Roto Riteup: September 1, 2018

by
September 1, 2018

Framing is an art….

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

Trades!
We had a very eventful close to the trade deadline on Friday. The biggest name to be dealt was Blue Jays third baseman Josh Donaldson.


Here’s a very nice in-depth piece on the deal at large.


As stated in the piece, the PTBNL is predicated on a myriad of things, including Donaldson’s health. From a fantasy prospective, this is nothing short of great news for anyone who owns Donaldson. He gets the opportunity to reunite with former Blue Jay teammate Edwin Encarnacion, and will slot in the middle of a lineup that includes Francisco Lindor, Jose Ramirez, Michael Brantley, E5, Yonder Alonso, and Jason Kipnis. Donaldson hasn’t played since May 28th due to a calf strain, and before that he was in the midst of posting his worst contact rate, power metrics, GB%, and Hard% of his career. At least some of that production can be explained by the injury itself, but he’s 32 and could be suffering from some natural regression – only time will tell. The ballpark shift is actually slightly positive, and the Indians schedule in September is littered with AL Central opponents and even a rendezvous in Toronto at the beginning of the month. The other part of this deal is the playing time situation in Cleveland. According to Jordan Bastian of MLB.com, Donaldson will take over at third base and Jose Ramirez will shift to second.


This directly impacts Greg Allen in centerfield and possibly Melky Cabrera as well. Jason Kipnis will likely receive at least some of the reps out there. Allen has been really productive recently, and fantasy owners have benefited from his cheap speed. This will be a situation to monitor on that front, but in terms of Donaldson, if he’s healthy he’s playing – at least until the Indians have nothing to play for during the regular season.

The Brewers made a few acquisitions on Friday – snagging Gio Gonzalez from the Nationals, Xavier Cedeno from the White Sox, and Curtis Granderson from the Blue Jays.


With the Nationals playing the Brewers, Gonzalez put on a Milwaukee cap and hoodie and proceeded to do a post-game press conference with the Washington media – reminiscing on his time as a National. From a fantasy lens, Gonzalez is by far the most relevant asset. He’ll slot into a Brewers rotation that has missed a number of opportunities to upgrade their staff, but still find themselves in a Wild Card spot at the moment. Zach Davies was announced as the starter for Monday’s game yesterday, but the Brewers will likely stick with a five-man group including Junior Guerra, Jhoulys Chacin, Chase Anderson, Wade Miley, and now Gio Gonzalez. Freddy Peralta was recently sent back down to the minors, and will more than likely not receive many more starts this season. As far as Gonzalez’s fantasy value moving forward, the move to Miller Park is a negative, and his underlying metrics to date say that he’s earned every bit of his 4.57 ERA. He’s allowing the most line drives of his career, seeing a drop in his BB/9 and F-Strike% for the third-straight season, and posting his second-worst K% of his career. While a change of scenery may do him a little bit of good, the metrics say that he won’t be much better. As far as Granderson and Cedeno, they both will provide some depth in their respective roles. Granderson will be a nice left-handed power threat off the bench who can replace an outfielder if the need arises. As far as Cedeno, he’ll join Dan Jennings and Josh Hader to create a strong trio of southpaws in the Milwaukee pen.

In a minor move for fantasy purposes, the Dodgers acquired David Freese from the Dodgers in exchange for Jesus Valdez per Jon Heyman of Fancred. Freese will be a bench bat who can hit against LHP should the need arise.

The Rangers traded Cory Gearrin to the Athletics in exchange for Abdiel Mendoza and Teodoro Ortega. Gearrin will be a nice depth piece for the Athletics bullpen. Both prospects that came to the Rangers in return are starting pitchers, but they aren’t highly touted.

According to Ken Rosenthal of the Athletic, the Dodgers also made a move to acquire Ryan Madson from the Nationals in exchange for Andrew Istler (RHP).


Kenley Jansen secured his first save since returning from his heart scare yesterday, but Madson will provide a proven, experienced veteran at the back-end of the Dodgers pen. Madson has allowed a run in three-straight appearances heading into his new situation, but he’s continued to show flashes at times when he’s been healthy. He’s a worthwhile option for the Dodgers. Fantasy owners should assume that Madson would be the next man up in the closers role should something happen with Jansen moving forward.

The last move of the night was the Yankees acquisition of Adeiny Hechavarria in exchange for a player to be named later or cash considerations.


This is not a move that fantasy owners will be interested in. Hechavarria will be a defensive replacement and doesn’t carry any offensive upside.

Various News and Notes
The Giants called up their sixth ranked prospect (according to Eric Longenhagen’s list) Chris Shaw prior to Friday’s game against the Mets.


