Brad Boxberger Bounces Back To Record 25th Save

Arizona Diamondbacks closer Brad Boxberger recorded his 25th save of the season on Sunday, striking out two batters over a clean inning of work. It was a good bounce-back effort for Boxberger, who was blown up for three runs in his last appearance. He now carries a 3.49 ERA and 1.13 WHIP this season and […]

Aroldis Chapman Strikes Out Side On Sunday

New York Yankees closer Aroldis Chapman flashed his overpowering stuff on Sunday against the Kansas City Royals. Charged with protecting a 6-3 lead, Chapman came in at the top of the ninth inning and proceeded to strike out the side to earn his 28th save of the season. Chapman's month of July was marked by […]

Craig Kimbrel Protects Win Over Twins Sunday

Boston Red Sox closer Craig Kimbrel secured his 33rd save of the season in a 3-0 victory against the Twins. He pitched a clean ninth inning with one strikeout. It was a nice bounce-back from his blown save against these same Twins on Friday. In 45 innings, he has two wins with 64 strikeouts and […]

Surplus to Requirements - Minor Trades and Fantasy Implications

For fantasy baseball owners the trading deadline is a bit of a mixed bag. On the one hand, the hope is that players move into better spots on better teams, or at the very least, do not move to worse spots. On the other hand, trades lead to changes, and changes are not always good […]

Trading Up: Pitching Category Targets

This article is the fourth in our series on trade and acquisition targets for the second half of the season. Part 1: Top-50 Players to Target Part 2: Mid-Tier and Bargain Targets on Offense Part 3: Mid-Tier and Bargain Pitchers Part 4: Offensive Category Targets Part 5: Pitching Category Targets Each section focuses on players […]

AL-Only Waiver Wire Team of the Week: MLB Week 18

Every week in baseball, a significant player will hit the disabled list, slip into a slump, or get traded out of a good spot. How fantasy owners adapt to these situations can make or break the season as a whole. One lousy add might not hurt the long-term standing of a team, but failing to […]

Keone Kela Not At Absolute Best Sunday

Texas Rangers closer Keone Kela was not at his absolute best in picking up his 24th save Sunday. Kela walked two and gave up an RBI single in the ninth, before getting George Springer to pop out to end the game. Kela then commented after the game that he is fully expecting to be traded before […]

Raisel Iglesias Notches 21st Save Of Season Sunday

Cincinnati Reds closer Raisel Iglesias picked up his 21st save of the season in Sunday's 4-0 win over the Phillies. Iglesias entered the game in the ninth inning up four with one out and runners on first and second. After allowing a single to load the bases, Iglesias shut the door with back-to-back strikeouts. He […]

Anthony Swarzak Locks Down Mets Victory

New York Mets reliever Anthony Swarzak nailed down his third save Sunday against the Pittsburgh Pirates. Swarzak recorded a perfect ninth inning, retiring two via strikeout. The save is his second in the past week. The Mets bullpen situation has been fluid but Swarzak looks to be the preferred ninth-inning man. Although he holds a […]

Craig Kimbrel Records 33rd Save of Season on Sunday

Boston Red Sox closer Craig Kimbrel returned to form on Sunday evening against the Minnesota Twins. After blowing a save on Saturday, the Red Sox bearded fireballer rebounded and pitched a clean ninth inning to record his 33rd save of the season. Kimbrel is carrying a sparkling 2.20 ERA and 0.96 WHIP through 45 innings […]

Brad Brach Acquired By Braves

Relief pitcher Brad Brach was traded to the Atlanta Braves from the Baltimore Orioles Sunday. Brach was the default closer after the Zach Britton trade but that is no more. Brach has struggled this season and is likely behind A.J. Minter for saves while Arodys Vizcaino is on the disabled list. Brach has a 4.85 […]

Franmil Reyes Optioned, Jordan Lyles Activated

The San Diego Padres optioned outfielder Franmil Reyes to Triple-A El Paso on Sunday and activated starter/reliever Jordan Lyles (forearm) from the disabled list. Reyes has played sparingly since his recall on July 11, making only 15 plate appearances. The right-handed power hitter should get regular at-bats back with the minor league club. Lyles has […]

Dakota Hudson Strikes Out Two Batters In Debut

The St. Louis Cardinals prospect Dakota Hudson made his major league debut against the Chicago Cubs on Saturday. The 23 year old came in for a relief appearance and struck out two batter in one inning of work. There's lots of excitement surrounding Hudson, and the fans will be even more excited since he did […]

The Cut List (Week 18): Time to Let Go?

