Roto Riteup: August 4, 2026
One way to celebrate not getting traded is to hit three bombs!
On the Agenda:
- Closer Chaos
- Trades!!!
- Quick Hits
- Various News and Notes
- Streaming Pitchers
Closer Chaos
The Pirates added a number of relief arms on Monday including Luke Weaver from the Mets, Kirby Yates from the Angels and Lake Bachar from the Marlins. Weaver is the most interesting and could take over the closer role in Pittsburgh after an elite first half in New York. He also has another year of team control so this isn’t just a rental that won’t have value in 2027.
Trades!!!
The Giants traded Luis Arraez and Caleb Killian to the Phillies for Ramon Marquez and Marty Gair. The Phillies was a surprise team for Arraez and will reportedly move Bryce Harper back to the outfield, Bryson Stott to third and Alec Bohm to first. In spite of the fit, Arraez gets a nice bump in team and park for his fantasy value and all of the other players should gain positional eligibility which helps their value. The Giants in turn get a high upside pitcher that just ranked 67 on the top 100 prospects.
The Angels traded Jose Soriano to the Blue Jays for Arjun Nimmala, Eddie Micheletti Jr. and Angel Rivero. This was a surprising move as the Blue Jays were considered sellers and did sell Daulton Varsho later in the day, but Soriano does have two more years of team control. Soriano gets a bit of a bump in team and defense, but will have to deal with the turf in Toronto which won’t always be beneficial. The Angels got a top 50 prospect in Nimmala who was hitting .279/.355/.451 with four home runs and four stolen bases in 33 games at AA.
Daulton Varsho was traded to the Astros for Spencer Arrighetti. Varsho gets a nice team upgrade and should really help the Astros defensively. I don’t love the change for Arrighetti as he heads to a tough division for a guy with command and control issues. If the Blue Jays can fix these issues, he could breakout, but that seems like a tall task.
Jo Adell was traded to the Guardians for Jacob Cozart. This could actually hurt Adell’s value as he will need to improve against right handed pitching to keep starting full time. He has struggled this year versus righties, hitting .214/.267/.326 in 304 plate appearances. Right now the Guardians don’t have a platoon partner for him on the roster, but that could change if things do not improve.
The Orioles traded Adley Rutschman and Jake Rogers to the Red Sox for Anthony Eyanson, Kyson Witherspoon, Enddy Azocar, Carlos Narvaez, and a player to be named later. This was the trade that sent social media into an uproar with some people saying the Red Sox overspent on Rutschman and others disagreeing vehemently. Rutschman will get a nice park and team upgrade and it is a massive upgrade at the position for the Red Sox. The Orioles get to add to their farm system with two top 100 prospects and another high upside one in Witherspoon.
The Orioles also traded Taylor Ward to the Mariners for Alex Hoppe, Brock Moore, and Harrison Kreiling. Ward will bolster the Mariners outfield, but unless his power comes back, he isn’t going to be very valuable, even on a playoff contender. None of the prospects moved in the deal register in fantasy as of now.
Brenton Doyle was traded to the White Sox for Mason Adams and Carlos Vielma. Doyle becomes a short-side platoon bat in Chicago which kills his value moving forward. Vielma has upside over the long term, but doesn’t even turn 17 for another week.
Kris Bubic was traded to the Dodgers by the Royals. He is a stash play by the Dodgers for the playoffs. He is currently on the IL and likely won’t be a starter even when healthy in LA.
Robbie Ray was traded to the Padres by the Giants for Miguel Mendez and Joniel Hernandez. Ray moves from one good pitching park to another but should get more run support. Miguel Mendez is an interesting pitcher a few years away and Hernandez is a high upside teenager that is likely five years away from the Majors.
The Padres also added Casey Mize from the Tigers for Kash Mayfield and Jackson Wolf. Mize adds more depth to the Padres rotation and gets more win potential in San Diego while the Tigers add an interesting arm in Mayfield that has a 3.54 in High-A with 62 strikeouts in 53.1 innings this season.
