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This story appears in ESPN The Magazines Aug. 22 College Football Preview Issue. Subscribe today!MICHAEL AND MARTELLUS Bennett tend to perplex people. This becomes clear when we stop for lunch at a West Hollywood café, the kind of crunchy, actressy place that serves food on wooden boards. The brothers split up as soon as they walk in. Michael circles a display of expensive sweets (I dont eat American chocolate, he sniffs), and Martellus hovers near the entrance, offering health and safety advice to customers as they leave the restaurant. Wrap it up, he counsels a man walking out the door. The guy stares at him, trying to deduce why a stranger is telling him to wear a condom.We find a table on the patio, and the brothers sit next to each other. If not for their massive builds -- Michael is 6-foot-4 and Martellus 6-foot-6 -- the two NFL stars could easily be confused for LA hipsters. Theyre both wearing ripped black jeans and designer T-shirts and have soft beards that frame their chins like fuzzy halos. Michael, who is stouter, says his facial hair is supposed to be disorienting. I always wanted to look like: Is he homeless or is he rich? he says. Thats my No. 1 goal.A waitress approaches and asks Michael whether he ordered the roast chicken. Dont be racist, he says, a joke that causes her hands to tremble a little as she sets down the plate. (He did, in fact, order the chicken.) What kind of salt yall got? Himalayan salt?Martellus dips a spoon into the bowl she has placed in front of him. This is a heavy-ass soup, he says. Can I have some more tortilla strips? I like that crunch.The waitress asks whether they want anything else.World peace, Michael replies.Awesomeness, Martellus says.This is a lesson that everyone who encounters the Bennetts eventually learns: At any given moment, they might be screwing with you. Take, for example, our conversation about Jerry Jones. As Martellus finishes his soup, he tells a story about the time he visited the billionaires mansion for tea and perused Jones selection of fancy cutlery. Once you get rich, he says, you start collecting weird s--- like silverware.When I ask the brothers what they would collect if they were as wealthy as the Cowboys owner, they respond at the same time and without skipping a beat: People.I would have somebody who has my blood type and my kidneys -- stuff like that, Michael says. They would just be on deck. Id be like, My kidneys failing -- its time!Martellus wags his finger at an imaginary organ donor. Oh, is that water, Jimmy? It better be!Its time for your heart, Michael says. Im sorry -- its gotta go.I scan both of their faces, attempting to confirm that theyre kidding. Martellus picks up his spoon. This soup is so good, he says.THOUGH DOZENS OF siblings have made it to the NFL, its rare for two brothers to play at an elite level. The Barbers did it. So did the Mannings and Pounceys. The Bennetts, both former Pro Bowlers, belong in this club. Martellus, who is 29 and was traded in the offseason to the Patriots, led all tight ends in catches in 2014. Michael, who turns 31 this fall and plays for the Seahawks, is one of the NFLs best pass rushers.Their performance has brought them name recognition -- but its their comments that have catapulted them to notoriety. The brothers speak with a loose candor, addressing Black Lives Matter, the NCAA and inequity in the NFL as easily as offensive schemes and multiple defensive fronts. Michael is famous for his outré sound bites: He has compared the Panthers to an attractive cousin and disclosed his personal sex schedule. In New England, reporters accustomed to the anodyne Patriot Way are fanning themselves over Martellus colorful quotes.Im not gonna go up there and give a Russell Wilson answer, Michael says.In a league in which the powers that be stamp out quirks like inspectors on a factory line, the Bennetts have remained, unapologetically, themselves. And so it is that Im spending three days in Los Angeles trying to understand just how theyve done it -- how theyve not only survived in the NFL but prospered.At lunch, Martellus turns to Michael. Do guys ever come up to you and say, Man, you said that? I wish I could say that ...All the time, he replies.They think its weird that were ourselves, Martellus says. I think its weird that youre trying to be something youre not.AS WE CRAWL through the city, making our way from Hollywood to Burbank in an SUV, the brothers peer out at the sunbaked pedestrians. Martellus lives in Chicago but comes here often for work; Michael, who spends the offseason at his home in Hawaii (his wife, who is Samoan, has family there), is visiting for a few days. He finds LA hilarious. When we pass a long-haired rocker idling on the sidewalk, Michael swivels his head. Hes wearing one of them Kanye shirts, he says. The ones that go down to the ankles.I feel like Im the Kanye of the NFL, Martellus says.Were driving toward the office of an animation company called Stoopid Buddy Stoodios. Martellus, who has already self-published an animated short and a childrens book, has been collaborating with the company on