Edwin Diaz Charged With First Loss Of Season

New York Mets closer Edwin Diaz entered Monday night's game against the Cincinnati Reds in a non-save situation. He would induce a pair of flyouts and a groundout, throwing an economic 11 pitches, but would be tagged with the loss. That's because the 25-year-old allowed a solo home run, breaking a 4-4 tie. The home […]

Luke Gregerson Likely to Be Activated on Tuesday

St. Louis Cardinals relief pitcher Luke Gregerson (shoulder) has joined the team on Monday and could be activated on Tuesday. Gregerson was pitching elite during his rehab appearances, so it sounds like he's ready to return to the Red Birds bullpen. Gregerson won't have a bunch of fantasy value, but could be helpful if he's […]

Closer Situation Murky In Tampa

The Tampa Bay Rays closer situation has been a tough one to predict lately. Reliever Jose Alvarado had been excellent to start the year and looked like he would keep the ninth-inning duties, but three saves from Emilio Pagan in the last week have brought up questions. On Sunday, Alvarado was called on in the eighth […]

Seung Hwan Oh Melts Down

Colorado Rockies relief pitcher Seung Hwan Oh watched it all fall apart on Sunday after he already had two outs in the eighth inning while being spotted a two-run lead. He'd given up a single, but otherwise, it looked like he had it all under control. A second single wasn't ideal, but still, no big […]

Buy or Sell - Undervalued and Overvalued Players for Week 5

We are just over a month into the fantasy baseball season and it is a prime time to buy in on players whose production could be legit/should be better or hop off a heater before the floors caves in. As we all should know, baseball is a game of ebbs and flows. When there is […]

The Cut List (Week 5) - Time to Let Go?

Welcome to the final week of cuts in which you can still be told, "It's only April." However, you will not be told that. About one-sixth the season is now complete; that's still not much in the big scheme of things, but if you wait too long, suddenly it's the All-Star Break and someone has […]

Kenley Jansen Nails Down His 10th Save

Los Angeles Dodgers closer Kenley Jansen worked around a double and a walk in a scoreless ninth inning in Sunday's 7-6 victory against the Pittsburgh Pirates to secure his 10th save. He also recorded a pair of strikeouts while lowering his ERA to 3.07. He has nailed down 10 of his 11 save opportunities while […]

T.J. McFarland Nearly Ready To Return From Injury

Arizona Diamondbacks relief pitcher T.J. McFarland (shoulder) is nearing a return from the 10-day injured list after a bout with shoulder inflammation. It's possible he could be back as soon as Tuesday, as the team designated reliever Matt Koch for assignment over the weekend, and they optioned Jon Duplantier to Triple-A Reno on Sunday after […]

Matt Andriese Not Considered As Candidate To Start

Arizona Diamondbacks starting pitcher Matt Andriese is not considered as a candidate for the starting rotation, as the team ponders changes. The long reliever has pitched well in the back end of the bullpen and manager Torey Lovullo doesn't want to ruin the bullpen chemistry. "He hasn't really entered the equation for me because he's […]

Jon Duplantier Optioned Out After Nice Outing

Arizona Diamondbacks relief pitcher Jon Duplantier allowed just one hit and two walks with four strikeouts over four scoreless frames of extra-innings relief in Sunday's 6-5 home loss against the Chicago Cubs. He threw 34 of his 58 pitches for strikes and was optioned out to Triple-A Reno after the game for a fresh arm. […]

Blake Parker Saves Fifth Game

Minnesota Twins closer Blake Parker pitched a scoreless ninth inning in a 4-1 win over the Baltimore Orioles on Sunday. Parker struck out two and earned his fifth save of the season in the win. The veteran reliever has been a solid presence at the back of the Minnesota bullpen, emerging as the team's preferred […]

Jerry Blevins Shipped Out, Lou Trivino Nearly Ready

The Oakland Athletics traded relief pitcher Jerry Blevins to the Atlanta Braves on Sunday for cash considerations or a player to be named later. It's a good sign that relief pitcher Lou Trivino (thumb), who has been on the 10-day injured list due to a right thumb injury, might be ready to return for the […]

Blake Treinen Falls Apart North Of The Border

Oakland Athletics closer Blake Treinen coughed up four earned runs, five hits and two walks with a strikeout in 1 2/3 innings of work in a relief loss in extra innings on Sunday in Toronto. He entered the game in a tie ball game and not a save situation, and he threw 39 pitches as […]

Sergio Romo (RP, MIA) - Week 5 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in All Leagues OWNED IN: 35% of leagues ANALYSIS: Perhaps unsurprisingly, Sergio Romo - not trendier upside plays like Adam Conley, Drew Steckenrider, Nick Anderson, or Taysom Guerrero - has emerged as the primary ninth-inning option for Miami. He's locked down their last three save situations, with clean innings in all of those games. […]

Ty Buttrey (RP, LAA) - Week 5 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in All Leagues OWNED IN: 21% of Yahoo! leagues ANALYSIS: It may be hard to believe, but it appears that manager Brad Ausmus has actually learned from previous mistakes. Known for leaving closers in the ninth inning role for far too long, Ausmus pulled the plug on the struggling Cody Allen in late-April, giving the […]

