Fantasy Baseball Today - Latest MLB Trades, Signings & News! Josh Donaldson to the Yankees & More (3/14 Fantasy Baseball Podcast)

Episode Date: March 14, 2022

Join our FBT March Madness Bracket for a chance to join our listener leagues- cbssports.com/FBTbrackets Freddie Freeman hasn't signed yet (1:00)! What's going on? ... Sonny Gray was traded to the Minnesota Twins (5:23). ... Chris Bassitt was traded to the New York Mets (9:50). ... Mitch Garver was traded to the Texas Rangers (14:35). 🚨 Breaking news: Josh Donaldson and Isiah Kiner-Falefa were traded to the Yankees for Gary Sanchez and Gio Urshela (21:30). ... Nelson Cruz also just signed with the Nationals (37:03). ... Ronald Acuña is still targeting a May return (41:40) while Zack Wheeler is dealing with a shoulder issue (46:03). .. What other injury updates did we get (53:55)? ... Yusei Kikuchi signed with the Blue Jays (57:13). What bullpen moves happened over the weekend (1:05:48)? Lastly, Ty Buttrey is back (1:12:12)! 'Fantasy Baseball Today' is available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, Google Podcasts, Castbox and wherever else you listen to podcasts.  Follow our FBT team on Twitter: @FBTPod, @CTowersCBS, @CBSScottWhite, @Roto_Frank Join our Facebook group at https://www.facebook.com/groups/fantasybaseballtoday Sign up for the FBT Newsletter at https://www.cbssports.com/newsletters/fantasy-baseball-today/ For more fantasy baseball coverage from CBS Sports, visit https://www.cbssports.com/fantasy/baseball/ To hear more from the CBS Sports Podcast Network, visit https://www.cbssports.com/podcasts/ Subscribe to our YouTube channel: youtube.com/FantasyBaseballToday You can listen to Fantasy Baseball Today on your smart speakers! Simply say "Alexa, play the latest episode of the Fantasy Baseball Today podcast" or "Hey Google, play the latest episode of the Fantasy Baseball Today podcast." To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Welcome to the Fantasy Baseball Today podcast from CBS Sports. Got a fantasy question? Email Fantasy Baseball at CBSI.com. Get ready to win your league. Now here's Frank, Scott, and Chris. No Freddie Freeman or Carlos Correa signings just yet, but it was still a jam-packed weekend in Major League Baseball. Let's break it all down.

Welcome into Fantasy Baseball today on Monday, March 14th. I am Frank Stamphill, joined by Scott White. and Chris Towers. We originally had that bus planned for today, but there was just so much that happened. Bus will have to wait to later on in the week. Scott, I am sorry that the Braves haven't signed Freddie Freeman yet. How are you feeling at this very moment?

My stomach is in knots, Frank. I feel nothing but dread in all areas of my life. And I am praying for resolution sooner than later. praying for positive resolution. I'm being a little dramatic for the entertainment of our audience, but only a little dramatic. I would be, I'm not lying when I say I've lost sleep over this. Dated back to December, I've lost sleep over this,

this possibility that Freddie Freeman might not, actually may not wear a Braves uniform next year. And yeah, there was a video going around from him, being interviewed after the World Series by the Fox crew who, you know, the studio crew who covered the game, A-Rod and Frank Thomas and all of that. And just him. I had no idea Frank Thomas was a Braves fan. Yeah, yeah, from Columbus, Georgia originally. He never played for the Braves.

But anyway, it's so obvious that Freddie Freeman doesn't want to play for any team other than the Braves in that interview. Like, it just really brought it home. And just being reminded of that, it's like, it's like. Like, it's obvious he wants to be there. It's obvious the Braves want. Like, why hasn't this happened yet? And it's, it's, it's incredibly, it's incredibly scary, Frank. I, dude, I hear you, man.

Look, if he doesn't sign with the Yankees, obviously for my own selfish reasons, I hope that he goes back to your Braves. But if he doesn't, you've got some real questions when it comes to that team. Because I just, I can't figure it out for the life of me why they have not signed Freddie Freeman. No, it's going to hurt. It's going to hurt to watch them. I may need to take a break at least for a while until the hurting goes away, however long that takes. Obviously, not going to take a break covering baseball because that's my job.

Which number do you think will be bigger? The contract that Freddie Freeman signs for with whoever he signs for, or the surplus value that the Atlanta Braves will get out of Ronald Acuna and Ozziolbi's contracts combined. Yeah, I don't know. I mean, if I gave you Freddie Freeman's contract plus 100 million, I still might take the Acuna and Albi contracts being a bigger number. So, like, the idea that they might let Freeman walk is just utterly and completely indefensible. Like, I don't care if you can get Matt Olson and get 80% of the production for, you know, half the cost. It's not about that.

It's Freddie Freeman's team, okay? Like, that's the guy you don't cheap out on. You don't. And like, I'm sure he's, I'm sure he's willing to take less than the Dodgers could potentially give him is the thing. It's just how much before it becomes, you know, a matter of insult, right? So what I think it probably already is. Well, impossible to know because, like, nothing leaks from the Braves front office since Alex Anthopoulos got that. So that part of the reason is just everything's in the dark.

And that's part of what makes it scary. But my suspicion of. what's happening is that the Dodgers have obviously offered him more. Maybe the Yankees have offered him more. But he still really wants to be with the Braves. So they're trying to get creative. Maybe a sixth year team option with like a huge buyout or something. Maybe front loading the contract.

Something atypical is trying to be negotiated here to make this work. And I really hope it happens. Chris, at least it was a big weekend for one of our teams, right? The Marlins, they signed a fan favorite, a big beefy baseball boy, Williams Osutio. So one of the one of the best players in baseball. It's a huge deal, Williams Estadio that, you know, really it's the big bat the Marlins have been looking for. Yeah, I mean, who needs to do you? No, I am, I am extremely rooting for Williams Astidio to make the Marlins. And if any listener out there wants to get ahead of it,

buy me a Williams Estadillo, Marlins, custom jersey, go ahead. You know, I think we would all appreciate that. All right, let's get into all the latest, the trades, the signings, the biggest news from the weekend, lots of bullpen things going on as well. And let's start with Sunny Gray, who was traded on Sunday with Sunny Gray and minor league pitcher. Francis Piguero traded to the Minnesota Twins in exchange for 2021 to first round pick Chase Petty. He is a high school pitcher with a massive fastball, really good slider as well. We'll see if he can develop into a starting pitcher.

But Scott, I mean, I know that typically, you know, we did our starting pitcher previews recently and didn't sound like you were excited to draft Sunny Gray. But, you know, this is a pretty nice park shift going from Great American Ballpark to Target Field. And, you know, while the surface level numbers were not great for Sunny Gray last year, the underlying numbers were still pretty good. What do you think about this move for Sunny Gray? Yeah, it doesn't really change my opinion much.

Yes, sunny gray splits last year. We're, as you'd expect, given the park, he was pitching at 489 ERA at home, 344 on the road. Previous two years for the Reds, home away, they weren't that different. Like, he's not a pitch. Like, he gets his outs via ground balls and strikeouts. Yes, it can only help leaving Cincinnati, but how much is it going to help? Honestly, I think it really comes down to whether good Sunny Gray shows up or mediocre sunny gray shows up. And I've been faked out so many times by him over the years that I don't want to guess anymore.

