Dave

Burba

Burba, who is trying to win a spot in the Houston pen, is expected to throw off the mound today.

Kevin Mench took Burba deep on his first pitch, which is pretty much all you need to know about Burba’s fantasy outlook.

The Brewers are 27-23 in games started by Ben Sheets, Matt Kinney, and Wayne Franklin, so they intend to find a way to improve their fourth and fifth starters. It’s not likely Burba or Ford are solutions, but one might have said the same about Scott Podsednik and Wes Helms.

''Burbs woke up (Wednesday) with pain in his shoulder,’' manager Ned Yost said. ''He couldn’t lift his arm to go into his throwing motion. They gave him a shot and it made it even sorer the next day.’' Burba isn’t sure how he hurt himself, but since the injury isn’t to his throwing shoulder, he should be able to go soon.

Burba can request his release if any major league teams want him, but he has yet to receive any offers.

Burba will be used as a long reliever for now.

Burba, who will be re-evaluated tomorrow, will likely miss some time.

Burba won’t be eligible for postseason play, but he can still help the Giants as a middle reliever. Habel, a 2002 14th-round pick, had a 4.51 ERA in 24 starts and two relief appearances for Double-A Norwich. He’s a decent relief prospect.

This is a bit surprising, as Burba could have become a free agent. But if he gets a big-league offer from another team (Detroit?), he may leave whenever he wants.