Roto Riteup: July 24, 2018

I didn’t know they got a magician for this party.

The slickest glove flip ever. ? pic.twitter.com/fm8rjmHsym

— MLB (@MLB) July 24, 2018

On the Agenda:
1. Rumors!
2. Various News and Notes
3. Streaming Pitchers

Rumors!
According to Jeff Passan of Yahoo, the Rangers are willing to absorb a large portion of Shin-soo Choo’s contract in order to trade him at the deadline. Choo is having a resurgence at the plate this season and could be attractive for a contender, but he has defensive limitations and a long history of health woes. T.R. Sullivan reported that the Rangers have not had much interest in Choo, making it unlikely he gets moved.

Jon Morosi of MLB Network has reported that the Ranger and the Nationals have discussed a trade that would send Cole Hamels to Washington. Morosi characterized the talks as “preliminary” and other reports have downplayed the chances of a deal happening, especially considering Hamels remaining money owed under his current contract. The Nationals don’t necessarily need another starter now that Stephen Strasburg is back healthy and with Jeremy Hellickson pitching fairly well, but you can never have enough pitching so it wouldn’t be surprising to see them strengthen their roster this way.

According to Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic, the Phillies are in discussion with the Blue Jays about outfielder Curtis Granderson. Granderson is not a huge upgrade, but can be a useful bat against right-handed pitching that wouldn’t cost Philadelphia much to acquire.

According to Mike Puma of the New York Post, Jose Bautista and Devin Mesoraco have been inquired about in trade discussions. The Mets appear to be in full sell mode after moving Jeurys Familia and will likely try and move a number of different assets. Bautista is hitting .235/.393/.426 with five home runs and two stolen bases since signing with the Mets back in April and Mesoraco has hit seven bombs with a .226/.307/.404 line since being acquired from the Reds in the Matt Harvey trade. Both will likely come cheap and could be options for teams that don’t want to break the bank or are up against the luxury tax threshold.

Various News and Notes
Blake Snell was placed on the 10-Day DL with shoulder fatigue. Reportedly, there was no structural damage found in Snell’s shoulder after receiving results from an MRI. Snell has been fantastic this season, sporting a 2.27 ERA with a 28.3% strikeout rate. Hopefully this is just a short term issue and he will be back after a break.

Clint Frazier is experiencing post-concussion symptoms. He has had recurring migraines since spring training which led to him to returning to the DL. This is not a good sign since concussions have prematurely ended numerous careers and even if this issue does resolve, it likely won’t happen in time for the Yankees to trade Frazier at the deadline which would greatly increase his value in fantasy as he is currently blocked in the Yankees outfield.

Streaming Pitchers Options
A pitcher for today: Eric Lauer @ NYM
The Mets have the lowest wOBA in the Major Leagues versus left-handed pitching. Lauer has a 3.17 ERA since the beginning of June.

A pitcher for tomorrow: Clayton Richard @ NYM
Richard has not been great lately, but the Mets are awful versus lefties.