He's just somebody you get if you need some innings and need some strikeouts in the middle to late stages of your draft. And if he delivers on more than that, great. But you can't count on it. Chris, Sunny Gray missed time last year due to back groin and rib issues in 10 starts before he hit the IEL. He hit a 3.42 ERA, almost 12 strikeouts per nine. And then 16 starts after returning from injury, a 4.64 ERA. The velocity for the fastball down a little bit as well. What do you think about Sunny Gray overall and this move to the Minnesota Twins?

I mean, he's a fine guy to have around. I don't think he's going to make or break your team either way. But he's the type of player that in the past, like Scott said, we've kind of talked ourselves into or tried to do the, oh, he's peaking now. And it's just the inconsistency, both in the type of pitcher he's been and the results that he gets has been such a part of his game for so many years that I think that's what you have to expect.

Numbers, probably high threes, low fours, ZRA, good strikeouts, but you're probably not going to get a ton of winnings, even if he stays healthy for the full season. So he's a, if you get him around his ADP, which is 177.7 in NFC drafts, I think it's perfectly fine. But he's definitely not someone that I'm consciously,

like that I'm making a point to draft one way or the other. Sunny Gray, you mentioned the ADP with the NFBC on Fantasy Pros. It is a little bit higher. He's going as the 48 starting pitcher off the board, 163.2. Scott, who would you rather have? Sunny Gray? I know this might seem like an obvious answer,

but Ranger Suarez with the news last week that came out that he's got visa issues and might not be ready for the start of the season. He's 80P. Ranger Suarez, he's about 10 picks higher, but I think that's probably going to come down a little bit. I think Sunny Gray will probably move up a little bit. Who would you rather have between those two? Might still take Suarez.

I did move Suarez down a little bit. I don't think I'm going to move Sunny Gray up at all, but they were, you know, I was one of the highest people on Suarez to begin with. So there's still a pretty substantial gap between the two for me. Chris, who would you rather have, Sunny Gray or Logan Gilbert? They have nearly the same ADP, 163.2 versus 163.4. I would rather have Gilbert. I do wonder if I'm falling for the younger guy has more upside,

even if that might not actually be true in this case. Sunny Gray does have, you know, a decent amount of upside. but yeah, I would rather take the chance on someone like Logan Gilbert who, you know, throws hard, has, you know, at least prospect pedigree and the, the potential to have, you know, multiple plus pitches and good command. So I would rather have him, but it's close-ish. All right. Let's move on to another trade that happened this weekend. Chris Bassett traded to the New York Mets in exchange for, now I will admit this is a best. bad host job by me. Scott, do you know if it's J.T. Ginn or J.T. J.

I don't. I don't know either. So we'll know with J.T. Ginn. Chris Bassett traded to the Mets in exchange for pitcher prospect J.T. Ginn and Adam Oller, Chris Bassett's 80p. right now, 130.30.8. He is the SP 39 off the board. And Chris Bassett, I mean, it seems like annually undervalued in fantasy baseball. He's got a 3.23 ERA since the start of 2018. That's actually 15th best among qualified starting pitchers. However, brought this up recently when we were, again, doing our starting pitcher previews, much better in his career in Oakland Coliseum, which is a great place to pitch. 2.44 ERA there, 3.71 career ERA on the road. Chris, this time we will start with you. What do you think about Chris Bassett moving over to the New York Mets?

Do you maybe downgrade him because it's not as great of a park to pitch? And it's still a pretty you'd park though. No, I don't think so. I don't think you downgrade him much because where Bassett, I mean, last year he actually did take a step forward as a strikeout pitcher and that was big, but where he's, you know, really, I don't know, made his money, I guess, over the past couple of seasons has been in, you know, suppressing quality of contact. He's got a 355 expected Wobon contact for his career. It's been lower than that each of the past four seasons now. And that is a place, That's one way in which City Field isn't necessarily a significant

downgrade. It doesn't suppress home runs in the same way that the O. Dot Co or whatever we call that stadium now, I don't know. Ring Central Coliseum. Excuse me? Ring Central Coliseum.

Sure. Yeah, that sounds right. The City Field does suppress Babbitt decently or batting average, I suppose, is the other way to say that. So I don't think it's a huge downgrade for him. It is a downgrade, but not in a way that makes me particularly concerned.

It's a weird profile because, you know, we tend to prefer the strikeout pitchers. And if he goes back to being a 21% guy, then you're probably looking at a baseline expectation where his ERA is more in the high threes range, I would say, in which case, you know, if you're getting 160 or 180 innings, but only 140 or so strikeouts and a high three ZRA, then it's like, yeah, who cares? But, you know, if he can sustain, not who cares, but it's like he's not a difference maker. Yeah, sure, sure.

But if he can sustain the strikeout games he made last year, then I don't think the home park's going to matter much. So I'm not moving him down here. I do think you undersold the splits there a little bit, Frank. I think you gave last year splits, not the career splits. Career splits for Basset, 258 in Oakland, 434 everywhere else. So pretty drastic. But I don't disagree with the main takeaway there

that he's probably less susceptible to that at this stage of his career than previous stages. I think what this move means for Bassett is it's unlikely. You're going to see the low 3 ZRA he gave you last year, but amid 3 ZRA is still pretty likely. And for the innings he gives you and about a K-per, hopefully. I don't think it's a huge downgrade. Whoa.

There's some stuff going on right now. Oh, geez. I am going to wait until we get complete details here. Wow. Things are still coming in. It's nothing about you. Actually,

I mean, it might be. No, it's not pretty free. Don't worry. Look at that. The New York Yankees are finalizing a deal to acquire third baseman. Josh Donaldson and Isaiah Kiner Folefa from the Minnesota Twins.

And he got traded to the twins. The Washington Nationals are... Gary Sanchez to the twins. The Washington Nationals are close to signing Nelson Cruz as well. All right, so there's a lot coming in. So they exchanged Mitch Garver for Gary Sanchez? As the details come in, we're going to continue on. I'll talk about this Mitch Garver trade.

Yeah, we haven't even talked about the Mitch Garver. trade. It's all going to be related somehow, but as the details come in, we will, of course, get you them. Very interesting. Josh Donaldson and Garrett Cole in the same clubhouse. That's very interesting. All right, we're going to see what happens here. I'm kind of excited about that. Josh Donaldson on the Yankees. Anyway, let's start about Mitch Garver, who was traded to the Texas Rangers. Now, this is really going to be the start of all of this. Again, it sounds like Gary Sanchez is now going to the Minnesota Twins. But Garver to the Texas Rangers in exchange for Isaiah Kiner Folefa and Ronnie Enriquez.

And Scott, maybe a slight downgrade in Park. I mean, very slight. We're still trying to figure out Global Life Field. But anyway, like Mitch Garver, I think while there might be a slight downgrade there, the fact that he might play more consistently now. Like if he's healthy, he might actually have more playing time with the Rangers

than he did with the Minnesota Twins. What do you think about this move for him? Yeah, for my money, this is the most impactful fantasy move. of the weekend because the problem for Mitch Garver, the only reason he wasn't being drafted easily within the top 10 is because playing time concerns. And obviously going to the Rangers, there's no guarantee he's,

there's no guarantee of health. So that's still a question mark. But the bigger concern for me was even when he was healthy, the twin seem inclined to split his abats with Ryan Jeffers. And so the hope with this move is that the Rangers just want to make him straight up the first string catcher. And if that's the case, then he could be a very prolific one. I mean, he was third among catchers in OPS last year, 875. I believe the only two ahead of him were Yosmani Grundal and Buster Posey, who's now retired, obviously.