a stop-motion television show. When I ask how he finds the bandwidth for it all, he says that while playing in the NFL is physically taxing, your average player actually has a ton of free time: If I wake up at 6 a.m. to work out, Im done at 10 a.m. Most guys play video games all day.Michael, for his part, is interested in politics (he supported Bernie Sanders during the primaries) and loves cooking and travel. He has three daughters and coaches their basketball teams. He runs a foundation that promotes healthy eating, and he has a garden in Hawaii. I ask him what he grows there.Martellus leans over and interrupts: DEEZ NUTS!Interviewing the Bennetts is a little like being an audience member at an improv show, occasionally called on to offer prompts. They dont just finish each others sentences, they anticipate them; the brothers share several volumes worth of inside jokes. Michaels wife, Pele, says they have operated in perfect sync since she met them in high school. Everyone who didnt know them thought they were twins, she says.Martellus, in fact, is 16 months younger than Michael. He was born after the family relocated from Louisiana to San Diego, where their father, Michael Sr., was stationed on a naval base. When their parents divorced in the early 1990s, their father raised the kids by himself. As far as I can remember, I was always with my dad, Martellus says. He exemplified what it means to make sacrifices for your family. After several years of being a single parent, the Bennetts father remarried and moved the family to a town outside Houston, where he got a job working in IT for Enron.As boys, the brothers were inseparable. They spent summers on their grandparents farm in Louisiana, where they fished, hunted birds with homemade bows and, according to Michael, body-slammed cows. In Houston, they cruised around in a go-kart, weaving through traffic to get to Taco Bell. When Enron imploded from massive accounting fraud and Michael Sr. lost his job, the boys helped their dad install computer systems for local schools, crawling through walls and running cables. They slept on a bunk bed together. They played football together. On more than one occasion, they tag-teamed their childhood enemies together. It was never one-on-one, Martellus says. If you fought Michael, Id appear out of the smoke like Batman.Though both brothers played starring roles on their high school team -- at one point, they terrorized quarterbacks as bookends on the defensive line -- Martellus was the more sought-after prospect. He was a five-star tight end recruit and a nationally ranked basketball player coveted by the likes of Duke. During his senior year, Martellus at first declared for the NBA draft but instead signed on at Texas A&M, joining his older brother, who had deferred college for a year because of a filing error.The Bennetts can recall only one time in their lives when they felt isolated from each other. When Michael was 10 years old, his appendix ruptured. He was rushed to the ER for surgery and ended up spending several months in the hospital, undergoing multiple operations. I had to relearn how to walk again, he says. It was a really tough time for my family because I was such a young kid and they had another son at home.As Michael tells the story, I glance at Martellus, who usually seems bemused whenever his older brother speaks. Instead, hes tensed up. I ask whether he was afraid when Michael got sick. At that age, we played all the time, he says. You go to the hospital and you try to get him to play ...Martellus stops talking and bows his head for a moment, wiping tears from his cheeks. His brother squeezes his shoulder, then bows his head too. A minute or so passes before the younger brother speaks. I wasnt afraid ... I just didnt know, he says, his eyes wet with emotion. He couldnt do anything.It took Michael over a year to fully recover from his surgeries, which left him with a deep, L-shaped scar. Martellus says the experience brought them even closer. It was tough on me because I never really had -- to this day, I dont really have friends, because I never needed friends, he says.I always had my brother.ONE NIGHT, WHILE were eating dinner at a fancy hot dog place (if youre wondering whether the Bennetts made lewd jokes about the sausages -- what do you think?), I ask Michael, whos famously critical of the leagues overpaid passers, what he thinks of Jay Cutler.Worst quarterback in the NFL, he says.Id be open and hed throw into double coverage, says Martellus, who spent the past three seasons as Cutlers teammate in Chicago.If theres an unspoken rule in the NFL against roasting other players, the Bennetts break it every day. What follows is a non-comprehensive list of their takes on various figures in football:ELI MANNINGMartellus: Eli? Hes cool. Hes like a normal white guy you see at the park trying to teach his kids how to play soccer and you know he cant really play soccer himself.JEFF FISHERMartellus: If a QB went 7 -- 9, hed never be able to find a job.Michael: Make sure hes in the NFC West.BROCK OSWEILERMichael: Ive got more sacks than hes got touchdowns. (This is accurate.)Martellus: Ive caught more balls than hes completed. (Also accurate.)PETE CARROLLMartellus: Joel Osteen.Michael: Tom Cruise. I feel like Pete Carroll is like Benjamin Button. He doesnt want to get old. Hes getting younger every year. What is going on?Martellus: Thats what money does.ROGER GOODELLMichael: A--hole. Nah, Im just joking -- you cant say that. Overpaid.J.J. WATTMichael: Dominant player.Martellus: Corny. Half of the NFL is corny, though.Michael: People love J.J. Watt, but they dont really like J.J. Watt, know what Im saying?SAM BRADFORD(Both smirk.)Michael: The greatest quarterback in the NFL.Martellus: Vicious. Competitive.Michael: A real Joe Montana.TOM BRADYMartellus: The silver fox you never get to see but you hear about. You only get to take one photo, and you have to stay outside for a year just to get it.JASON WITTENMartellus: I hated Jason Witten. I appreciated his game, but I always hated him.CAM NEWTONMichael: Probably the quarterback I like to hit the most.I ASK MICHAEL later what it feels like when he sacks a superstar like Newton. Its like lovemaking, he says. Every season, it comes to that one climax. Its like -- Michael pauses, rolls his eyes back into his head and emits a noise that sounds like the throaty gasp of a goat thats just been slaughtered.All of the other rushes are like foreplay, Martellus says. You finally get to the bedroom.Yeah, you get to the bedroom, Michael says. Take it off.His brother looks at him. Thats a good analogy.Thats a great analogy, Michael says.WHEN MARTELLUS BENNETT was 12 years old, he started his first business. He hired a crew of local kids to mow their neighbors lawns -- he made them sign actual contracts, he says -- then paid them in burgers and fries. He then used those profits to buy cheap candy, which he sold back to the same kids. His father says he would sometimes come home and find that Martellus had sold off the familys bicycles and toys. He was a hustler, he says with a laugh.These days, the Bennett brothers are blunt about their shared belief that theyre underpaid. (Michael, playing under one of the most team-friendly contracts in the league, has been trying to persuade the Seahawks to rework his deal.) But when they talk about wealth and NFL salaries, its clear theyre less concerned with money than power. If youre a player, the only thing you own is your likeness, and your likeness has a date on it, Michael says. The only way we can be sustainable is to make our own companies.Martellus points out that football contracts, which are short and non-guaranteed, pale in comparison to the deals handed out in the NBA. Do you know what the NFL stands for? he asks.No Fun League? Not For Long?N-----s For Lease.It might seem hard to sympathize with this idea -- the notion that a pair of brothers who have both made more than $20 million playing football could be dissatisfied with the system thats enriched them. But consider: Michael and Martellus were raised by a good man who lost his job because of the bad actors above him. Theyve seen hundreds of players rise and fall with little to show for it, while the suits who profit off their bodies stay in the same place. They know what it means to be labor instead of capital. Growing up, black people never owned anything, Martellus says. I want to build. I want to make.He turns to Michael. How many black owners have there been in the history of the NFL?Zero, Michael says. Were check getters, not check writers.As we roll through Burbank, the palm-tree-studded suburb where Stoopid Buddy Stoodios is based, the conversation turns to the NFL Players Association. The brothers believe the union hasnt been sufficiently innovative in tapping new revenue streams. Why are we not hiring people who used to work at Microsoft, at Google, Apple? Michael asks. We cant be athletes thinking the way athletes think. We need people who are like: I used to work at Nike. Lets go to China and create our own shoes.Thats my problem with the NFLPA, Martellus says. I feel like theyre always playing defense and not offense. Theyre never making progressive moves.We could be like the WWE -- they started their own channel, Michael says.We could make our own movies.We could make our own show.I ask Michael, a backup player representative for the Seahawks, how he would strengthen the union. He notes that unless indispensable stars -- quarterbacks, in particular -- take a lead role in organizing players, the NFLPA will never build enough leverage to pressure the league in negotiations. In the NBA, LeBron James, Chris Paul ... theyre at the forefront, he says. Theres no Peyton Manning standing up for the rest of the players. Hes a great player, but what has he done for the league?When we park outside the studio, the brothers are still volleying moneymaking ideas back and forth. As soon as we walk inside, Martellus wanders off to greet the artists and animators in the office, who seem unstirred by the towering NFL player in their midst. Near the door, a giant robot stands sentry, thrusting its metallic crotch toward the front desk. Michael runs up to it and reciprocates the gesture.We head upstairs, where the studio has prepared