Going on four seasons now, Ben Zobrist has been Mr. Everything to the Rays. He’s played every position besides pitcher and catcher in his tenure in Tampa Bay. This season his responsibilities have remained pretty constant, rarely straying away from second base or right field. Lately, though, that has changed as Joe Maddon has begun starting him at shortstop, his original position.

Last night marked the fourth time in five games Zobrist has started at short. That means he needs just one more start, or six more appearances, to gain that position eligibility. Reading quotes from Maddon makes it look like this may last the rest of the season.

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As usual, injuries open up playing time opportunities for our waiver wire recs. This edition is for those owners with a need for speed. Even if you don’t, it wouldn’t hurt to add these guys if you have the roster flexibility simply for potential trade bait.

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Josh Rutledge has been filling in at shortstop for the injured Troy Tulowitzki and has done quite an admirable job, having posted an impressive .445 wOBA over 84 plate appearances. Unfortunately, we have no projections from any sources for the rookie and fantasy owners are left wondering what to expect from him for the rest of the season. Fear not loyal RotoGraphs reader, the Pod Projections have returned to answer that very question.

I have decided to project him assuming a full season to give you an idea of what he would do on a pro-rated basis. His current statistics are not factored into the final projected stat line. They are only used to help formulate the projected underlying metrics themselves.

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Hanley Ramirez’s trade to the Dodgers was a move by Miami to transfer the salary of an under performing player with the hopes of putting that money to better use. With the move though, Ramiriez’s fantasy value changes very little. His new teammates will see some increase in value, but expectations should be tempered.

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Coming into this season, the Marlins had Hanley Ramirez at third base, Omar Infante at second base, and a full outfield. Donovan Solano? Well… he was a mystery. Literally:

Guess Non-Roster Invitees don’t usually register like this. Well, at least now we know where he signed. And especially after Hanley Ramirez and Omar Infante have left town, he looks like the starting third baseman for the Fish. And with Matt Dominguez gone, the team doesn’t have an internal prospect ready to take the job away. The only mystery remaining with this suddenly important Marlin is how he’ll do with all that major league playing time.

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Between the rash of injuries and the flurry of trades we’re seeing right now, your league’s waiver wire should be a hotbed of action. It may or may not be depending on how many owners in your league have given up and turned their attention to the upcoming fantasy football season, but if you’re in a heated competition with just the two months remaining on the baseball season, then you should be keeping up to date with any player that is starting to sniff some regular playing time and can contribute to your cause. Here are two that may help you out…

Casper Wells, SEA  |OF|  Ownership:  ESPN – 14.5%  Yahoo – 5.0%

In the wake of the Ichiro Suzuki trade and the demotion of Justin Smoak, the Mariners appear to be going with Wells and Carlos Peguero in the corner outfield spots with recent call-up Mike Carp likely taking over first base duties.  All three are in line to receive major increases in playing time, but Wells, seems to be the most seasoned of the three and likely the one to play with the most consistency.  Sure, people will talk about Peguero’s power potential, but I look at his strikeouts and see a guy who could do more harm than good to your team.  Carp has some promise, but given the shoulder concerns and the weak numbers he showed in Triple-A this season, Wells might just be the safer bet here for some added power.

There are definitely some flaws in Wells’ game right now between the low contact rates and the excessively high SwStr%, but he’s never had a full-time job before and a lot of his impatience at the plate could be him trying to do too much because he feels like he has a limited number of at-bats to prove his worth.  That’s likely true to some extent, but now, in a situation like this where the Mariners are folding up their tents for the season, there’s little or no reason for him to put excessive pressure on himself.  It’s not that he can just coast the rest of the way, but he can certainly take some time to relax at the plate and get back to the basics.  With ISO numbers so strong at every level, there’s no question that the power is for real.  With a full-time job for two months and little or no pressure, Wells finally has the opportunity to blossom and show what he can do.

Josh Rutledge, COL  |SS|  Ownership:  ESPN – 13.4%  Yahoo – 8.0%

With so much still up in the air regarding Troy Tulowitzki’s return, Rutledge is looking like a solid pick-up if you need help in your middle infield.  Tulo insists that he will be back at some point in August, but as it stands right now, he hasn’t even picked up a bat yet.  Rutledge has filled in admirably recently and over a quick 10-game span, has his .368 with six runs scored, one home run, six RBI and three stolen bases.  His .382 BABIP is pretty inflated, but in looking at his recent minor league totals, he’s routinely posted high BABIP totals.  If he can continue to make strong contact and keep the ball in play like this, the hits should continue to fall.  True the sample size is small, but we’re also now dealing with a two month long season not six.  Short-term help can be quite beneficial, especially if the guy can get on-base regularly and can kick in with some speed.

But there’s also the chance that Rutledge sticks even when Tulo makes it back, so long as he’s playing well.  It’s not like Jordan Pacheco is tearing it up at the plate and the Rockies have made the rest of the league well aware that Marco Scutaro is available.  If Scutaro goes, then Rutledge can slide over to the keystone once Tulo returns or, if he doesn’t, then perhaps he gets a chance to play some third.  He’s an interesting choice for the short term and could easily pan out to be a full-time guy over the next two months.

Sunday night, Alexi Amarista played a little center field and a little left field. Not so ground-breaking if you consider he’s been doing a lot of this sort of thing recently. Since the All-Star break, Amarista has played at every position other than the third, first, pitcher and catcher. There’s an outside chance that Amarista can put up real value for daily leaguers, in the vein of — but of course not quite exactly like — Emilio Bonifacio.

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Ian Desmond has been a big part of the Washington Nationals’ success this season. The highly-criticized shortstop has found his power stroke, slugging 17 home runs already. But after struggling with an oblique injury for a few weeks, Desmond was finally put on the disabled list. With Desmond out, the Nationals will have to shift some players around to compensate for the loss. Their tinkering could have a strong impact on some fantasy players.

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You knew it was going to happen.

You didn’t know when or how, but you knew. It was only a matter of time but Jed Lowrie found himself on the disabled list again over the weekend. The injury occurred when Gregor Blanco slid hard into his leg trying to break up a double play. He suffered a sprained ankle and may have damaged a nerve in his leg. Tough break for the Astros but not something unexpected to fantasy owners.

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Last year, Elliot Johnson was one of the worst hitters in the majors. With a 57 wRC+ backed by just four home runs, six steals, and a strikeout rate near 30%, Johnson’s lackluster performance had many questioning whether he would even earn any playing time this year. With injuries this year to infielders Evan Longoria and Jeff Keppinger and an even worse hitting performance from one of his primary shortstop competitors last year in Reid Brignac, Johnson has amassed 230 plate appearances and has been quite solid, netting a 110 wRC+.

Some of the performance is likely inflated, but Johnson has had a very effective year as a dual eligible middle infielder. An improved walk rate, reduced strikeout rate, and dramatically increased line drive rate have led to Johnson’s solid .275/.339/.386 line. The power has dropped, but the on base skills have improved as his ISO falls. Johnson’s biggest attribute in a fantasy context has been in his stolen bases, where he has nabbed 15 bags in 19 chances.

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