So third among catchers in OPS last year First among catchers in OPS in 2019 With a 995 OPS hit 31 home runs that year Even though he really didn't take over as the primary catcher Until later in the year So I think by now it's pretty safe to say Garver is an impact bat at a position with very few That's why I was thinking he was a value already

Because it's like why not shoot for upside at this position But now it doesn't even feel like that big of a gamble you know so I've moved him ahead of Tyler Stevenson I moved him ahead of Kbe Ruiz at least in categories leagues I kept Ruiz ahead for now in points leagues because the strikeout rate is so low and you know that matters in points leagues but Garver is now like a top seven top eight catcher for me with upside to be top five I think all right Chris what do you think about do you one better Scott oh boy oof all right hit me I've moved him to

Number six. There you go. Both. Actually, number, sorry, sorry. Number, was it six? Let's see. Six in Roto. I've moved him ahead of Wilson Contreras.

I just think he's a better hitter. And in points, I believe he's number seven. I do still have Wilson Contreras ahead for points leagues because, you know, he should have a playing time edge. But, yeah, I just, you just look at what he's done over the past three seasons and a 250 average and $800. an 870 OPS and that's including his miserable 2020 seasons. So I, which was weird and he had an intercostal strain. He was like 20 games that he played or something.

Yeah. So I'm, I like you said, you're looking for difference makers at the position. Mitch Garver is one of the few. I think he's more of a difference maker than Wilson Contrars. Hmm. All right.

So moving on up is Mitch Garver. You guys basically answered my questions about, uh, where, where you're going to be ranking him moving, ahead of Tyler Stevenson for sure. What's crazy is, do you actually think that this will be reflected in the ADP

because Mitch Garver was basically going, you know, 40 picks after Adley Ruchman in ADP, 50 picks after, you know, Kabor Ruiz and Tyler Stevenson, who are going in like the same exact range? Do you actually think, Scott, that Mitch Garver will push those guys or will he just remain undervalued

because we're, you know, already pretty far, I guess, in the draft season and the offseason? I think he'll get drafted. earlier. Will he push those guys in ADP? I don't know. I mean, I think the opinion we just gave on him seemed to be the consensus based on the stuff I was seeing on Twitter.

So the people who might have been undervaluing him before maybe won't now. Will they still take Tyler Stevenson ahead of him? Who's been a pretty buzzy player himself? I think probably. I'm not saying they should. I can

I don't think they should. I can make a case for Adley Ruchman and K. Bert Ries ahead of Mitch Garver even if I was like just trying to do the intellectual exercise of making the case for Tyler

Stevenson over Mitch Garver. I don't think I could come up with a good one. I just, I don't think there's anything there with Tyler Stevenson that would make him a better fantasy option than Mitch Garver. Unless you think he's just going to get like 150 more plate appearances, which I don't think he is. I just, I don't see any skills with Tyler Stevenson that, I mean, honestly, I don't see any skills that stand out, just period,

but I don't see anything that comes close to Mitch Garver's power that that makes him worth targeting and fantasy. All right, before we get to Isaiah Kinear Foleva, who again, now looks like he's headed to the New York Yankees. Let's just quickly put a bow on the, on this trade. Ryan Jeffers, I think there are some fallout here for those who play in two. catcher leagues, deeper two catcher leagues, and AL only. Ryan Jeffers, 14 home runs and 85 games last year with the Minnesota Twins. Scott, he basically takes over as the starting, well, no, he's not going to be the starting catcher now because they just acquired Gary Sanchez.

All right. There you go. Let's talk about all of this now. The latest trade. Something else happened, Frank. I don't know if you caught it. Nelson Cruz to the Nationals on a two-year deal. Is that official?

I hate that. I hate everything about it. Okay. Um, official, well, people are running with it. Uh, let's see. Who is it reported by? Hector Gomez. Okay.

I, I'm seeing that it's, uh, it's very close. Uh, they're moving closer, but I haven't seen. Hector Gomez MLB insider. He tweeted breaking news, the national sign Nelson Cruz to two years. And he is, I believe he's very plugged in with Dominican players. Okay. Hector Gomez. He tends to get a lot of scoops.

Um, so I would, I would think that. probably pretty good to go with. Yeah, potentially. I mean, again, like Ken Rosenthal tweeted it out six minutes ago that they're in serious talks, Nelson Cruz and the Washington Nationals. But we want to see it from Rosenthal, Frank. That's what you're saying. I want to see it from a few other sources.

But again, we could talk about it if, you know, the potential of it actually happening. Let's talk about the other part of this trade. Again, the latest. Josh Donaldson and Isaiah Kiner-Felefa now traded to the New York Yankees in exchange for Gary Sanchez and Gio Urshela, I do believe the Yankees also received backup catcher from the Minnesota Twins.

So I guess that would leave Kyle Higashioka and now that new catcher is. Is this a stupid question? Is Isaiah Kinear Folefa going to play catcher for the Yankees? I... Because Kyle Higashioca and Ben Rort Vett might be the worst catcher combination in baseball. It's not great.

That is abysmal. They have to have an upgrade somewhere coming. I know that Garrett Cole does like Kyle Higashioca himself. I mean, it's like a personal catcher thing. Anyway, let's talk about Josh Donaldson. I mean, this is a huge deal. I mean, for, I guess, we're probably going to see his value, I would say, climb quite a bit.

The ADP for Josh Donaldson right now is 193.6. And we've consistently talked about him as an undervalued player all season, basically. I mean, he's older. Yes, he misses time due to injury. But Scott, when Josh Donaldson plays, he's really. really, really good. And now he's likely going to be in the middle of the Yankees lineup.

So what do you think about your instant reaction to Josh Donaldson on the Yankees? I mean, my instant reaction is it sounds like a bigger deal. It's one of those, the majority of moves are a bigger deal to the real baseball world than the fantasy baseball world. But I don't know that it really changes my opinion on Josh Donaldson that much. I think some of the other factors in this deal, like, My mind goes to Jose Miranda. Now, I know they're getting, let's see, Gio Arcella is going back to the twins in the deal, but the twins sent their entire left side of the infield to the Yankees.

And Urchella, you know, was playing shortstop down the stretch last year. Jorge Polanco can play shortstop. Miranda has gotten time at third base and second base in the minors, and they have an opening on the infield now at either one of those spots or at shortstop. Or Jose Miranda is not going to play shortstop, but the point is, if they wanted him to make the opening day roster. As things stand right now, there's room for him to. All right, yeah, really good point.

I know Jose Miranda is someone we all like here as well, massive season in the minors last year, maybe getting more of an opportunity to play with the Minnesota Twins. Chris, I mean, I don't think it's completely ridiculous. I've had some people already tweeted me asking, is Isaiah Kine or Flef are going to play catcher for the Yankees? My initial reaction is, I don't think he would.

It seems like, you know, they want better infield defense, and it's something that they truly value, and it seems like that's why they wanted Isaiah Kinear-Flefa. What do you think about his value? I mean, his ADP is 324. If he's an everyday player for the Yankees, you know, it'll give you some batting average, a couple of steals. He had eight homers, 20 steals last year.

I-KF over to the Yankees. What do you think, Chris? You know, my initial reaction when he got traded to the twins initially was Isaiah Karekineff is probably undervalued. And I think that's more true now that he's with the Yankees, assuming that he's going to play every day, which I think we would expect just because of how much we're paying for stolen bases. I mean, maybe we don't buy him as a 20 steel guy, and he was an eight steel guy the year before in 58 games,

so I'm not sure it's outlandish to think he can be a 20-ish steel guy. I'd rather have, I mean, I know they play different positions, and Edmund has some flexibility, but I'd rather have Isaiah Kinear Philefa with my 18th round pick than Tommy Edmund with my eighth or whatever you usually have to pay for him if I'm in a Roto league. So I think he's definitely a winner here, and I think he's probably just undervalued in general. All right, yeah, I mean...