Welcome to Week 18 of the Cut List. I'm your guest host this time around, filling in for usual steward Conor McElheney. Longtime RotoBallers may recall that I covered this beat last season. Hopefully your remembrances aren't rooted in anger after I gave you bad advice!  The format this year is a bit different, but […]

Brandon Mann Optioned To Triple-A

Texas Rangers relief pitcher Brandon Mann was optioned to Triple-A on Saturday. In order to make room for the arrival of Ariel Jurado, a relief pitcher was always likely to be moved. With Eddie Butler now in the bullpen as a long reliever, Mann has been deemed surplus to requirements. Mann has not had much […]

Tyler Chatwood Will Move To Cubs Bullpen

Chicago Cubs starting pitcher Tyler Chatwood will move to the Cubs bullpen after the club acquired starting pitcher Cole Hamels on Friday. Chatwood has struggled with the Cubs after signing for three years this past offseason. Chatwood has a 4.98 ERA and 1.78 WHIP on the season. Walks have really hurt Chatwood and he should […]

Adam Ottavino Vultures Save On Friday

Colorado Rockies relief pitcher Adam Ottavino took the highest profile role on Friday night by closing out the ninth inning of a 3-1 win against Oakland. Manager Bud Black told reporters that he wanted to give normal closer Wade Davis an extra day off, so Ottavino got the call. Ottavino threw a clean inning to […]

Raisel Iglesias Earns Eighth Multi-Inning Save Friday

Cincinnati Reds closer Raisel Iglesias notched his 20th save of the season in Friday's 6-4 game against the Phillies. Iglesias entered the game in the eighth inning up three with two outs and a runner on first base. After getting the third out, Iglesias proceeded to give up one unearned run in the ninth. His […]

Kenley Jansen Earns 30th Save Of Season Friday

Los Angeles Dodgers closer Kenley Jansen notched his 30th save of the season in Friday's 4-1 game against the Braves. Jansen entered the game in the eighth inning up three with two outs and runners on first and second. He got Freddie Freeman to fly out to end the inning and proceeded to pitch a […]

Blaine Hardy Will Start Saturday

Detroit Tigers pitcher Blaine Hardy will toe the rubber on Saturday, making just his 10th start of the season as the Tigers take on Cleveland. Hardy has bounced between the bullpen and the rotation, but has generally been the man called upon for spot-start situations when one of the regular rotation arms goes down. That's […]

Craig Kimbrel Blows Save Opportunity

Boston Red Sox Craig Kimbrel failed to convert a four-out save chance Friday against the Twins. Because of the bullpen struggles, Kimbrel was forced to come on in the eighth inning, when he is only 8-for-12 in save opportunities. The damage was done in the top of the ninth when he walked two batters and […]

Buy or Sell - Undervalued and Overvalued Players for Week 18

In a relatively active week on the MLB trade market, we now have several impactful moves to digest from a fantasy standpoint. While real-life GMs always assume trades will work in their team's benefit, the reality is that not all players are able to adapt to their new team in a positive way. With more […]

Will Smith (RP, SF) - Week 18 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in All Leagues OWNED IN: 38% of leagues ANALYSIS: With Hunter Strickland sidelined by a broken finger sustained while punching a door in anger after a blown save, the San Francisco Giants have tried a number of different relievers in the ninth inning. Most recently, they have been turning to Will Smith to shut […]

Pedro Strop (RP, CHC) - Week 18 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in All Leagues OWNED IN: 28% of leagues ANALYSIS: Chicago Cubs relief pitcher Pedro Strop has taken the opportunity to grab the closer's role in Chicago with Brandon Morrow going on the disabled list with a biceps injury. Those that were hoping that Morrow would be off of the disabled list on Saturday were […]

Joakim Soria Activated, Jacob Barnes Optioned to Triple A

Milwaukee Brewers relief pitcher Joakim Soria has been activated for Friday's game against the San Francisco Giants. The newly-acquired righty will bring veteran experience to a fairly young Brewers bullpen. The acquisition of Soria also gives the Brewers another option in the ninth inning. Righty Jacob Barnes has been optioned to Triple A to make […]

Julio Urias Could Join Dodgers Bullpen

Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Julio Urias (shoulder) is a serious candidate to join the Dodgers bullpen down the stretch of the season, according to manager Dave Roberts. Urias has nearly recovered from shoulder surgery and is getting closer to a rehab assignment. Urias was impressive with the Dodgers in 2016 and could end up as […]

Three Teams Showing Interest In Brad Brach

According to MASN's Roch Kubatko, the Cleveland Indians, Colorado Rockies and Chicago Cubs have shown interest in Baltimore Orioles closer Brad Brach. Brach has pitched to a 4.85 ERA and a 38/19 K/BB ratio this season with 11 saves. Despite struggling in 2018, Brach has proven he could be a dominant bullpen piece, making the […]

Diamondbacks Acquire Eduardo Escobar for Three Prospects

Minnesota Twins infielder Eduardo Escobar is heading to the Arizona Diamondbacks in exchange for three prospects. The Twins are receiving righty pitcher Jhoan Duran and outfielders Ernie De La Trinidad, Gabriel Maciel. All three players are currently at Class-A Kane County. Escobar should continue his solid season in Arizona. He's hitting .274/.338/.514 with 15 home […]

Andrew Kittredge Recalled Friday

Tampa Bay Rays reliever Andrew Kittredge has been recalled to the majors on Friday. Kittredge was sent to Triple-A after Sundays game, but after Jonny Venters was traded to the Atlanta Braves last night there was an open roster spot. Kittredge has had a rough season in the majors with a 7.77 ERA in 22 […]

Tyler Lyons Designated for Assignment

St. Louis Cardinals relief pitcher Tyler Lyons has been designated for assignment on Friday. Lyons posted a 8.64 ERA in 27 appearances with 16 earned runs in 16 innings with the Cards this season. However, Lyons put together two solid seasons with the Cardinals during 2016 and 2017. He's not worth owning in fantasy leagues […]