He went 0-for2 with an RBI in his debut. The Giants plan on giving the 24-year old slugger full-time at-bats down the stretch. Fantasy owners should scoop him up based on his 70-grade raw power and 24 HR in 422 PA at Triple-A. He doesn’t walk much for a power hitter, and he had a 30% K in Triple-A as well. Regardless, he’s worth an add in deeper formats based on his role and power.

Jaime Garcia signed a minor league contact with the Cubs according to Mark Feinsand of MLB.com and Joel Sherman of the New York Post. His 5.93 ERA and 1.53 WHIP with the Blue Jays caused them to designate him for assignment earlier this week, however, he still has a strong GB-tilt and can get lefties out. The Cubs will give him a try in the Triple-A Iowa bullpen and see if he can be a contributor down the stretch.

Mallex Smith is on track to return from the 10-day disabled when he’s first eligible on Monday according to Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times. He’s currently sidelined due to a viral infection, but things seem to be ok at the moment.

Bryan Hoch reported that Yankees manager Aaron Boone said that he’s, “very optimistic” that Aaron Judge will return this season. He also admitted that he’s not sure when it’ll happen. The New York brass is obviously playing this situation very cautiously and with good reason. They’ll need Judge to be at full strength if they want to have a chance at the World Series, but at the least the recent acquisition of Andrew McCutchen will soften the blow for now. Fantasy owners in shallow leagues have to at least entertain the possibility of dropping Judge if they don’t have room on their roster. With that said, most leagues have enough DL or bench spots to be able to hold on and hope he returns in the next two weeks or so.

Sean Reid-Foley and Luke Weaver will both receive starts for their respective clubs on Sunday. Both are interesting options if they’re available.

Jordan Bastian reported that Trevor Bauer will be re-evaluated on Saturday and Andrew Miller will resume his throwing program on Sunday or Monday. Bauer is still a long shot to return this season and Miller is a complete toss-up moving forward based on his durability.

Arodys Vizcaino is expected to begin a rehab assignment with Triple-A Gwinnett on Sunday according to Mark Bowman. A.J. Minter and Dan Winkler will continue to hold things down for the Braves in the meantime. Vizcaino may be in an uphill battle to regain his closer role, but he needs to get back on the field first before that’s even a possibility.

Jenifer Langosch reported that Michael Wacha is set to throw a bullpen session today. He hasn’t made a start since June 20th due to an oblique strain, and has had multiple hiccups on his way back. If everything goes swimmingly today, he should be able to continue his rehab assignment next week.

Jason Heyward was placed on the 10-day disabled list due to a right hamstring strain. Albert Almora started in center field yesterday, with Ian Happ and Ben Zobrist manning the corners. Kris Bryant is expected back any day now, so we’ll have to watch how things shake out with the Cubs lineup once he returns.

Scott Lauber reported that Justin Bour hit off a tee yesterday, and should be ready to activated at or near the first day he’s eligible on Sunday.

Streaming Pitchers
Pitchers for Today: Josh James vs LAA, Luis Castillo at STL, Steven Matz at SF, Derek Holland vs NYM
Castillo has been formidable against STL this season (besides one start) and has a 46/4 K:BB ratio over the last two months with improved velocity and underlying metrics. Matz gets the nod based on the matchup. The Giants were bad offensively before they lost Posey and McCutchen – who knows what depths it will get to now. On the other end, Holland dominated the Mets a couple starts ago, but that was at Citi Field. There’s added risk this time, as the Mets are top-10 in wRC+ this month and rank fourth in RPG on the road. His 3.36 xFIP and 9.6 K/9 at home can help combat that though. James has been strong in the minor leagues and gets an Angels team that posted a 91 wRC+ in August (25th).

A Pitcher for Tomorrow: Sean Reid-Foley at MIA, Luke Weaver vs CIN
Reid-Foley has a strong matchup and should find success if he can reign in the walks a little bit. Weaver hasn’t faced the Reds since early-June, and while he’s struggled this season as a whole, he should be at least formidable today. The Reds have struggled this last month and Weaver posted a 3.86 ERA, 50% GB, and an 11/3 K:BB ratio over 16 IP in August.





 

Fantasy Baseball and Tampa Bay Rays enthusiast. Restaurant manager by day, fantasy analyst by night. Contributor to Rotographs, Baseball HQ, Fantasy Pros, and co-owner of Friends with Fantasy Benefits. Follow me @MikeWernerFWFB.

1 Comment
Oldest
Newest Most Voted
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
aklangmember
5 years ago

In a minor move for fantasy purposes, the Dodgers acquired David Freese from the Dodgers in exchange for Jesus Valdez .

Those dodgers trading to themselves again…

0