He hasn't played catcher since 2019, for what it's worth. He was... Yeah, I think that's... I think Chris was joking when he first mentioned that. Well, it's more a comment on how bad the catchers that they currently have. It was a jokey way of commenting on that. No, I mean, kinderful-left is one of the best defensive shortstop. So, like, I think that's his home now.

I don't really understand. It still seems like the Yankees have a log jam here because even if Donaldson plays third base or, I mean, I guess he could DH, but they have so many different players that are eligible to DH for the team. Could he play first? Maybe. What would that mean for Luke Void? Is he on the move next? They still have DJ LaMayhew that they have to fit in somewhere,

whether he wants to play third base. It seems like Glaber Torres is playing second. They don't want him to play shortstop. That experiment is over. It feels like the Yankees have multiple moves left. I don't know what they will be. I don't know who they will involve or what positions will be. But the current Yankees roster doesn't look anywhere close to finished.

All right. And again, going back to the Minnesota Twins, now let's talk about Gary Sanchez and Gio or Shell. Scott, I mean, you talked about some of the fallout that Jose Miranda maybe gets more of an opportunity to play here. I was just about to ask you about Ryan Jeffers, who once the Mitch Garver trade happened, I thought, you know, he'd be the starter. But now, obviously, they have Gary Sanchez and Gior Schell. What do you think about, what do you think this does for their value moving over to the twins? I don't think it helps.

obviously Yankee Stadium is known to benefit left-handed hitters more, the short porch and right field and all of that. And I don't know top of mind how much power they produced to the opposite field. But, you know, in theory it's a lesser lineup. In theory, it's a worse venue. I kind of think Gary Sanchez is in a spot where a change of scenery can only help. Yeah, I think that's the whole thing there. not, you know, how much is that worth to me in terms of draft capital, almost zero?

So, I guess the one thing I would think of when I think of Gary Sanchez in this context would just be that the twins have done a really good job the last few years of, I don't know if honing the right is the right word, but of getting the most out of this. type of player, I guess. You know, Byron Buxton being another like free swinging, aggressive player with a lot of raw talent. And so maybe there's something there that they, they can identify some of the flaws in his swing. And then the twins, I think when they broke the record for home runs a couple years ago, it was, you know, with a lot of pull heavy power guys.

And so maybe, you know, that is certainly Gary Sanchez. and he's still, whatever else you want to say about him, he still crushes the ball. I mean, he doesn't do it very often, but he hits the ball extremely hard. And so it's a bet on an, I don't know if you'd say an elite talent at this point, but a high-level talent.

I think it's interesting. And, I mean, now that we have the complete terms of the deal here, unless there's something I'm missing, I mean, they gave up Donaldson and Kiner Folefa. for Sanchez and Urchella, right? And Ben Rortvet was also... Yeah, but the twins also gave him up, so, you know, I'm kind of minor league catcher.

Like, you just match up the names there, Donaldson, Kineerfalefa for Sanchez and Urchella, just matching up the names, it looks like the twins gave up more than they got, right? And that, that to me, you know, considering they just used Garver to get kinder-fil-fea to make this, deal, they must value Sanchez more than Garland. Yeah, I think so.

So I don't think any of us believe they should, but, you know, they have their own, they have their own scouting network that. And there's Dan Hayes, twins, writer for the athletic, twins aren't done doing whatever they are doing, especially after all of Josh Donaldson, 50 million comes off the books, which seems like a big part of it. There was some contract relief in the deal, yeah. quote lots of irons. So, you know, I think that's, both of these teams seem incomplete right now.

The twins probably more so than the Yankees. But this is kind of happening in real time. And there's a, I feel like we are dealing with incomplete information in the aftermath of this deal. Yeah. And as more information comes in, of course, we will get that to you. Scott, you have Gary Sanchez ranked as your. 10th catcher in Roto and Chris you have him all the way down at 23. Whoa.

So do you foresee moving Gary Sanchez? Probably going to move him up, yeah. Okay. Would you? I don't know where to. I just, I'm in some respects. I'm kind of just done with it.

Right. And like, oh, I tried to talk myself into Gary Sanchez's last year and it did not work very well. I think with when he was with the Yankees, there was downside risk of just, bottoming out, like losing playing time, being benched, like not playing at all. I think that's extremely unlikely with the twins, given what they've given up for him. So I do think I have to move him up. I don't know if 10 would be the right answer, but yeah, probably mid-teens, I would guess.

Okay. And I guess last part here, let's just say Kyle Higashoka is a starting catcher for the Yankees. I mean, the batting average has been dreadful. He does have some pop. He had 10 home runs in 67 games. Scott, any interest in deeper two-catcher leagues if Higashioca is indeed the starting catcher for the Yankees? He'd be one of the least appealing starting catchers out there.

So it would have to be the sort of league. We're literally every catcher who gets at bats is drafted. He's like your classic, like, low-end number two fantasy catcher. He might hit 15 home runs or 16 home runs with a 200 average. I just, I don't seem like, I don't know, maybe the Yankees really like him. There are some somewhat interesting things in his batted ball profile. He does hit the ball well, and he's a good framer, which isn't a fantasy relevant thing, but for playing time purposes. But yeah, I think he's pretty bad.

All right. I do have a bit of a take here. Josh Donaldson, again, the ADP 133.6, according to, to fantasy pros. I think over the next couple of weeks, he closes the gap on Justin Turner. I think he moves up about 40 spots. Justin Turner's ADP is 151.8. Whether it's deserved or not, I think it's just going to be like a Yankee tax and people are going to get really excited about this move. And Donaldson is going to come close to being drafted in the same reigns as Justin Turner. Right. I think that's really going to happen. I think like a 40 Homer season is not out of the question for

Josh Donaldson still even at this point in his career. And I say this like 60% as a joke, but 40% serious. Like the Yankees training room is going to get a real workout. I mean, that was already true before this, but between Stanton, Judge Gallo and now Donaldson being added to that mix with his calf injuries over the past couple of years and just generally being a 37-year-old or 36-year-old, there's real research that's been done that shows that in sports, when injuries tend to beget injuries on a team-wide basis. It's not like this massive effect, and it's not consistent across all sports in the same ways, but generally

speaking, the teams tend to reach a breaking point when it comes to injuries where they start to, you know, things tend to roll downhill really quickly in some situations. And I think the Yankees have seen that in recent years, but it's the kind of thing where you only have so many trainers and they only have so many hours in the day to work on rehabilitation and when they're, or just, you know, getting guys fresh or keeping guys fresh. So when more of their time is spent on dealing with injured players, and then you start having to put, you know, more on a Stanton or a Donaldson if a judge is out or something like that, where these guys, you know, tend to get pushed past their breaking points. And in, in,

ways that I do think it introduces more team-wide risk for the Yankees. Yeah, no, I think all really good points. They have a lot of injury-prone players on this team. We'll see if they can keep those guys on the field. Nelson Cruz to the Washington Nationals has been confirmed as well. We'll get to that in just a second. But first, March Madness is here. We want you to compete with us in a bracket challenge game.

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We're going to take a quick break when we return Nelson Cruz to the Washington Nationals. We'll break it down here on fantasy baseball today. All right, so let's talk about Nelson Cruz to the Washington Nationals. Didn't really see this one coming. We heard a lot of rumors of the Padres and the Dodgers involved on Nelson Cruz. one year, $13 million guaranteed, it looks like, with a mutual option for 2023. And if nothing else, this just makes me feel better about the other pieces in the Nationals lineup. Like, I think Nelson Cruz is going to do his thing regardless.