elaborate 3-D mock-ups of two characters that Martellus dreamed up for his television show, which he hopes to pitch to a major network. As he explains the premise -- The Gridiron Guild is about a young boy, Blitz, who plays football with otherworldly creatures -- Michael sits near us, fiddling with a Rubiks Cube. This is gorgeous -- this is an artgasm right here, Martellus says. He leans in to examine the Blitz figurine, which is holding a walnut-sized football. It looks like a tiny version of him. If I dont make black characters, who will? he says. In Frozen, theres not one black character in Arendelle. I dont even know where Arendelle is, but theres gotta be a black person somewhere. One of us made it over there, goddamn it. When Martellus and I rise to leave, Michael tosses the Rubiks Cube, completed, onto the table. We look up, surprised. You cant always pay attention to greatness, he says.THE BROTHERS MEET up in the morning at Unbreakable Performance Center, a small, private gym in Hollywood where several NFL stars train in the offseason. As Drake thuds over the speakers, a few players mill around, twitching to the beat. I hover near Texans linebacker Jadeveon Clowney, who has a sweet smile and is roughly the size of a Sub-Zero refrigerator. We watch Michael perform a peculiar exercise, pumping his groin against a resistance band while he lies on his back. This is why athletes have so many babies, he says between grunts.After an hour of lifting weights, one of the trainers orders everyone to gather around him. He puts his hands on his hips. One thing were not gonna allow here is guys not doing good technique, he barks, pantomiming the wrong way to do an exercise.Most of the players nod, but Michael seems irritated; as the trainer lectures the group, his eyes narrow and he crosses his arms, shifting from foot to foot. Finally, he erupts: If youve got something to say -- say it to my face, he says to the trainer, who seems surprised. An awkward silence falls over the gym. Martellus, behind me, rises from a bench, trying to make eye contact with his brother. A few minutes later, once the group has dissipated, he approaches Michael, briefly resting a calming hand on his arm.Since they were in college, the Bennetts have heard it whispered: Theyre difficult to coach. Michael, in particular, was known for butting heads with the staff at A&M. If he feels like hes being slighted -- or that hes right on an issue -- hes gonna be honest about it, says former college teammate Red Bryant, now a defensive tackle with the Arizona Cardinals. If he wasnt as talented and didnt make the plays he makes, he wouldnt be able to be as opinionated and colorful. And yet in 2009, Michael went undrafted, in part because of his coaches reviews.I ask the brothers if they think theyre hard to manage. Ive clashed with coaches, Michael says.Ive always been very coachable, Martellus says. I mean, there was that one time I made the song Throw Me the Ball, Coach ... but that was just the chorus.Regardless, Martellus, who declared for the draft the year before Michael, was taken in the second round by Dallas. But he languished on the bench behind indestructible veteran Jason Witten, averaging only 1.5 catches per game during his first three seasons. When the Giants offered Martellus a one-year deal and the chance to start, he bolted. That year, he put up more yards than he did during the previous three seasons combined. New York changed my life, he says. When I got there, they gave me a list of art museums. They gave me a list of places I should see, places I should eat. ... I found a balance of life outside of football. The next season, he signed a four-year, $20 million deal with the Bears.The Bennetts maintain that, contrary to the beliefs of certain traditionalists, they play better when theyre given the freedom to improvise, both on and off the field. Michael found that equilibrium in Seattle. A lot of white coaches want to be fathers to black players, he says. Pete Carrolls not like -- You gotta tuck in your shirt. He shakes his head. Do you know how much easier it is to work for somebody when you can be yourself? Why do you think Google, Apple and Facebook are so successful? When people can be who they really are, they do so much better. The Seahawks, he says, are the Google of the NFL. They let you be you.Since moving to Seattle, Michael -- once seen as a tweener, too small to play tackle but too slow to play end -- has thrived. To offensive coordinators, hes a mathematical problem that lacks a solution, attacking quarterbacks from different points on the line. Martellus says he swells with pride whenever the scouting report on his brother is distributed before games. Sitting in those meetings, preparing to play against him -- thats been the coolest thing in my career, he says. You try not to smile.Earlier this year, after an injury-riddled season with the Bears, Martellus was traded to the Patriots. The pairing seems like it could be a train wreck; Foxborough, where players rarely speak candidly to the media, is not exactly known for its open discourse. (Even Gronk, for all his high jinks, typically gives