ... Josh Reddick (wrist) will take live batting practice this weekend or early next week. He shouldn't need too much longer to return to the A's if the BP goes well ... Salvador Perez is experiencing "mild dizziness" after taking a foul ball off his facemask during Thursday's game. Perez has a history of concussions, so it's not a situation to take lightly.