Obviously, he's got to stay healthy. He's 41 years old. But Chris, this makes me feel even better about guys like Josh Bell and Lane Thomas leading off for that lineup and Juan Soto. So what do you think, Nelson Cruz, to the Washington Nationals? I don't feel better or worse about Juan Soto. He's arguably the best hitter in baseball. I don't think the presence of Nelson Cruz changes that one bit. But yeah, it makes the lineup look a little better.

And it's a lineup that frankly looks pretty awful. Even with the presence of some guys that we, I mean, Josh Bell and Wonsato are good. Nelson Cruz is a great hitter, which gives them three guys that I'm confident will be good hitters in 2022. So that, any that team can certainly use the help and um you know the top five of that lineup now looks okay the bottom four it is a problem i'll see does eskabar is currently slated to be the starting shortstop

for the washington nationals this season that's going to be a bad lineup even with nelson cruise but that's i don't know i don't understand it really i don't understand why the nationals would add nelson cruz and why nelson cruz and why nelson cruise would agree to sign with a team like the Nationals, maybe they'll let him pick where they trade him in July when they're 15 games out of first place. I don't know. I'm kind of confused by it. All right. The ADP for Nelson Cruz is 153.2. And Scott, I think part of the reason why that ADP is as low as it is is because Nelson Cruz wasn't signed yet. Now he's signed. I think there's a chance that he starts to move up a little bit. What do you think about the value here for Nelson Cruz and maybe how early you're willing to

select him yourself. Yeah, I think part of it, I agree, is because he hadn't signed yet. Part of it is because, you know, for the first time in a long time, he looked kind of vulnerable after joining the raise. His overall numbers with them, 226 batting average 725 OPS. But as we've talked about in recent weeks, if you look at the home away splits during his time with the raise, at home. And obviously these are small, even smaller samples of already small samples, but still.

At home, he hit 2.11 with a, where's the OPS? 603 OPS at home. But away with the raise, still 236, but again, small samples of small samples, the OPS was 812. Like he definitely was still hitting for the kind of power we're used to seeing from Nelson Cruz. And, you know, the exit velocities were still high. I think Tropicana Field is just

for some players in particular a really horrible place to hit. We've heard that with Willie Adomas. And it just makes sense. I mean, knowing what we know about the ballpark, the roof is a shade of white and the lighting isn't very good. It's just a weird.

It's a weird stadium. Yeah. So I think that might be the primary explanation for why Nelson's Cruy. with Nelson Cruz's numbers with the raise were what they were. And, you know, obviously he's not going to be with them anymore. So will he go up now that he's signed?

Will he moved up up in ADP? Probably to a degree. But I still think he'll be a nice value for people who are willing to roll the dice on the age and the health, which, you know, that's obviously been a good gamble for at least the last half decade. All right, Chris, would you rather have Nelson Cruz at 153.2? or Josh Donaldson at 193. So basically four rounds, not four rounds, 40 picks apart. Cruz.

I think both will be good hitters, though. I don't think there's much question for me, but I do think Donaldson has more risk of injury. I mean, he's dealt with more injuries, even though Cruz is older. Cruz has actually been pretty consistent in terms of his availability. So I'm not too concerned about it. All right.

Let's get to some injury updates that we were received over the weekend, and according to Marley Rivera of ESPN, Ronald Kuna, is hopeful that he'll be clear to return to game action in May. So all along, this is what we thought was going to be the case. And as of now, that's the latest update that we saw. There was also another report where manager Brian Snitker said the Braves will have to see Akuna in camp before delivering a timetable for his return. So, you know, some confliction there, I guess. But overall, I think we're still looking at May for Ronald Acuna. So, Scott, based on this most recent update, you know, there was more optimism.

Ronald Coonia seemed to be climbing in drafts. The ADP is ninth overall, just ahead of Mike Trout, Mookie Betts, Kyle Tucker. Do you now slide Ronald LeCunia back behind those names? I never moved him ahead, personally. Because I, the last we heard any sort of estimate was still May. And, you know, that's not as big a percent. of the season that we're talking about missing as it was before they pushed the pushed opening day back a week.

But still, I mean, even more than, okay, chop off this percentage of his projected numbers because he's going to lose that much of the season. As we can't really be sure how much of the season he's going to lose. It's an estimate of when he's going to return. And by the time we're forced to put our teams together, there's still a lot of hurdles he's going to have to clear. So I just... I can't take him ahead of any of those other first rounders.

I think mid-round two, when you start looking at the Luis Roberts's at the position, Roberts's at the position. It's a weird thing we do, right? We pluralize the guy's name. Yeah, no, I still think mid-second is where I'm looking to take Acuna. Would you rather have Acuna or Luis Robert? I mean, that's the line, right? I guess Acuna.

All right. I guess so. I don't think I'll be faced with the choice, thankfully. I'm moving him down a little further than that, actually. Okay. I'm moving him down to like the,

for me, the George Springer range. Always has to one up me. Chris always has to one up. You know, the George Springer range for most people is like 40th. That I'm,

I'm more like early third. But yeah, I'm moving him to 28th overall sandwiched between George Springer and Byron Buxton, which feels like a good place for him.

I think he'll be better than those guys. But those guys, all three of them have injury concerns, obviously. But George Springer and Brian and Buxon are currently healthy

and currently able to play baseball as far as we know. So, yeah, I mean, it's always tough because, like, when you, I always like to point out that when a player gets hurt, you don't just get zeros for them. So, like, you could plug in a replacement player for Ocuna and get numbers there and has combined that with his projections. He probably looks pretty close to a first round pick, but you have to consider the risk of injury, or not of injury, well, of injury also, but the risk of him not running as much. you know, if he's, if he's not going to come back until May,

and he's not necessarily going to be, like maybe he won't be fully comfortable running at full speed or stealing bases as often as he does at the start of the season, or maybe at all. Maybe they just don't want him to run to be a 30-steal pace guy. All of a sudden then, he's, I mean, he's an awesome player either way. You're looking at a mid-to-high 900s OPS bat no matter what. But it just, it introduces just enough concerns,

think to drop him down. All right. I'm seeing this tweet from Ken Rosenthal, getting more clarity on the Yankee situation still in the market for a left-handed hitting first baseman. Freddie Freeman, Matt Olson, Anthony Rizzo will be better defensively if they get one of those players and better at shortstop with Kiner Folefa, potentially five infielders for four spots. First baseman to be named. Gabor Torres, Kiner Folefah, Josh Donaldson, DJ LaMahue. We'll see like free Luke. It feels like free Luke. All that offense. That wasn't

working for us. So we're going to go totally the opposite direction now. Our entire offense is judge and Stanton. And you guys just go out and field the ball. That's... Well, that Josh Donaldson guy can hit. Yeah, he's pretty good. And Freddie Freeman, I don't know if you know this, Scott, but he's a decent

hit if they got him. I can't even... Look, we'll wait until it happens. I don't even want to think about the possibility of that happening because I don't think that my brain can handle it right now. Massive news on Zach Wheeler Sunday as He had shoulder soreness in December when he first started his throwing program. Apparently, the soreness dissipated quickly, but he's behind schedule and will not be the opening day starter.

