Justin Morneau

We are in the home stretch of the long, arduous MLB season. The Minnesota Twins have wrapped up the AL Central, while five others (New York Yankees, Tampa Bay Rays, Texas Rangers, Philadelphia Phillies and Cincinnati Reds) are all pretty much guaranteed spots.

That leaves the quartet of the Atlanta Braves, San Francisco Giants, San Diego Padres and Colorado Rockies jockeying for the final two postseason spots: the National League West Crown and the NL Wild Card.

At the All-Star break there were questions surrounding the Minnesota Twins line-up.  They didn't have an every day third basemen who could contribute offensively.  Justin Morneau had just suffered a concussion one week prior and it was unknown when he might return, if at all.

After shellacking the Chicago White Sox 12-6 on Tuesday night, the Minnesota Twins have moved into first place in the AL Central by one game.

Both teams are hot, with the Twins winning 12 and the White Sox winning 10 of the teams' last 15 games. White Sox have gone 39-16 since June 8th, overcoming a horrendous start to get to this point, while the Twins have gone 19-10 since the All-Star break without one of, if not their best, hitters.

When the Twins struggled their way into the All-Star break, going 8-13 and falling to third place in the American League Central division, things were looking pretty bleak.

All-Star first baseman Justin Morneau hasn't played a game since July 8 after suffering a concussion. 

Currently infielder Nick Punto and Gold-Glove second baseman Orlando Hudson are on the disabled list.

The non-waiver trading deadline has passed.

The Texas Rangers made arguably the biggest move in the AL with the acquisition of ace Cliff Lee.

They also added some depth with shortstop Cristian Guzman, infielder Jorge Cantu, and catcher Bengie Molina.

In typical New York fashion, the Yankees have put themselves in a position to repeat as World Series champions with the additions of first baseman Lance Berkman, outfielder Austin Kearns, and pitcher Kerry Wood.

During a year in which pitchers are being sold for remarkably low prices, the Minnesota Twins announced last night that they had traded Wilson Ramos to the Washington Nationals for closer Matt Capps. On the face of things, it seems a very high price to pay for a closer.

With inconsistency taking a death-grip over Minnesota's starting rotation this year, the Twins are rumored to have been interested in just about every pitcher on the market. Unquestionably, Dan Haren and Roy Oswalt are the two most coveted trade targets this season, and the Twins would no doubt love to bring in some pitching help.

Rumors are one thing; feasibility is a whole different animal.

First base is one of, if not the, deepest positions for fantasy owners.  Still, with Justin Morneau hitting the DL, let’s take a look at some potential replacements for those in deeper formats:

Justin Morneau has been placed on the 15-day disabled list “as he continues to recover from a concussion that he suffered on July 7,” according to the Minnesota Twins' official website.

Morneau was attempting to break up a potential double play at second base, when he was accidentally kneed in the head.

This is Morneau’s second trip to the disabled list with concussion symptoms in his career. In 2005, he was hit in the head by a Ron Villone pitch that subsequently landed him on the DL.

Another series of rumors took the Internet by storm last night. According to a Detroit radio station's Twitter account, the Twins and Mariners agreed to a deal that would send Cliff Lee to the Minnesota in exchange for Wilson Ramos and Aaron Hicks.

Eventually, various beat writers and reporters shot down the rumors but did confirm that the two teams were in serious discussions. At this point, I think it's time we draw some conclusions, in order of confidence:

1. The Twins are interested in trading for Lee.