inoffensive quotes.) But Martellus insists hes thrilled to be in New England, where hell play the Seahawks in November. Ive been in the league for nine years now, and Ive only been on two teams where the guys were a team: the New York Giants and now with the Patriots.Thats why this season is so motivating -- hes on the Patriots, Im on the Seahawks, Michael says. Whats better than both of us going to the Super Bowl in Houston ... and us beating them?ON MICHAELS LAST day in Los Angeles, the three of us gather on the roof of a hotel in Beverly Hills, at a restaurant that feels transported from a Connecticut country club; were surrounded by old men dressed like Thurston Howell on Gilligans Island and women wearing sunglasses with grapefruit-sized lenses. A few overdressed children are stabbing at fluffy omelets. Michael, who is wearing shorts and a baseball cap that says Savage, sits down and surveys the scene. I dont know where Im at, he says. I feel like Im at a place where black people dont come.When a group of people squeezes by us, a tall, model-thin woman bumps into Martellus. She whips around; its Elizabeth Berkley of Saved by the Bell and Showgirls fame. Sorry! she says. I was hugging my mom.Martellus flashes a brilliant smile. I thought you wanted to hug me.Michael orders a bowl of sweet potato fries and a ginger beer. After the waiter brings him his drink -- the poor guy obliges when Michael instructs him to fill his glass exactly one-third full -- we talk about legacy. Michael says he doesnt care about making it to the Hall of Fame. Success is measured in so many different ways, he says. To me, success is being super happy and enjoying your family. You look at these people who have so much money -- he gestures toward a nearby table, at a few of the aforementioned Thurston Howell look-alikes -- and they cant even be themselves. (About an hour later, the table will ask Martellus for a photograph.)Michael pokes at his fries. When I win, I watch a movie with my daughters when I get home, he says. When I lose, I watch a movie with my daughters when I get home.Martellus, who has a daughter, says football is easy compared with fatherhood. The game on Sunday is just like the week before, he says. But I might go home and my daughter dont like purple no more -- she likes blue. He laughs. Id rather be a great dad and an OK football player instead of being a great football player and a sh---y-ass dad.I ask the brothers what advice they would give to young guys entering the league. Every time I sit down with them at the lunch table, I ask: What do you like to do? Martellus says. You know what half of them say? I have no idea. Because compliance is so deeply embedded in the culture of football, he says, players never learn to cultivate a sense of self, and theyre lost when the sport leaves them behind. When were done, we cant get jobs. We dont know s---. We dont have interests, we dont have passions. Football is the only thing weve done our entire lives.Michael nods. Athletes -- your whole life youre pointed a certain way. You dont know who you are.Of course, its also possible that some athletes do know who they are but are afraid to reveal themselves to an unsparing public. In the NFL, talent begets freedom of expression.After a couple of hours, Michael gets up to use the restroom; its getting late in the afternoon, and he has to catch a flight back to Honolulu. A few minutes later, he returns, a sly grin on his face. He glances around the restaurant, clearing his throat a little. That bathrooms so clean, you gotta wash your hands before you go in there! he tells Martellus, loudly so that the tables around us can hear him. A few feet away, Elizabeth Berkley laughs. And with that, the brothers rise and part ways, leaving a trail of starstruck yacht owners and befuddled waiters in their wake. Discount Baseball Jerseys . Barcelonas entertaining victory ensured the defending Spanish champions retained their share of the league lead with Atletico Madrid two rounds ahead of their meeting in the capital. Real Madrid needed a late goal by substitute Jese Rodriguez to earn a 3-2 victory at Valencia to stay in third place and three points behind its title rivals. 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Even when youre a fan of one specific major league baseball team, it can be difficult to keep track of all of the news that surrounds your favorite club on a daily basis.However, when youre a fantasy baseball owner and you now have to multiply that effort by 30 in order to be as up to date as possible with each and every club? Its a fools errand that borders on the impossible.Fear not! Well be here each and every Monday to give you a snapshot of whats going on in the world of baseball, with one fantasy takeaway from each of the leagues 30 teams. Think of it as your one-stop shop for the week ahead.Here are the takeaways for the final full week of August play:Arizona Diamondbacks: At the time of his elbow injury, it was believed that outfielder A.J. Pollock would be forced to miss the entire season. However, the rehab process has been way ahead of schedule and, after a strong 7-for-16 in Class