So GM, Dave Dombrowski, and manager Joe Girardi said the plan is to go slow with Zach Wheeler this spring after his heavy workload in 2021, 21, 216. Ennings pitched, I believe it was last season. And it's not out of the question for Wheeler to be ready, you know, the first week of the season, you know, first couple of weeks, whatever. might be, but he will not be the opening day starter. He is the SP7 off the board. His ADP is 24.6. Chris, I'll start with you. What do you think about this news on Zach Wheeler? How far are you looking to drop him down your starting pitcher ranks, if at all? You're muted. I don't think there's any way you could not move him down. I don't know. Maybe that's just me. Maybe I'm overreacting. I know in the instant wake of news like this, there can tend to be some overreactions and some

chicken littling. But I, um, I'm definitely. concerned about Zach Wheeler at this point because the primary argument in his favor was safety was yeah he might not have the ratios of some of these other guys he might not be the 12k per 9 guy but look at this he's thrown 190 innings and two of the last the past three seasons maybe three of the past four he hasn't had any injury concerns over the past four seasons since coming back from that top of John surgery he's a really rock steady ace he maybe doesn't have the upside. But well, now, like, what does that, what does that mean? Because I mean, I don't know that there was the primary argument for taking him in the second round. The primary argument for taking

in the second round was he was almost the Cy Young winner in the NL last. Right, but like Corbyn Burns was a lot better than him last season. Okay. It's just that Zach Wheeler through 40 more innings. Wheeler and, Wheeler and Burns, there's no debate there anymore. If, if there ever was, I I don't remember the last draft I saw where Wheeler went ahead of Burns, but clearly that's not. But if we're talking about Wheeler versus like Sandy, Sandy Alcantara, are you moving Wheeler outside of your top 10?

What would be the case for Wheeler over Alcantra at this point? I mean, he was a little bit better last season, but now Alcounter is. Oncantra is. I think this is a, I think this is a nothing burger, honestly. Like,

I, His shoulder got sore when he threw in December. And we can't completely discount the possibility that a sore shoulder is an indicator of structural damage. But there's no indication of structural damage right now. In fact, this is the way he described it. I'm feeling good. I just got off to a slower start, throwing-wise, just a slower start, really. I threw it and was a little sore, so I shut down, started throwing again, and I'm just a little behind because of that.

It's nothing concerning. We had time. I knew we had time, so I wanted to play it safe and make sure I built up like I usually do like I need to and just be safe with it. I go out and play if I were to play a game of catch for 15 minutes, my shoulder would probably be sore for a week.

So I'm just not sure I'm that moved by a sore shoulder without any reason to believe their structural damage. And based on the way he's talking, it sounded like an abundance of caution situation. So yeah, I'm moving him behind Bieber. I'm moving him behind DeGrom. I don't want to take him in the second round anymore.

But if he's there in round four, and Salvador Perez isn't, I'm going to take Wheeler, obviously. I think that's the right range, too. So I put out a poll on Twitter asking, you know, where people plan to rank Zach Wheeler with this news coming out? Is he still a top 10 starting pitcher? Is he in the SP11 to SP20 range? And that's what received the most votes.

So SP11 to SP20 range, 42 and a half percent of the vote. I dropped him down to SP12, just behind Aaronola and Lucas Gialito. I don't know if that's the right answer. I mean, that's just kind of like my knee-jerk reaction right now. I'm not completely confident in that ranking, but I think if I was doing a draft today,

we actually have a draft coming out later today for those listening, watching on demand, Monday, March 14th, we're going to have a head-to-category draft, so it'll be interesting to see where Zach Wheeler goes in that one. But that's where I initially dropped him to. What do you guys think about that range? SP-12. just behind Nola and Jolito.

I think it's fine. Yeah, I saw some people talking about he's in like Joe Musgrove range now or something, and that seems like a major overreaction. I still want him amid the sort of pitchers I can reasonably expect to contend for the Sigh-Young, you know? I'm not going to have him as low as you have them. Okay.

But, you know, it's going to be close enough. And obviously we're going to find out more over the weeks. like we're going to get updates on Zach Wheeler status that may influence us one way or the other. So we're just kind of an initial reaction. But based on what I'm seeing, based on the way the Phillies are talking about it,

Wheeler himself is talking about it, doesn't sound like a big deal. All right, Chris, do you have an official ranking on Zach Wheeler? 13th. 13th. All right, so. Okay.

I mean, my pitchers are lower just in general. Like, he's 56 than my overall ranking, so I'm just lower on pitchers in general. but yeah similar range among pitchers I just I think I'm always wary

of the injury to a pitcher or the whatever we don't want to call an injury the soreness or the thing that derails them during the prep for the season because Shane Bieber and Jack Flaherty had shoulder issues last season and I think Wheeler

probably not as good as Shane Bieber probably better than Jack Flaherty, if all are healthy. But now you're dealing with, he's dealt with an injury during this cycle, during the cycle of this season, whereas as far as we know, Flaherty and Bieber have not. They are healthy current. And maybe Wheeler is just healthy right now. Maybe it's an overreaction. But it's just he's got the thing during this season cycle that the other guys don't yet.

And so I do think that's more of a red flag than it might otherwise seem given how he's talking about it. So just, I'm just, I'm always wary with pitchers of things that disrupt the start of their season. It's just, it seems like things tend to snowball with pitchers. And it's like the small thing ends up being a big thing in the end. Yeah, I mean, I could get that argument too, just like because he's behind, he pushes himself harder to catch up. in a shorter spring. Yeah. I could see that,

but you could say that for every pitcher, given the way the spring is going to play out. But I also just like, at what point, like round number in a 12-team league? Like when he's, Wheeler's there, you feel like, I have to take him. I don't know if I've drafted him at all this year, so I'm generally out on him at the price anyway,

but probably fifth, I would say, is where fifth or sixth. The one thing I will say is we're also treating Zach Wheeler as if last year was the new, like the new baseline or something like last year. And it's worth remembering he had an 18% strike rate in 2020, which is less of an outlier for his career than what last year's was. You know, he was 23, 24% before, before 2020 coming back from the injury. So I just, I also just, I have some kind of. concerns about performance with him. All right. Let's stick with the Phillies here.

Again, a few other injury updates. Starting pitcher, Zach Eflin is ahead of schedule coming off knee surgery. In September, he's already thrown several bullpen sessions and is on target to open the season on time. His ADP is 411 for those in deeper leagues and only some deeper mixed leagues as well. Some good news here for Scott, Charlie Morton, through a 20 pitch bullpen session Sunday and already faced hitters a few times this spring. Sounds good to me coming off that fractured tibia. Justin Verlander through 35 pitches across two simulated innings on Sunday. There were reports of any kind of reaction there or, you know, and nothing bad.

So that's, if there's nothing bad, then I'm going to take that as good news for Justin Verlander as of now. Max Muncie took batting practice and fielded some grounders on Saturday. Dave Roberts said that he expects Muncie to be ready for opening day in some capacity and that Muncie is 85% recovered from his elbow injury. Chris, does this make you feel any better about Max Muncie? I know that you were the optimist on him all along. This is pretty much what I've expected over the past week or so, as we've heard more from him and then now hearing this from Dave Roberts. So I think that's good news.

We'll see how he makes it through spring and what it looks like. And I'll feel better about him if he's ready to play in the field. If he's DH only, that that'll be a little concerning. But yeah, I still think Max Muncie is a good value at his like 140-ish, ADP or whatever it is, and it's actually been trending down. So, perfectly happy with taking him. I think the reward is worth the risk. I do, I don't see it in the notes.

Maybe I'm overlooking it, but another thing that Dave Roberts talked about today was Clint Kirchall. I don't know if you have that in here, but, and Kirchall spoke with the media as well, but it was, you know, basically everything's fine. You know, Kirchall said the only way he was retiring is if the elbow wasn't fine. So the fact that he's back indicates that he feels good about his elbow. That's a good sign. I did have something written down a little bit further down the rundown.

