Roto Riteup: July 31, 2024

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July 31, 2024

Make this a thing please.

On the Agenda: 

  1. Trades and Rumors!
  2. Closer Chaos
  3. Quick Hits
  4. Various News and Notes
  5. Streaming Pitchers

 

Trades!

The Brewers acquired Frankie Montas from the Reds for Jakob Junis and Joey Weimer. Montas has struggled this season, but he will now move to a better park and a better team which helps some. 

Mark Leiter Jr. was traded from the Cubs to the Yankees for Ben Cowles and Jack Neeley. Leiter likely is just bullpen depth in New York. 

Trevor Rogers was traded from the Marlins to the Orioles for Connor Norby and Kyle Stowers. This is a great move for Rogers who now pitches for a much better and didn’t take a hit in the park. The Marlins did well here as well, getting two Major League ready players that could develop into at least every day regulars. 

The Red Sox acquired Lucas Sims from the Reds for Ovis Portes. This is nothing more than a bullpen depth acquisition. 

Alex Cobb was traded from the Giants to the Guardians for Jacob Bresnahan. Cobb was going to be activated this week from the IL, but had an issue with a blister that delayed the activation. Cobb will slot into the Cleveland rotation when he is ready. The Giants are expected to recall Hayden Birdsong from the minor leagues in response to this move.

Paul DeJong was traded to the Royals from the White Sox for Jarold Rosado. DeJong will be infield depth for the Royals. 

Paul Blackburn was traded to the Mets for Kade Morris. Blackburn is a low upside arm that will fit in the back of the Mets rotation. 

Andrew Chafin was traded to the Rangers Chase Lee and Joseph Montalvo. Chafin will strengthen the back of the Rangers bullpen, but is not a threat for the closer role. 

Bryan De La Cruz was traded to the Pirates for Jun-Seok Shim and Garrett Forrester. De La Cruz is having a nice offensive season with 18 home runs and three stolen bases. He should play every day and hit in the middle of the Pirates lineup. 

The Blue Jays traded Isiah Kiner-Falefa for Charles McAdoo. IKF is currently on the IL, but will likely be a super-utility guy for the Pirates once healthy. 

Eloy Jimenez was traded to the Orioles for Trey McGough. This was a salary dumping move for the White Sox. Eloy has been great versus lefties this season and has always had a ton of talent, but right now he looks like he will be on the short-side of the platoon for the Orioles. 

Jack Flaherty was traded to the Dodgers from the Tigers for Thayron Liranzo and Trey Sweeney. Flaherty moves to the best team in baseball and the Tigers get a top 100 prospect. The Dodgers have a number of good catching prospects so it wasn’t much of a hit to their farm system. There is a report that the Yankees had a deal in the works for Flaherty but that New York backed out due to concerns about Flaherty’s medicals which would explain the lighter than expected return. 

Dylan Carlson was traded to the Rays for Shawn Armstrong. Carlson has never lived up to his prospect hype, but he is still a good defender and is only 25 years old. 

Closer Chaos
Lucas Erceg was traded from the A’s to the Royals for Mason Barnett, Will Klein, and Jared Dickey. Erceg was in line to potentially get saves in Oakland with Mason Miller hurt and on the block, but he was the one traded instead. Erceg could be a late inning guy for the Royals, but it is unlikely he unseats James MacArthur very quickly. Tyler Ferguson is the likely closer in Oakland until Miller returns.

Tanner Scott was traded to the Padres for Robby Snelling, Adam Mazur, Graham Pauley, and Jay Beshears. This was quite the haul for Scott who figures to work in the backend of the Padres bullpen, but likely won’t unseat Robert Suarez. Andrew Nardi seems like the likely guy to become the Marlins closer for the rest of the season.

Luis Garcia was traded to the Red Sox from the Angels. Garica was the closer for about one day after the Angels traded Carlos Estevez. Now the ninth inning likely falls to Ben Joyce.

Kevin Keirmaier was traded from the Blue Jays to the Dodgers for Ryan Yarbrough. Neither are very fantasy relevant moving forward.

The Giants acquired Mark Canha from the Tigers answering who was right in this debate between myself and Paul Sporer:

Quick Hits
Josh Bell was traded to the Diamondbacks from the Marlins. Bell had been designated for assignment and the Diamondbacks all of a sudden had a need for a first baseman once Christian Walker hit the IL with an oblique injury. Walker is hopeful he will only miss three weeks, but typically these injuries take 4-to-6 weeks to return from.

Anthony Rendon was placed on the IL with a back injury. There is no timetable for his return. Michael Stefanic was recalled to take his spot on the roster.

Edward Cabrera left Tuesday’s game with a knee issue. He is expected to undergo further testing. Consider him day-to-day for now.

Alejandro Kirk left Tuesday’s game with an elbow contusion after being hit with a pitch. Consider him day-to-day for now.

Victor Robles left Tuesday’s game with a hip injury. Consider him day-to-day for now.

 

Various News and Notes
The Orioles are expected to recall Jackson Holliday from the minor leagues on Wednesday.

Holliday struggled in his first go around in the Majors, but has hit .273 with three home runs and three stolen bases in AAA over the last month in AAA. He should be an everyday player at second base while Jorge Mateo is out.

Austin Hays went 2-for-4 with a home run in the victory over the Yankees on Tuesday.

Hays has played four straight games since coming to the Phillies via trade and appears to be in an everyday role moving forward. Hays has been a pretty good player over his career when healthy and given the opportunity. He is mixed league worthy in deeper formats and even some 12-team leagues.

 

Streaming Pitchers (Under 50% in CBS)

Pitcher for Today: Ryan Feltner at LAA

Feltner has pitched well and is away from Coors against a bad offense. 

High Risk Options: Dean Kremer at CLE, Carson Fulmer vs COL

 

Pitcher for Tomorrow: Luis Ortiz vs ARI

Ortiz has been fantastic as a starter and it is a bit perplexing that he is still not very rostered. 

High Risk Options: Tyler Phillips at SEA, Aaron Civale at 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 my 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.

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TheBabboMember since 2019
4 months ago

Pitchers listed for “today” are going on Thursday, the “tomorrow” group on Friday.

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