A, the outfielder is ready to play full games at the Triple-A level this week. If all goes well, Pollock could be back in the Diamondbacks lineup as early as next week, providing both Arizona and patient fantasy owners who had him stashed on their DL all year with a huge late-season boost.Atlanta Braves: Freddie Freeman said that the pain in one of the fingers on his right hand -- which the first baseman has been enduring since the spring -- finally overcame him this weekend. Freeman sat out on Sunday following a cortisone shot, and the hope is that hell be back in action as early as Monday. It sounds like this is an injury that could recur again before the end of the season, as Freeman confessed to getting a shot over the All-Star break as well.Baltimore Orioles: The team has signed Chris Dickerson to a minor league deal, with an eye on adding him to their roster once September expansion kicks in. At the moment, the Orioles dont have a true center fielder to back up Adam Jones, and Joey Rickard (thumb) will not be ready to return for a few more weeks. Dickerson, who was with Baltimore in 2013, has been on the shelf because of shoulder surgery in June 2015.Boston Red Sox: Outfielder Chris Young (hamstring) is ready to be activated by the Red Sox on Monday, and should immediately find himself back in the starting lineup -- at least against left-handed pitching. Owners of Andrew Benintendi shouldnt fret too much, though, as manager John Farrell admits the youngster has done a hell of a job. I dont want to say it would be strictly a platoon when Chris comes back. I dont want to go there. But I do know that against lefties ... we can rotate through and keep guys fresh as were getting down the stretch here.Chicago Cubs: Jorge Soler missed 51 games earlier this season because of a hamstring injury, but the Cubs still consider him to be a player who bounces back from his bumps and bruises better than most. Manager Joe Maddon said that even though he held Soler out of Sundays lineup following the outfielder fouling a ball off his knee the day before, he expects Soler to be back in action soon: [His] knee was sore after the foul ball. I just thought he should sit down and have him stay inside. Soler did pinch hit Sunday, so signs are indeed good for a quick return.Chicago White Sox: The news isnt good for Brett Lawrie as the second baseman tries to make his way back from a hamstring injury that has had him on the disabled list for a month now. Lawrie was pulled from his rehab assignment over the weekend and will be re-evaluated by doctors today. It was the second time in three days that Lawrie started a game but was unable to finish. Manager Robin Ventura was blunt about what that meant: Hes going to have to play a full game to be able to get back here and know youre going to play. Youre going to have to be able to get through it a few times to feel like you can come back up here.Cincinnati Reds: Zack Cozart feels that he will be ready to get back in the Reds lineup on Tuesday, but the team may want him to take things a bit slower. Cozart was wearing a boot on his left foot on Sunday, as the shortstop deals with a sore left Achilles tendon. The good news is that this injury has not impacted Cozarts right knee, upon which he had surgery last June, ending his season. Assuming no setbacks, odds are good the team will rest Cozart until Friday, just to play it safe.Cleveland Indians: Starting Danny Salazar on your fantasy team this week is an act of blind faith. On Thursday, the Indians starter lasted just one inning and 34 pitches in his first start back from the disabled list. Clearly, the hook wasnt injury-related, as Salazar then went on to throw in the bullpen to build arm strength -- but the three walks and three runs he allowed were concerning. Salazar is scheduled to start Tuesday for Cleveland in Oakland, but until he gets through at least one scoreless frame, he probably shouldnt start for you.Colorado Rockies: Charlie Blackmon has been dealing with a toe injury, and missed the entire weekend series against the Cubs as a result. David Dahl handled both center-field and leadoff duties without a hitch, going 4-for-12 in Blackmons absence, and will likely continue to do so while he sits. Blackmon may miss a few more starts as a result of his injury. Meanwhile, the emergence of Dahl has impacted Ryan Raburns playing time, and Raburn will now get some extra at-bats at first base going forward.Detroit Tigers: The Tigers are getting healthy again. First, Cameron Maybin (thumb) came back from the disabled list on Sunday, several days earlier than expected, after his early-morning effort in a simulated game went exceedingly well. Then, the team announced that shortstop Jose Iglesias (hamstring) was ready to start a four-game rehab stint with Triple-A Toledo, beginning today, with an eye toward returning for Detroits weekend series against the Angels.Houston Astros: After waiting out a four-hour-plus rain delay Sunday, Yulieski Gurriel finally got his first major league at-bat for the Houston Astros, as the Cuban defector singled off Yovani Gallardo for his first hit. However, after a second rain