Clayton Kirshaw said he didn't pick up a baseball until January 1st. He's going to face hitters for the first time on Monday and thinks he'll be ready for opening day. So I actually thought that was pretty bad, like not picking up a baseball until January 1st. And he thinks he'll be ready for opening day. I don't know. Maybe I'm reading too much into it. The concern. Sounds not too great.

I still think the reward there is worth the risk as well with a 178.9 ADP at NFC. All right. Steven Strassberg is prepping for the start of the season coming off the Rastic Outlet Surgery. The Nationals won't fully know where Strasbourg stands in recovery until the coaching and training staff gets a chance to evaluate him this spring. The ADP is 262.8. John Ross underwent surgery to remove a bones spur in his elbow. Joe Ross, correct. John Ross football.

A lot of luck going on in football today. too. Joe Ross underwent surgery. He is out six to eight weeks, removed a bone spur from his elbow, and Mariners pitching prospect, Emerson Hancock is dealing with a latch train. We do have quite a bit more. All right, I think we're probably going to run a little bit over here because of that, again, Josh Donaldson News kind of set us back a little bit. But let's talk about these signings in deeper leagues. Scott, you say Kikuchi, he signed a three-year, $36 million deal with the Toronto Blue Jays over the weekend. He declined a $13 million

player option back in November. And the Blue Jays are kind of interesting because they just turned Robbie Ray around. I don't think that they're necessarily going to do that again. But what do you think about the upside of USA Kukuchi here with the Blue Jays, Scott? I mean, he obviously showed some upside early last year. Actually made the All-Star team 318 ERA 103 WIP and his first 15 starts right at a strikeout per inning. But the swinging strike rate suggested there was more bat missing ability than that.

But he collapsed in the second half, and his spin rates had a lot to do with it. The velocity dropped some, too, but the spin rates especially so about the time the sticky substance ban kicked in. And as things, he ended with a 441 ERA. He still has a 539 career ARA. I was a little surprised he declined the option with the Mariners, and I'm a little surprised he got a three-year deal with the Blue Jays, because I'm still pretty skeptical, especially with the drop in spin rates in the second half last year.

But, you know, if he is good, then the Blue Jays are an offense, you want him behind him. So late round flyer, I think, is appropriate for you say Kukuchi, but he's not, I wouldn't say he's a high priority for me. there's a teeny tiny amount of Robbie Ray in you say Kukuchi he also gets hit really hard which not a good thing that's not a good comp but really good swing and miss pitches uh all the way across the board really has fastball's been a really good swing and miss pitch slider and change up have both been good the problem is just a lot of it seems to be command and a lot of it seems

to be pitch mix and it just seems like there's just like like his cutter was really good in 2020 and it was really, really bad in 2021. So there's also some consistency issues. I just think, like, I have no trouble squinting and seeing a version of Usaic Kakuchi that's really good, and it's going to make me interested in him. Just, it's, I don't know if the, I don't know if I believe the Blue Jays know exactly what needs to be tweaked, but there are tweaks that can be made of that I'm convinced. So I am interested in him.

The ADP for Usaic Kikuchi is 350. So as Scott mentioned, again, a late-round flyer, someone you can get with really one of your last picks in your drafts. We had three middle infield signings as well this week. Josh Harrison signed a one-year, $5 million deal with the White Sox. Many expect him to be there starting second baseman. Nico Goodrum signed a one-year, $2 million deal with the Houston Astros. And then Jose Iglesias signed a one-year contract with the Colorado Rockies. So again, these are deep league signings.

Scott. any interest here, Harrison to the White Sox. Goodrum to the Astros, Jose Iglesias, to the Rockies. Well, I mean, just by virtue of the role, he's going to play Josh Harrison probably has the most fantasy appeal, and it's

not that much. He didn't get double-digit home runs or steals last year as an everyday player. Deco Goodrum has flashed some interesting upside at times for the Tigers. and there's a little bit of speed there, a little bit of power there.

I can see him becoming relevant if, you know, let's say he and prospect Jeremy Pena are competing for the starting shortstop job because the Astros don't bring anyone else for shortstop. And Goodrum wins, and he's in that lineup. And there's that,

I believe he's a right-handed hitter, right, Goodrum? I think he's a switch hitter. Okay. Well, in any case, it's obviously a better situation and then he's been playing in a Detroit. So I think there's a chance maybe he could emerge as something halfway useful,

but I think you're right to call them deeper league options. All right, yeah, Nigo Gudrum is a switch hitter. I wanted to mention real quick, last year, the batting average bad for Goodrum, 214. 9 homers, 14 steals in 90 games.

That's a 15 homer, 23 steel pace over 150 games. So, yeah, I mean, I think there is a little bit something that I think that Astro is still either bringing in a shortstop or they make another move, but he's kind of interesting. Go ahead, Chris.

I don't think it's out of the question that Josh Harrison could hit like 15 homers in guaranteed rate field just because it is such a good park for power. So, you know, he's probably just like a guy who helps you with batting average, but I think there might be room for a little bit more. I don't think he's going to be mixed league relevant,

but AL only for sure. And you know what, man? Jose Iglesias, I mean, it's coarse field. Like, he might hit 300. Yeah, with eight homers. You know? Yeah, he might hit 300 with 10 homers and, you know, six stolen bases. And like, he's a better real life player than Garrett Hampson.

The fantasy baseball community as a whole needs to just get past this Garrett Hampton thing. Because we're always like, why don't the Rockies play Garrett Hampson? It's like, because he's bad. He has like a 60. career OPS Plus. He's a bad baseball player. What's dead may never die, relative to Major League Baseball players. He's much better than any of us.

Yeah, I think that's probably fair to say. Josh Harrison, by the way, triple eligible on CBS second base, third base, and outfield. So that definitely helps his value as well. Chris, we, Scott and I did an emergency podcast on Friday night reacting to Carlos Rodon and Clayton Kershaw. I didn't know. Obviously, you touched

on Kershaw a little bit earlier, but anything that you wanted to add on Carlos Rodon going to the Giants. I mean, the way I look at it is like there are multiple questions that need to be answered for Carlos Rodon. And this answers the first one. The first question is, is he currently healthy? Past physical, Giants gave him a not insignificant contract. They gave him a contract that made an anonymous GM whine to John Heyman about how much money they spent.

So that's a strong bet that the day. giants are making, that's a strong signal for us that he is currently healthy. The other question that he has to answer for me is, can he throw with the velocity that he did last season currently? The other question then would be, can he do that for a whole season and stay healthy? That's a question that we can't answer. That there's just no answer that we can get. But if we see Carlos Rodan throwing in spring training and he's hitting 100 miles an hour consistently like he was last season, then, yeah, the upside is for him to be a top 12 starting pitcher. I don't. know if you're ever going to get the innings that he needs to be that, but at least on a

per-earning basis, he can be as good as anyone based on what we saw last season, you know, south of Jacob de Grom, I guess, because the fastball gave him the thing, the fastball jumping up to that 96 average 98-100 touching range is that it gave him the second pitch that he's been looking for because his slider's been a major league caliber pitch since he was in college, but the changeup never quite developed. And so the fastball turning into a 30% swing and miss, 220 expected Wobber or 260 expected Wobah kind of pitch, whatever it was last season, you know, a truly elite pitch.

It changed his entire profile. And if he's still throwing in that range, then Carlos Rodon's going to be worth picking in the 35-ish range at starting pitcher, I think, maybe higher, because the upside there is just tremendous. His ADP is 108.8 as the 34th starting pitcher off the board. Chris, so you foresee this. Probably higher.

