Connor Brogdon Activated From COVID-19 List

The Philadelphia Phillies activated relief pitcher Connor Brogdon from the COVID-19 list on Saturday. Fellow pitcher Mauricio Llovera was optioned to Triple-A Lehigh Valley in a corresponding move. Brogdon previously pitched to a 4.19 ERA and a 4.07 FIP in 37 appearances spanning 34 1/3 innings for the Phillies this season. He also struck out […]

Wade Davis Activated From Injured List Saturday

Kansas City Royals relief pitcher Wade Davis (forearm) has been activated from the 10-day injured list, according to Anne Rogers of MLB.com. Davis missed almost a month due to a right forearm strain, but even before then he wasn't providing much help in fantasy, as he was 0-2 with one save, an 8.06 ERA, 1.636 […]

Rangers-Blue Jays Game Postponed Saturday

The scheduled game between the Texas Rangers and Toronto Blue Jays on Saturday has been postponed due to rain, according to Keegan Matheson of MLB.com. The game will be made up on Sunday as part of a doubleheader, with Game 1 beginning at 1:07 p.m. Managers should make sure to adjust their lineups for Saturday […]

Fantasy Baseball Injury Updates - Week 17

It was strange to not see any baseball highlights for a few days this week but thankfully it was a quiet injury week as a result. Following the All-Star break, a number of injured players will be beginning/finishing their rehab assignments in the hopes of returning to their respective teams. Please keep in mind that […]

Pete Fairbanks Notches Fourth Save On Friday

Tampa Bay Rays pitcher Pete Fairbanks tossed a scoreless inning to earn the save during Friday's 7-6 extra-inning win over the Braves. He entered the 10th inning to protect a one-run lead. The 27-year-old retired all three batters he faced to earn his fourth save of the season. It was his first save since June […]

Sergio Romo K's Two In Relief Win Versus Cleveland

Oakland Athletics relief pitcher Sergio Romo pitched a clean ninth inning against the Indians on Friday night and earned the win thanks to a walk-off homer by Jed Lowrie. Romo was dominant in his lone inning of work; he needed just 10 pitches to retire the side while racking up two strikeouts along the way. […]

Archie Bradley Earns Relief Win Versus Marlins On Friday

Philadelphia Phillies relief pitcher Archie Bradley pitched 1 2/3 scoreless innings to earn the win in the first game of Friday's doubleheader versus Miami. The veteran reliever escaped trouble left by starter Matt Moore in the fifth, then tossed a clean sixth inning to earn the victory. Bradley didn't pick up a strikeout in the […]

Aroldis Chapman Pitches Scoreless Inning

New York Yankees relief pitcher Aroldis Chapman worked a scoreless inning in Friday's 4-0 defeat to the Boston Red Sox. Chapman walked one batter and fanned another, firing 15 of 23 pitches for strikes en route to his second straight scoreless appearance. The southpaw's spin rates were down on each of his splitter, sinker, and […]

Gregory Soto Expected To Be Available For Next Game

Detroit Tigers relief pitcher Gregory Soto has passed a pair of COVID-19 tests after appearing in Tuesday's All-Star game, according to Tigers manager A.J. Hinch. Soto will continue to be tested in accordance with protocols, but the expectation is that he will be available out of the bullpen the next time the Tigers take the […]

Jordan Hicks’ Return Uncertain This Season

St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Jordan Hicks (elbow) hasn't yet resumed mound work and may not return in 2021. According to manager Mike Shildt, Hicks is "significantly" behind Miles Mikolas (forearm) and Jack Flaherty (oblique) in his recovery process. "Hard to say" if he'll pitch for the Cardinals again this season. The 24-year-old has been sidelined […]

Fantasy Baseball Rest Of Season Rankings: Mid-Year Updates

The All-Star break offers us fantasy baseball players a chance to breathe and reassess the battlefield before us. Pitching remains as volatile as ever thanks to midseason rule changes, the next generation is fighting uphill after missing minor-league development in 2020, and Shohei Ohtani has blossomed into a full-fledged superstar. Instead of my weekly top […]

Top 50 Fantasy Baseball Prospects for Week 16

Wow, what a busy last few days for prospects around Major League Baseball. On Sunday, we were treated to both the MLB Futures Game — a showcase of the sport’s best prospects — and the first round of the 2021 MLB Amateur Draft. The remainder of the 20-round draft will take place today and tomorrow. […]

Paul Sewald Picks Up One-Out Save Friday

Seattle Mariners relief pitcher Paul Sewald appears to be firmly a part of the picture in terms of saves to start the second half of the year. Sewald relieved top reliever Kendall Graveman in this 6-5 victory over the Los Angeles Angels, giving up a single to Jared Walsh before retiring Phil Gosselin on a […]

Jordan Holloway Has An Excellent Outing On Friday

Miami Marlins rookie pitcher Jordan Holloway was excellent on Friday, tossing five innings of scoreless relief, allowing just two walks, no hits. He struck out six and earned the win, improving to 2-2 and lowering his ERA to 3.00. He set a Marlins franchise record, becoming the first Marlin to throw five innings of hitless […]

Tanner Houck Locks Down Three-Inning Save

Boston Red Sox pitcher Tanner Houck collected his first save of the year Friday, throwing the last three innings of a 4-0 win over the New York Yankees. He allowed one hit and one walk and struck out three. It's an excellent start to this stint in the major leagues for Houck, who will be […]