Jon Duplantier Recalled on Sunday

Arizona Diamondbacks pitcher Jon Duplantier has been recalled from Triple-A Reno on Sunday. Righty Matt Koch has been designated for assignment after an awful start to the season. Koch had a 9.15 ERA in a little over 20 innings of work. Duplantier has nasty stuff, so he could fit in the bullpen or rotation. He's […]

A.J. Minter Blows First Save Of The Season On Saturday

Atlanta Braves closer A.J. Minter blew his first save of the season during a 9-5 loss to the Colorado Rockies on Saturday night. He allowed four runs on two hits and two walks while striking out two batters. With Arodys Vizcaino (shoulder) sidelined for the foreseeable future, Minter was expected to be the frontrunner for […]

James Pazos Traded To Rockies

The Colorado Rockies acquired relief pitcher James Pazos in exchange for minor league infielder Hunter Stovall on Friday. Pazos has spent the entirety of this season in the Philly minor leagues due to control issues, but if he can get them ironed out with Colorado's Triple-A pitching staff, he could get some big league time […]

Bryan Shaw Picks Up Late Win Over Braves

Colorado Rockies relief pitcher Bryan Shaw was on the fortunate end of a blown save by the Braves on Saturday as Colorado posted a five-run ninth inning to win in a comeback. Shaw threw two flawless innings when the team was trailing by one run, and a big showing by the big bats landed him […]

Josh Hader Records Two Inning Save

Milwaukee Brewers reliever Josh Hader recorded a perfect two inning save while striking out five batters in Saturday's win against the Mets. This was a great rebound for Hader as he had been bad in his previous three appearances. Also, Jeremy Jeffress allowed three base runners and a run to score without recording an out, […]

Jeremy Jeffress Doesn't Record An Out

Milwaukee Brewers reliever Jeremy Jeffress came into the eighth inning with a three run lead and allowed two hits, a walk and a run before being pulled for Josh Hader without recording an out. This was the first time that Jeffress had given up a run this season and it was a bad time for […]

Taylor Rogers (RP, MIN) - Week 5 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in 12+ Team Leagues OWNED IN: 35% of leagues ANALYSIS: There are plenty of contenders coming out of the back end of the Minnesota Twins bullpen, and 28-year old fellow former Kentucky Wildcat Taylor Rogers is one of them. In a relief core featuring a slew of competitors for high leverage situations such as […]

Amir Garrett (RP, CIN) - Week 5 Waiver Wire Analysis

BALLER MOVE: Add in 14+ Team Leagues OWNED IN: 3% of leagues ANALYSIS: There are plenty of factors that make Amir Garrett appealing. There's his 6-5, 228 lbs. frame, his fantastic athleticism as demonstrated by his basketball history at St.Johns, and his aggressive and entertaining approach to baseball braggadocio. He has also gotten off to a Cincinnati […]

Anthony Swarzak Suffers Second Blown Save

Seattle Mariners reliever Anthony Swarzak was summoned to protect the team's one-run lead in the ninth inning Friday night but failed to do so. He gave up a solo shot to Shin-Soo Choo to send the game to extras, and he has now given up a solo home run in three straight appearances. Swarzak also […]

Justus Sheffield Struggles In Three Relief Innings

Seattle Mariners pitching prospect Justus Sheffield took over from Yusei Kikuchi in the second inning in Friday night's tilt versus the Rangers. He struggled with his command over three frames of work, throwing just 39 strikes in 75 pitches as he walked four and served up a two-run homer to Nomar Mazara. Sheffield struck out […]

Points Leagues Waiver Wire Pickups: Week 5

We march into Week 5 of the 2019 baseball season and vigilance of the waiver wire becomes increasingly important as we approach May. The impact of one awful or great game is starting to become less meaningful as players gradually approach steady state. One luxury of Statcast data is the ability to compare actual with […]

H2H Category Streamers - Week 5 Waiver Wire

There are plenty of strategies that fantasy managers explore in hopes to get an advantage over their opponent. Heavy lineup, heavy starting pitchers, no catcher, all (or mostly) reliever staff, no reliever staff, etc. Even if you play a balanced lineup, injuries can cause holes. A few weeks without a key player won’t kill a […]

Closers and Saves Report - Week 4 Waiver Wire

Hey, is there a way we can have the beginning of Queen's "Another One Bites the Dust" play when people open this article? No? Okay, never mind. Another one bit the dust this week, with the Angels taking Cody Allen out of his ninth-inning role. Other closers are struggling, but Allen is the one who […]

Brad Hand Saves Another Game on Friday

Cleveland Indians closer Brad Hand saved his eighth game of the season on Friday, tossing a scoreless ninth inning in a 6-3 win. He walked one but struck out the other three batters he faced. Hand lowered his ERA to 1.42 and opposing batters are hitting just .178 off of him.

Dominic Leone Gets Destroyed on Friday

St. Louis Cardinals relief pitcher Dominic Leone was hit hard on Friday, getting just two outs while allowing six runs on six hits and a walk. On a very very minor bright side, the two outs he got were strikeouts. So...yay? Leone's ERA shot up to 6.17.