Do you probably need to draft him higher? You think it, you think this is going to climb? Absolutely. I don't think there's any question. Carlos Rodon to ADP is going to climb. I don't know if I'm ever going to be able to draft him at that cost. But, you know, yeah,

I think you, you already have to move him up. This is, this is good news. This is the first bit of good news we've gotten from around him. So, yeah, I'm going to put him just ahead of Pablo Lopez. All right.

Let's get to some bullpen moves that happened this weekend. Alex Colomé signed a one-year deal with the Colorado Rockies, and he's currently the 69th starting relief pitcher off the board with an ADP of 419.13.3. It's got Alex Colomé. I don't think he's very good. It's a terrible place to pitch. But I think that he is going to be the guy for the Rockies. So how high are you going to move him up your relief pitcher rankings?

Oh, let me remind myself what I wrote this week. And so, yeah, I mean, he's obviously not going to be a closer that's in high demand. But I don't think there's much doubt he's the closer. He eventually got the role for the twins down the stretch last year and pitched better after losing it earlier. He was this reliable closer the five years prior to that. And he's clearly the best the Rockies have because Carlos Estevez was not going to get it done. I think we all knew that. So I have him kind of in that same range as Dylan Floro, Joe Burrow.

He probably deserves to go ahead of them just based on track record. Personally, I would just wait around for Dylan Floro. But I think Alex Colomay probably deserves to go ahead of him. Okay. I did notice you said Joe Burrow in there, Scott, instead of Joe Barlow. So we've got football on the brain today, man. Joe Burrow and John Ross. What's going on?

This is weird. I'm not even a football guy. Always on football, Scott. I moved Alex Colomey up to RP 35, so it sounds like pretty significantly lower than you, Scott. I have him around like the Rowan Wick, Matt Barnes range. I don't know what the Red Sox are going to do yet. So I just, I don't think he's very good. Maybe I need to move him up more.

I'm going to be interested in. Yeah, I mean, I guess it just depends how much you value this guy has a role versus this guy may have a role. Yep. And speaking of having a role, Joe Girardi said Sunday that as of now, Corey can Canabel is the Phillies closer, and the team did also sign Jerry's Familia to a one-year, $6 million deal. Familia has 125 career saves. And I think that he could be involved if Canabel can't pitch back-to-back days. He's dealt with a lot of injuries the past couple of years.

So keep that in mind, Canabel's the guy, but if anything were to happen, or if, you know, they don't want to use him back-to-back days, and Familia is probably going to be involved as well. conflicting reports on Lucas Sims this weekend of the Cincinnati Reds. Apparently, he's behind at camp, but then Sims said that he's, quote, all clear regarding any potential arm troubles. Sims did deal with elbow issues last year, and the Reds bullpen was very frustrating. They had 10 different relievers with a save last season that was tied for second most in baseball. And the name that I've been pumping all offseason is Art Warren. He was really good last year, small sample size, but 1.29 ERA.

0.90 whip, a 19% swinging strike rate for Art Warren, did have 27 saves in the minors as well. Chris, I know that you were excited about Lucas Sims. What do you think about this report we got over the weekend? I'm going to keep him in like the low 20. I think he's either like in the, yeah, he's 30th for me at relief pitcher. I think he's fine there. I don't have much interest in moving him up or down based on this news. I think he's really good if he's healthy. I think he's be much better than he was last year, but obviously there's a lot of risk, so you can't make him anything more than a late round pick, but I like him. I don't think there's like, I don't think the Reds are like a frustrating team because they don't want to settle on a closer. I think they were

a frustrating team last season because all of their relievers were awful. And so if Lucas Sims is healthy and good, I think he's going to be the closer. If Art Warren is really good. And Lucas Sims isn't healthy or he struggles. I think he can be really good. But yeah, it's concerning, but he's cheap, so it doesn't really matter. Yeah, it's hard to name a closer when no one's pitching well, right? So that was part of the issue last year for the Reds. Scott, what do you think about Steve Seashick? He signed a one-year, $1.75 million deal with the Washington Nationals. He has 132 career saves, though he hasn't really been a full-time closer since 2016,

kind of submarine-y sidearms type relief pitcher. I mean, they just don't really have a lot in the back end of their bullpen. There's Taylor Rainey, there's Kyle Finnegan. Everybody's terrible. I'm not sure Seashchick is that much better, though. Yeah. Yeah, I doubt he'll be their first choice to close. He may wind up in the role because nobody else is getting the job done,

but I doubt he's plan A for that. And plan A may not be on the roster yet. Fair enough. Brad Boxburger signed a one-year deal to return to the Brewers. He pitched really well last season. I thought maybe he can get an opportunity to close somewhere. And the White Sox signed Joe Kelly adding to an already really stacked bullpen. Tony Larusa said he expects Craig Kimball to be on the opening day roster.

But what else is he supposed to say at this point? So I hope you're lying Tony Larusa. We could all use Craig Kimball somewhere else to help us out in fantasy baseball. other news items. I want to quickly mention Bryson Stott and Dede Grigorous will compete for the starting shortstop job for the Philadelphia Phillies. Stott had a really strong 2021. He's a top prospect in their organization that translated well into the Arizona Fall League. Also, we had the Welsh on this offseason. He's really excited about Bryson Stott. So a name to remember there, Luis Castillo will arrive late to Reds Camp due to a flight slash family issue. Dalton Varsho is viewed

as the starting center fielder entering spring training for the Arizona Diamondbacks. Cotel Marte will be the team's starting second baseman. A.J. Hinch said that Spencer Torkelson and Riley Green have a chance to make the team out of spring training. Torkelson was working as the Tigers

primary first baseman on Sunday. So lots of excitement there with those two prospects. Again, Torkelson and Riley Green. Eric Haas would work in a utility role this season in addition to being the team's backup catcher. so maybe more playing time for Eric Haas. Tanner Halk and Garrett Whitlock

are both being stretched out but are not locks for the rotation. Lewis Brinson signed a minor league deal with the Houston Astros. And finally, we get to the biggest news of the weekend. Really? The biggest story that I could find. Ty Butchery has reported and is retired no more.

And he is back with the Angels. Scott, do you have anything? thoughts? Well, Frank, I once knew a man named Lorenzo, last name, gained like mine only spelled differently, no E. When last we spoke, we spoke of a young man named for the way I eat my toast. Buttery. Die buttery. Spreaded, not sprayed. He's not the sort who fancies working in two his 80s, apparently, for he retired in the off-season, never to play again. The game whispered to him like a breeze through an open window, and he answered back. He's back, and the world is buttery again.

But truthfully, my mind isn't on Yonkai right now, but on the heart of the Atlanta Braves, one Frederick Freeman. I've had on occasion the privilege of phoning Mr. Freeman and asked him on one such occasion what the cause is for the delay. He said to me, you still have. haven't given up on me, I said to him, never. He said to me, well, Mr. Kane, yearn for a show, I said to him, I have my popcorn ready, hot, and of course, Buttree. Great job, Scotty. Great job, as always. Nice little appearance there from our good friend Michael Kane. Of course,

Ty Buttery is back. Retired, no more. Frederick Freeman. Let's go. Let's make some moves. Let's go. Get back to Scottie's Atlanta Braves. Let's have some fun. And that is a perfect way to end the podcast. For Scott and Chris, I am Frank. Thank you all for listening and watching Fantasy Baseball. Today, we'll be back again tomorrow. Bye-bye.