delay, the new DHs hamstring tightened up and he was replaced in the lineup. Manager A.J. Hinch said he only pulled Gurriel because of the weather conditions, and while hell be day to day ... he could have stayed in the game. Of course, with no DH in Pittsburgh, well have to see how much he plays early in the week, if at all.Kansas City Royals: Odds are good that Mike Minor will not be swooping in to save the day for the Royals in September. The pitcher left his rehab start on Friday with shoulder stiffness, marking the second time this season that Minor had to take a step back. In May, a similar issue sidelined him until the end of July. Minor, still under contract with the team for next season, may have to wait until 2017 to provide the Royals with any value.Los Angeles Angels: Second base is up for grabs in Los Angeles. So says manager Mike Scioscia, after the team designated Johnny Giavotella for assignment over the weekend. Hes hoping someone will emerge from the trio of Cliff Pennington, Gregorio Petit and the recently recalled Kaleb Cowart. Were going to take a look at a couple of other different avenues and hopefully get the production we need, both offensively and defensively, at second base, Scioscia said.Los Angeles Dodgers: Theres really no other news that matters to the Dodgers more than the health of Clayton Kershaw. On Saturday, the pitcher threw 22 pitches off a mound and it seemed to go off without a hitch. The next step in his recovery will be a 40-pitch bullpen session Tuesday. As to where the team goes from there, theyre remaining mum, but every step in the right direction is a step closer to the aces return. Fingers, feel free to remain crossed.Miami Marlins: Its easy to believe in things you want to believe, but that doesnt necessarily make it so. Michael Hill, the Marlins president of baseball operations, believes that Giancarlo Stanton will play again for Miami this season: Hes going to be back. Hes told me hes going to be back. Hes going to help this team get into October and help us get through October. Hills assertions aside, Stanton has yet to do any baseball-related activities, and until he does, its impossible to set any timetable ffor his return.ddddddddddddGrain of salt time here, folks.Milwaukee Brewers: Junior Guerra last pitched for the Brewers on Aug. 3, but the starter with a 2.93 ERA appears to be very close to a return. Guerra threw a successful bullpen session Friday, and will once again take to the hill Monday in a simulated game. If all goes well, theres a chance he could jump right back into the Milwaukee rotation, although a rehab start might also be in the cards. Still, at this rate of progress, hes very likely to pitch again for the Brewers before September starts.Minnesota Twins: Kenny Vargas went just 2-for-25 in August -- although both of his hits were home runs -- and he has been sent back down to Triple-A. Vargas wasnt getting a ton of playing time with the Twins, so the move will allow him to get daily at-bats over the next week-plus before likely returning to the club when rosters expand in September. In the meantime, it seems Minnesota will use Vargas roster spot to supplement their bullpen by rotating in fresh arms as needed.New York Mets: Fantasy owners who dealt with Neil Walkers lack of consistent stats last week should probably not be counting on him this week, either. Although Walker did get back to the Mets lineup over the weekend after missing four games with a lower back issue, the second baseman will not be around for the teams series in St. Louis. The good news is that hes headed out on paternity leave to witness the birth of his first child, but unless youre in a league with a very bizarre scoring system, you dont get any fantasy points for that.New York Yankees: The youth movement in the Bronx continues to bear fruit. Back-to-back starts from Luis Cessa and Chad Green over the weekend resulted in 12 innings of one-run, eight-hit ball between the two pitchers. Manager Joe Girardi was thrilled with their efforts, even though the Yankees managed to win only one of the two games, Its really positive to see the strides these kids have made since what we saw in spring training. With efforts like these, expect the pair to remain in the New York rotation the rest of the way.Oakland Athletics: Billy Butler missed two games over the weekend with what the team was calling nausea and vomiting. However, reports are emerging that Butlers issues may have stemmed from a clubhouse incident with teammate Danny Valencia. As the San Francisco Chronicle reports, No one in the Oakland clubhouse would discuss the matter on the record, but no one denied that it occurred, either. Valencia also was not in Sundays lineup, but its not clear if that was simply because of the matchup, or some internal, behind-the-scenes discipline. Stay tuned.Philadelphia Phillies: Vince Velasquezs past three starts have been less than stellar. He has posted a 10.47 ERA and a .352 batting average against since Aug. 8, and while the young pitcher is trying to remain positive, the crooked numbers on the scoreboard are making that difficult. Velasquez, in all