Roto Riteup: August 3, 2022

R.I.P. to a true legend of the game:

On the Agenda: 

  1. COVID Issues
  2. Closer Chaos
  3. Trades!!!
  4. Quick Hits
  5. Streaming Pitchers

 

COVID Issues

Steven Brault was placed on the COVID IL. There is no word on whether he tested positive or just experiencing symptoms. 

 

Closer Chaos

Jorge Lopez was traded from the Orioles to the Twins for Yenier Cano, Juan Nunez, Cade Povich, and Juan Rojas. For his fantasy value, there is likely no better landing spot for Lopez as he has a chance to keep his status as a closer. Felix Bautista will likely be the first man up in the Baltimore pen for saves. 

The Phillies acquired David Robertson from the Cubs for Ben Brown. Robertson returns to Philly and should likely stay a closer which hurts Seranthony Dominguez. It is hard to figure who benefits in the Chicago bullpen as they traded just about everyone but Rowan Wick, so I guess he would get the first shot. 

The Angels traded away Raisel iglesias to the Braves for Jesse Chavez and Tucker Davidson. This was clearly a cost cutting move by the Angels giving away an elite closer for virtually nothing. Davidson might be the sixth man in the rotation, but that is about it. Fun Fact: Jesse Chavez has now been traded 10 times in his career. 

 

Trades!!!

Juan Soto and Josh Bell were traded from the Nationals to the Padres for Luke Voit, MacKenzie Gore, C.J. Abrams, Robert Hassell III, James Wood and Jarlin Susana. This was the blockbuster of the deadline as expected. The Nationals rebuilt their farm system in one swift move getting five of the top 6-7 prospects in the Padres system and the Padres got an elite talent in Soto for 2+ years. All of the prospects are highly regarded with Gore, Abrams, and Hassell being considered elite and Wood and Susana having very nice upside. 

Eric Hosmer was traded by the Padres to the Red Sox for Jay Groome. This was a crazy turn of events. Hosmer was initially in the Soto deal, but exercised his no-trade clause which meant the Padres had to substitute Luke Voit for Hosmer and then just give away Hosmer. The Padres are eating up $44 million of Hosmer’s remaining deal. Groome is a former first round pick that has struggled with health and is a nice high risk/high reward pitching prospect. 

Jake Odorizzi was traded from the Astros to the Braves for Will Smith. This will give the Braves some rotation depth if they need to limit the innings of Spencer Strider and gives the Astros a much needed left handed bullpen arm. It may be a slight downgrade for Odorizzi considering he leaves a pretty weak division, but it does not change his value drastically. 

Joey Gallo was traded from the Yankees to the Dodgers for Clayton Beeter. Gallo has struggled since being traded from the Rangers to the Bronx on the field and off:

Gallo likely can’t be worse than he was in New York and hopefully can rebound in a new location.

Jordan Groshans was traded from the Blue Jays to the Marlins for Zach Pop and Anthony Bass. Groshans prospect status has fallen a ton since being drafted in the first round so this is a decent buy low for the Marlins and the Blue Jays attacked their biggest need which was in the bullpen. 

Brandon Marsh was traded by the Angels to the Phillies for Logan O’Hoppe. This was a surprising move as Marsh has been considered one of the Angels best prospects for years and while he has struggled offensively, he has been fantastic defensively and the Angels lack depth and healthy talent right now. Maybe Marsh can get things together offensively in a new environment. 

The Twins traded for Tyler Mahle from the Reds in exchange for Spence Steer, Christian Encarnacion-Strand and Steve Hajjar. Mahle has been a much better pitcher over his career away from Great American Ballpark so getting him out of Cincinnati is huge his value. Encarnacion-Strand is the centerpiece of the deal. He has been hitting .302 with 25 home runs and eight stolen bases in high-A and AA this season. 

Brandon Drury was traded from the Reds to the Padres. Drury has been fantastic this year and should play a ton in the immediate future, but when Fernando Tatis Jr. returns, he could be moved into a part-time utility role. The Reds received Victor Acosta who is an 18-year-old bat with some interesting upside, but he is a long ways away. 

The Mariners acquired both Matthew Boyd and Curt Casali from the Giants. Boyd is still working his way back from Tommy John and could be a nice piece to the Mariners staff later in the season. Casali is also working his way back from an injury, but is nothing more than depth at the catcher position. 

The Mets acquired Darrin Ruf for J.D. Davis, Thomas Szapucki, Carson Seymour, and Nick Zwack. As a Giants fan this was bittersweet. It was a nice return for a 36-year-old Ruf, but Ruf has been a fan favorite and clutch hitter on a short side platoon. Davis has been a StatCast hero in the past but never been able to deliver on that upside. 

Whit Merrifield was traded to the Blue Jays from the Royals for Samad Taylor and Max Castillo. Merrifield should get a nice boost from the lineup around him and park change, but he might now run quite as much on a more conservative Blue Jays team. 

Jordan Montgomery was traded from the Yankees to the Cardinals for Harrison Bader. This was a nice deal for both teams, but a little weird that the Yankees traded away a starter and not getting another back in a different deal other than the earlier trade of Montas. Montgomery gets a nice upgrade in park, defense and division while Bader is likely downgraded as the playing time will likely not be as plentiful once he returns from the IL. 

Noah Syndergaard was traded from the Angels to the Phillies for Mickey Moniak and Jadiel Sanchez. Syndergaard has pitched well this year,but has just not been the same since his Tommy John surgery. Leaving the comfy confines of the AL West is a downgrade for sure, but his value shouldn’t change a ton.

 

Quick Hits

Alex Kirilloff was placed on the IL with a wrist issue. This is concerning considering he has struggled with this issue for a long time now. There is no timetable for his return. 

Justin Turner was placed on the IL with an abdominal strain. The Dodgers have been trying to avoid putting him on the IL but will make the move with the acquisition of Gallo. Miguel Vargas was called up by the Dodgers on Tuesday and could be an underrated pick up as he is one of the Dodgers top prospects. 

Avisail Garcia left Tuesday’s game with a hamstring issue. Consider him day-to-day for now. 

Streaming Pitchers (Under 50% in CBS)

Pitcher for Today:  None

Some interesting two start options but none I want to hitch my wagon too. 

High Risk Options: Madison Bumgarner at CLE, Justin Steele at STL, Kyle Bradish at TEX. 

 

Pitcher for Tomorrow: Janson Junk vs OAK

This is more about the matchup, but Junk was pretty good in his first start with the Angels.

High Risk Options: Dakota Hudson vs CHC, Mitch Keller vs MIL, Jakob Junis vs LAD, Glenn Otto vs CHW, Bailey Falter vs WAS. 

 

For those of you that would like to see how these picks play out, I have a doc I put together to track the stats from the recommended pitchers. It does not include the “High Risk Options.”





Justin is the co-host on The Sleeper and The Bust Podcast and writes for Rotographs covering the Roto Riteup as well as other periodic articles. In addition to his work at Rotographs, Justin is the lead fantasy writer/analyst and co-owner for FriendswithFantasyBenefits.com, and the owner of The Great Fantasy Baseball Invitational. He is also a certified addiction treatment counselor. Follow Justin on Twitter @JustinMasonFWFB.

2 Comments
Oldest
Newest Most Voted
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
Broken Batmember
1 year ago

I think something should be noted about how the Padres are eating $44MM for a player they don’t want, and how many of these MLB Teams compensate their mi or league systems. This doesn’t DD UP IMO. That is a real story…