Just when there seemed like good reason for optimism with Adrian Beltre hitting .329/.360/.494 this month, the third baseman has decided to undergo surgery to remove bone spurs from his shoulder.

Beltre acknowledged last week that his left shoulder, instead of getting strong further removed from surgery, was becoming more of a problem again because of bone spurs that have come back. We know Beltre can play through pain -- one of the theories is that he actually plays better in pain -- but it was just too much for him. Ideally, he'd have gutted it out until the end of the season and undergo another surgery then. However, even if he could have pulled that off, it would have been a bad financial decision for the free agent-to-be.

The Mariners have options with Beltre out of the mix, but Matt Tuisosopo isn't one of him. Tuiasosopo had an outstanding spring and he spent some time on the Mariners' bench in April, but he's been down for two months following elbow surgery. It seems doubtful that he'll be ready to join the Mariners before Aug. 1.

Mike Morse, who is hitting .307/.365/.467 while playing all over the infield for Triple-A Tacoma, could get a look. He's not much more than an average defender at third base and he's probably not going to hit righties well enough to serve as a regular, but as a part-timer, he could be useful. I think it's worth trying him. Moving Jose Lopez to third when there's no legitimate alternative at second doesn't make much sense, and Chris Woodward is lucky just to be back in the majors.

A more offensive-minded option would be to slide Russell Branyan to third and put Mike Carp at first. However, moving Ken Griffey Jr. to left field would be a better way to get Carp into the lineup.

American League Notes

Baltimore - Jeremy Guthrie hasn't reported any injuries, but he's still far from 2007-08 form after a spring interrupted by a stint for Team USA, preventing him from having anything close to a typical March. He's allowed 17 homers and his strikeout rate is down, even though he's throwing just as hard as ever. It seems like his fastball has lost some movement. He's still retiring left-handers with his changeup, but right-handers are doing far more damage than usual. It doesn't look like he'll be of any use in mixed leagues during the final three months. … Melvin Mora was finally dropped from the fifth spot in the lineup, and Nolan Reimold is already looking like quite an upgrade. Reimold probably won't keep hitting for average like this, but his power is legitimate. It's quite a stretch to think that Mora will bounce back with an amazing second half for the second straight year. … Cesar Izturis is set to miss at least one more week following his appendectomy. He's taking longer to recover from the procedure than most have these last few years.

Boston - While the results weren't there in John Smoltz's Red Sox debut, I was pleasantly surprised by just how much he had on his fastball. Based on his minor league starts, I thought he'd top out at around 91 mph. Instead, he averaged that against the Nationals. He also showed good break on his slider. His splitter wasn't in midseason form yet and he had some difficulty keeping the ball down, but I'm more optimistic than I was before the outing. Even if he struggles some again next time out, I'd recommend holding on to him in mixed leagues. … Mike Lowell is looking at an injection for his surgically repaired hip, but he says the pain isn't like it was last year. That he could be looking at additional off days from here on in shouldn't cost him all of his value in mixed leagues. … Jed Lowrie had his rehab from wrist surgery set back a few days by a bruised knee, but he's back playing now. It remains to be seen what the Red Sox are going to do with him. I think they'd like to give him another crack at the shortstop job, but they don't currently have room on the roster to turn both Nick Green and Julio Lugo into backups. Unless Rocco Baldelli or Mark Kotsay lands on the DL again, Lowrie might find himself optioned to Triple-A once his rehab assignment is finished.

Chicago - Though indications at the time of his callup were that Gordon Beckham would see time at multiple positions, he still hasn't played anywhere other than third base. It sure seems like time for that to change with Chris Getz hitting .204 since the beginning of May. Playing Beckham at second is viable, but one wonders if the White Sox wouldn't be best off with Beckham at short and Alexei Ramirez at second. Manager Ozzie Guillen has made his displeasure with Ramirez's lackadaisical defense clear. Ramirez might actually be more of an asset in center field than anywhere else, but that'd be a tough switch to pull off in the middle of the season. … Clayton Richard hasn't had a quality start in any of his last five tries, and the White Sox might not be able to afford to wait for Bartolo Colon (knee) to come back to replace him. Aaron Poreda, who hasn't had much to do in relief, has more upside than Richard, though he probably isn't ready just yet. GM Ken Williams may again look elsewhere in an attempt to improve the rotation.

Cleveland - Mark DeRosa was on pace for a .270-28-107 season and was certain to bring two \draft picks if he left as a free agent, so it's pretty disappointing that the best the Indians could do was Chris Perez and a player to be named, unless that player to be named is Brett Wallace (it won't be). Hopefully, they received either Jess Todd or Clayton Mortensen along with Perez. Perez remains likely to turn into an adequate closer, but he's always going to be wild. The Indians will likely ease him into a setup role. With DeRosa out of the mix, we'll probably see Jhonny Peralta become the full-time third baseman now. The returning Asdrubal Cabrera (shoulder) will play short, with Luis Valbuena and Jamey Carroll sharing time at second base. Ben Francisco could regain some of the outfield time he'd lost to DeRosa, but he's just keeping the seat warm for Matt LaPorta. … Aaron Laffey (oblique) figures to rejoin the rotation after one more rehab start Sunday. Tomo Ohka is likely to be bumped.

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