likelihood, has just a few more starts left this season before the team pulls the plug on his 2016 in order keep his workload down. Because of that, perhaps his next quality start will be his last, if only to try to have his season end on a positive note.Pittsburgh Pirates: Josh Bell was promoted again by the Pirates, this time taking the roster spot of the injured Jung Ho Kang. Bell has hit 14 home runs at Triple-A this season, and added a pinch-hit grand slam for the Pirates during a brief stint with the team in July. Manager Clint Hurdles issue with Bell is not his bat, though, but rather his glove: Hes still a work in progress. Matter of fact, in the game before we called him up, he made two errors. ... John Jaso is a better defensive first baseman than Josh is right now. As such, even in games where Bell does get the start, chances are good he wont be there at the finish, if the score is close.St. Louis Cardinals: Luke Weaver showed improvement in his second major league start, striking out six and walking nobody -- a big step up from his three-K, three-BB debut -- though he still took the loss on Saturday. Still, manager Mike Matheny is worried the rookie is setting himself up for failure: If theres one thing I think hes doing, he might be giving hitters at this level too much credit. It looks like hes trying to be perfect here. Thats something we can tell him, but its something that hell have to learn. The good news, though, may be that Weaver has done enough to continue to try to learn that lesson on the big league level.San Diego Padres: Jon Jay, who broke his right forearm in June, has finally started hitting off a tee, making the chances of an early-September return very much a potential reality. The Padres could find themselves a bit short in the outfield until then, as Jabari Blash missed most of last week with a jammed finger, an injury that could land him on the disabled list if hes still unable to hit over the next few days. Patrick Kivlehan has been filling in for Blash in right field, and will presumably continue in that role for now.San Francisco Giants: Matt Cains yo-yo season continues. After winning back-to-back five-inning shutout efforts against the Nationals, his past two starts have resulted in two losses and an 11.42 ERA. Now, the Giants have placed the pitcher on the 15-day disabled list with a lower back strain, his third such stint this season. For now, Jake Peavy is likely to take his next turn in the rotation, but Cain is currently expected back on Sept. 2 to face the Cubs.Seattle Mariners: Help is on the way for Seattles rotation. Although the team has not yet confirmed a starter for Tuesdays game against the Yankees, chances are good it will be Taijuan Walker who gets the call from Triple-A to try to tame the New York bats. Thursdays starter is not quite official yet either, but James Paxton (elbow) is all set to be activated from the disabled list following a solid three-inning rehab start Saturday. Hisashi Iwakuma is expected to pitch Wednesday, giving the right-hander an extra day of rest between starts, as well as putting him in line to face the Rangers in his subsequent outing.Tampa Bay Rays: Logan Forsythe has now homered in three consecutive starts, and in six of his past 10 games, although its worth noting that his most recent streak was interrupted by back spasms that forced the second baseman to miss four games. Still, even as Forsythe was being slowly worked back into the lineup by serving as the DH on Sunday, the power doesnt seem to have been bothered by the layoff. Forsythe is still available in over 38 percent of ESPN leagues.Texas Rangers: Carlos Gomez has found a new home, without having to cross state lines. After being released by the Astros, the Rangers signed the outfielder to a minor league deal. Gomez is expected to play at the Triple-A level for a few days before joining Texas for a 10-game homestand, where hes expected to be the teams every-day left fielder. What that means for Jurickson Profars playing time remains to be seen, but he had been getting the bulk of those starts since Shin-Soo Choos injury landed him on the disabled list.Toronto Blue Jays: Typically, you dont expect to see an uninjured pitcher who is under legitimate consideration for the Cy Young Award not only getting sent down to the minors, but all the way down to Class A, no less. Yet, thats what the Blue Jays are doing with Aaron Sanchez, who will spend the next 10 days in Dunedin, Florida, rather than with Toronto. The rationale for the move is to keep Sanchezs innings down while also opening up a roster spot for extra bullpen help in the interim. Sanchez is expected to be recalled in time for him to start on Aug. 31 against the Orioles.Washington Nationals: Ryan Zimmerman is back from the disabled list, and more importantly, so is his bat. The first baseman went 4-for-8 with a home run over the weekend, showing no ill effects from the wrist injury that had caused him to miss the prior 16 games. Manager Dusty Baker expects Zimmermans impact to be huge, Its like getting a new, fresh player back. ... This is like May for Zim, and September for the rest of us. ' ' '