Reds Activate Michael Lorenzen From Injured List

The Cincinnati Reds activated right-hander Michael Lorenzen (shoulder) from the 60-day injured list on Friday and moved infielder Alex Blandino (hand) to the 60-day injured list in a corresponding move. Lorenzen will be making his season debut when he gets into a game, but he looked good on his rehab assignment in the Rookie League […]

Blue Jays To Return To Rogers Center On July 30

The Toronto Blue Jays announced on Friday that they will return home to Rogers Centre on July 30 against the Kansas City Royals after playing parts of two seasons in Buffalo, N.Y., and Dunedin, Fla., during the COVID-19 pandemic. Their home games in Toronto will be played with "robust health and safety protocols in place." […]

Ranger Suarez K's Three Marlins To Earn Save On Friday

Philadelphia Phillies relief pitcher Ranger Suarez pitched a scoreless seventh inning to earn the save in the first game of Friday's doubleheader. Suarez allowed a two-out single to Joe Panik, but whiffed the other three Marlins he faced to pick up his third save this season. Suarez has earned the last three saves for Philly […]

Art Warren Could Miss 3-6 Weeks

Cincinnati Reds manager David Bell said that relief pitcher Art Warren (oblique) could be out for three to six weeks with his oblique injury. Oblique injuries usually require an extended stay on the injured list for pitchers, so this shouldn't come as a huge surprise. Warren has been excellent in relief for the Reds this […]

Mariners Claim Ryan Weber Off Waivers

Seattle Mariners relief pitcher Ryan Weber is the newest member of the team, as he was claimed off waivers from the Milwaukee Brewers. Weber has bounced around the league this year, starting with the Red Sox before being claimed by the Brewers, and now the Mariners. He's only thrown 6 2/3 innings this year in […]

Red Sox-Yankees Game Will Be Played Friday

The Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees will be able to play Friday night's game after Thursday's postponement due to COVID-19 protocols, according to Bryan Hoch of MLB.com. In a statement from MLB, it was announced that after conducting testing and contact tracing in the Yankees organization, it has been deemed OK for Friday's […]

Lucas Sims Should Return To Reds In August

Cincinnati Reds relief pitcher Lucas Sims (elbow) will most likely be back in action with the team in August, according to C. Trent Rosencrans of The Athletic. Sims has been out since the end of June with a sprained right elbow, and earlier reports had his return as coming by the end of July. However […]

Tejay Antone Likely To Return In August

Cincinnati Reds relief pitcher Tejay Antone (forearm) will likely not be able to return until August, according to C. Trent Rosencrans of The Athletic. It had been previously reported that Antone may have been able to return by the end of July, but manager David Bell said that the more realistic timeline has Antone returning […]

Brandon Waddell Optioned To Triple-A

St. Louis Cardinals relief pitcher Brandon Waddell has been optioned to Triple-A Memphis, according to Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Waddell has bounced between three teams this season, with most of his work coming with St. Louis where he posted a 4.15 ERA with six strikeouts in 4 1/3 innings of work. He's […]

Rapid Tests Come Back Negative For Tampa Bay All-Stars

COVID-19 rapid tests performed on Tampa Bay Rays players who were at the All-Star Game have come back negative, according to Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times. While there wasn't any direct evidence that pointed to a potential positive test among the Rays All-Stars, it's still good news as concern has spread across the […]

Tigers-Twins Postponed On Friday

The Detroit Tigers and Minnesota Twins had their scheduled doubleheader postponed on Friday due to inclement weather. Game 1 has been rescheduled as part of a split doubleheader on Saturday, with games starting at 1:10 pm ET and 6:10 pm ET. Game 2 has been rescheduled for August 30, which was a shared off day […]

Aaron Bummer Activated, Reynaldo Lopez Recalled

The Chicago White Sox activated relief pitcher Aaron Bummer (hamstring) from the 10-day injured list and recalled right-hander Reynaldo Lopez from Triple-A Charlotte on Friday. In corresponding moves, relievers Jace Fry and Matt Foster were optioned to Charlotte. Bummer has been out all month with a strained hamstring, but he'll return to a late-inning setup […]

Closers and Saves Report - Waiver Wire and Trade Deadline Chatter

We here at RotoBaller's Closers and Saves Report believe that there should be something like the Home Run Derby, but for relief pitchers. Not a skills competition, or a strike throwing contest, or a velocity race. Just an actual Home Run Derby, but with relief pitchers. Our money is on Daniel Camarena. With the All-Star […]

Using K-BB% To Find Relievers to Add for the Second Half

A couple of weeks ago, I used June's K-BB% leaderboard to look at which starting pitchers might provide value in the second half. In that article, I explained why I loved the metric so much by stating: If a pitcher has a high strikeout rate (K%), then we know he is effective because we know […]

Ryan Thompson Will Throw Bullpen Session Friday Or Saturday

Tampa Bay Rays pitcher Ryan Thompson (shoulder) will throw a bullpen session Friday or Saturday. The 29-year-old was shut down for a few days on July 8 after feeling shoulder discomfort. He will begin a rehab assignment soon and could return to the Rays bullpen later this month. The Rays right-hander owned a 2.38 ERA, […]