Roto Riteup: May 7, 2026

Count Roto: “One, two, three dazzling dingers. Ah! Ah! Ah!”

On the Agenda: 

1. Closer Chaos
2. Quick Hits
3. Various News and Notes
4. Streaming Pitchers

Closer Chaos

At this point, nothing is surprising. Emilio Pagán has a Grade 2 left hamstring strain and is expected to miss 4-to-8 weeks. Tony Santillan and Graham Ashcraft are in the mix to earn save opportunities. Santillan sports a 25% strikeout rate and 14.1% walk rate. Ashcraft’s rates are slightly higher — 26.8% K, 16.9% BB. Santillan notched seven saves last season, though he mostly operated in a high-leverage/setup role. Ashcraft earned his first and only career save a couple of weeks ago, on April 19. In related news, the Reds welcomed back reliever Tejay Antone, who last pitched in the majors in April of 2024.

Royals reliever Carlos Estévez was removed from his rehab appearance due to shoulder discomfort. On the IL since early April because of a foot injury, Estévez wasn’t likely to reclaim his ninth-inning role from Lucas Erceg. This setback doesn’t eliminate the possibility, though it certainly extends Erceg’s job security.

Quick Hits

We’ve heard of strange injuries over the years, like Jeff Kent getting hurt washing his truck. Here’s a new one:

The injury happened this morning playing with his kids. They won’t know timeline until after surgery. https://t.co/c3LUKjW47N

— Taylor McGregor (@Taylor_McGregor) May 6, 2026

Sitting down to play with his kids? Did Matthew Boyd sit on a set of lawn darts or pick up the infamous ‘Snacktime’ Cabbage Patch Kids doll?

Congrats to Shea Langeliers and his wife, Reagan!

Shea Langeliers and his wife, Reagan, reportedly welcomed their first son earlier this morning.

Congratulations to the Langeliers Family! 💚💛#Athletics pic.twitter.com/Ro57rMoPPf

— Uprooted (@uprootedoakland) May 3, 2026

Langeliers is expected to return to the A’s for the series finale with the Phillies.

Some shuffling for the Tigers. Gleyber Torres was placed on the IL due to a left oblique strain. Jace Jung was recalled (again). They activated super-utility man, Zach McKinstry, and DFA’d infielder Zack Short, first reported by Zack Morris.

Various News and Notes

Ian Happ got the tilt with the Reds moving early with a two-run dinger in the first. Off Brady Singer, it’s a Singer Dinger!

Happ had three hits and also swiped his second bag of the season. He extended his on-base streak to 27 games.

Carlos Rodón is expected to make his season debut this Sunday in Milwaukee. He built up to 83 pitches over 6.1 innings in his latest rehab start with Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, though it was his roughest of three outings (five earned runs). Gerrit Cole will require a couple of more rehab starts and won’t be ready to return next week.

Royals ace Cole Ragans was pulled after three innings in Wednesday’s game because of left triceps and elbow soreness. Manager Matt Quatraro doesn’t believe it’s too serious and is hopeful that Ragans will line up for his next start against the White Sox next Tuesday.

Bryan Woo bounced back superbly after 13 earned runs allowed in his last two starts by dominating the scorching-hot Braves.

He hurled six scoreless innings, punched out nine batters and allowed just one hit.

Framber Valdez was suspended for six games (then reduced to five) for his intentional plunking of Trevor Story after serving up back-to-back home runs.

Here are the two four-seam fastballs that Valdez has thrown over the last two years:

In the last year Framber Valdez has thrown TWO 4-Seam Fastballs #DNMW
2 Hit Batters

Credit @JordanLeandre55 & @Jake3Roy pic.twitter.com/EZSXLYqEMX

— Tigers Data (@TigersData) May 6, 2026

They should have thrown the book at him.

Streaming Pitchers (Under 50% in Yahoo)

Pitcher for Today: Matthew Liberatore (STL, 8%) — at Padres

Liberatore hasn’t been great this season (4.50 ERA, 1.50 WHIP, 14.6% K), so this isn’t a very comfortable recommendation. The matchup is a solid one in pitcher friendly Petco Park. The Padres have been horrific against lefties (.111 ISO, .299 OBP, 86 wRC+).

Other Options: N/A

There are only a handful of sub-50% rostered pitchers on the slate. Though he might always dazzle, I cannot, in good faith, recommend Jake Irvin. Slightly ahead of Irvin by a hair is Cade Povich (at MIA), but I can’t get behind him either. If you’re not comfortable rolling the dice with Christian Scott at Coors Field, perhaps rookie southpaw Jake Bennett is your guy. The Red Sox are home favorites against the Rays, and Bennett would like to leave management with a good impression of him before he is optioned back to Triple-A.

Pitcher for Tomorrow: Robby Snelling (MIA, 12% and rising) — vs. WSN

The Marlins most heralded pitching prospect of the last couple of years will finally make his debut on Friday against the Nationals. Through six starts (29 IP) at Triple-A Jacksonville, Snelling boasts a 1.86 ERA and a 44.15 K:BB. There will be bumps in his rookie season road, but this debut should go swimmingly.

Other Options: Carmen Mlodzinski (PIT, 9%) — at SF, Griffin Canning (SD, 8%) — vs. STL