Liam Hicks was traded to the Rays for Brayden Taylor, Jacob Kisting and Adrian Santana. This is a massive upgrade for the Rays at the catching position and a nice team upgrade for Hicks as well. Taylor is a top 100 prospect and a nice addition to the Marlins farm system.
The Angels traded Ryan Zeferjahn to the Cubs for Moises Ballesteros and Mason McGwire. This move adds some depth to the Cubs bullpen and Zeferjahn might factor into the closer committee until Daniel Palencia returns from the IL. The stuff has been great, but his control is often an issue. The Angels buy low on a former top prospect in Ballesteros who has a good bat, but lacks a true position defensively.
The Cubs also added Clay Holmes to their rotation, once he comes off the IL, along with Tyrone Taylor for Jefferson Rojas. Holmes is a perfect fit for the Cubs with his high ground ball lean to be helped out by the elite infield defense in Chicago. The Mets get a promising young shortstop that is in the top 50 prospects and has hit .270/.339/.461 with 15 home runs and 17 stolen bases in AA this season.
The Reds traded Nathaniel Lowe to the Guardians for Alejandro Rivera. Lowe will become the strong-side first baseman in Cleveland after the Guardians sent down Kyle Manzardo, but the park change likely hurts Lowe some. Rivera is a 19 year old pitching prospect that has pitched well in minors this year and just moved up to A-Ball.
The Twins traded for Jeff Hoffman in exchange for Dasan Hill, John Klein, and Dameury Pena. Hoffman may factor in the closer role in Minnesota, but it will likely stay a committee of sorts. Hill is a high upside pitching prospect that struggles with control but has great stuff.
The Giants traded Heliot Ramos to the Yankees for Kaeden Kent and Henry Lalane. Ramos will benefit from a massive park and team upgrade and the Yankees sent down Jasson Dominguez, so there is no competition for plate appearances. The Giants get Jeff Kent’s son in the deal as well as a high upside pitching prospect in Lalane who has had a 32% strikeout rate this year in A-Ball.
The Giants added Marcelo Mayer from the Red Sox for Erik Miller and Carlos Gutierrez. This one was surprising as Mayer is a former top 20 prospect and is just 23-years-old. He should get plenty of time in the Majors once he is healthy.
Foster Griffin was traded to the Guardians for Will Dion, Josh Hartle, Kendeglys Virguez, and Nick Mitchell. This bolsters the Guardians rotation and should help Griffin’s win upside.
Lars Nootbaar was traded to the Diamondbacks for Daniel Eagen, Sandro Santana, and a player to be named later. The Diamondbacks needed another left handed bat, but this likely doesn’t change his fantasy value very much.
Quick Hits
James Wood left Monday’s game with a side injury.
This sounds like an oblique injury which typically takes 4-to-6 weeks to recover from which would be disappointing considering we only have two months left in the season. Consider him day-to-day for now, but be ready for bad news.
Various News and Notes
According to Jack Curry of the YES Network, the Yankees are calling up George Lombard Jr and sending down Anthony Volpe. Lombard Jr is the Yankees top prospect who has hit 12 home runs and stolen 14 bases in 358 plate appearances with a .284/.411/.498 triple slash. He has a ton of upside and should play every day in a great park. He is a must pick up in all formats.
Streaming Pitchers (Under 50% in Yahoo)
Pitcher for Today: J.T. Ginn at CIN
Ginn has pitched great on the road and the Reds are not an offense you should run from.
Other Options: Patrick Sandoval vs CHW, Hayden Wesneski vs TOR, Grant Holmes vs MIA, Sean Manaea at CLE, Brady Singer vs ATH.
Pitcher for Tomorrow: Dean Kremer at KC
I am not a Kremer fan, but this is a good matchup in a good park.
Other Options: Noah Cameron vs MIN, Andrew Painter vs WAS, Kyle Leahy at NYY, Mitch Bratt vs SD.
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 my recommended pitchers. It does not include the “Other 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.