August is in the rearview mirror, and we just had our two final big roster shakeups of the MLB season. August 31 was the waiver-claim deadline, and to be eligible for the postseason roster, a player had to be on their team’s active MLB roster by that date. Additionally, rosters expanded from 26 to 28 players on September 1.
With those two important dates having just passed, let’s take a look at what changes we’ve seen to lineups and rosters across the league, and how we can use that information to gain an edge in the fantasy baseball season’s final weeks.
The dramatic Ketel Marte saga came to an end on Monday as he returned to the field for the Diamondbacks, hitting fourth as the DH. Marte has been the designated hitter in both of his starts so far, leaving Ildemaro Vargas in the lineup as the starting second baseman. It’s unclear how long Marte will exclusively DH, but as long as he does, expect Vargas to remain the team’s second baseman.
Geraldo Perdomo returned to Arizona’s leadoff role on Monday, and has helmed the lineup for consecutive days for the first time in over two weeks.
Denzel Clarke returned from an over four-month-long absence on Tuesday, and rejoined the starting lineup, hitting ninth and playing center field. The A’s are severely banged up, but the one place they do have some depth remaining is in the outfield. In Clarke’s first game back, Henry Bolte started at DH and remained the leadoff hitter. With Clarke’s otherworldly defensive prowess, that positioning seems likely to continue.
Ha-Seong Kim has regained some starting opportunities at shortstop. He’s started in four of the Braves’ last six games. Kim has been putting together one of the worst offensive seasons of all time, but has finally gotten a few hits recently. He has five hits in his last 15 plate appearances, compared to five hits in his first 85 trips to the plate.
With Kim getting time at shortstop, Mauricio Dubón is still getting a starter’s share of playing time, he’s just moving all over the field. He hasn’t appeared at the same position two days in a row in over a week, despite starting every single game.
The Orioles made the splashiest waiver claim of the last week, bringing in Luis Robert Jr. from the Mets. With Christian Franklin on the IL, Robert should take over the small side of the center field platoon, facing left-handed starters while Colton Cowser faces righties. Robert could also get some work in the corners, but how much remains to be seen.
Heston Kjerstad was called up when rosters expanded. He was hitting alright with Triple-A Norfolk (.289/.337/.462), but the Orioles already have plenty of lefty-swinging outfielders, so his role will likely be minimal.
At long last, former top prospect Roman Anthony returned from his hand injury on Sunday. It was his first MLB action since early May. It’s worth a look to see if he was dropped in your league and is sitting on the waiver wire. He’s hit leadoff in all three games since returning.
Trevor Story also returned from the IL on Sunday. He’s reclaimed his starting shortstop job, but has surprisingly been hitting eighth in his three games back on the roster.
A left hamstring strain has sidelined Willson Contreras. The Red Sox recalled Mickey Gasper to take over the first base role. He’s started both games since rejoining the team and has hit second in both.
Matt Shaw was activated from the IL over the weekend. He’s started three of five games since returning, and should give Pedro Ramirez some competition for time at second base while Nico Hoerner continues to cover at shortstop.
The Cubs promoted corner infield prospect BJ Murray Jr. when rosters expanded. He started his very first game as the DH, but his path to regular playing time is murky at best.
The White Sox acquired Tommy Pham from the Phillies recently. Pham was stuck in Triple-A with Philadelphia. While the White Sox quickly promoted him to the big-league roster, they already have an established outfield without room for Pham to contribute much more than as a fourth outfielder.
Rookie outfielder Héctor Rodríguez received a significant playing time promotion. He’s the Reds’ new leadoff hitter against righties and is now also playing versus lefties, albeit hitting near the bottom of the order. He’s slashing .243/.312/.457 with four homers in his first 77 plate appearances.
Despite going unclaimed on waivers, TJ Friedl has returned to a starting center field role versus right-handed pitchers.
Manager Terry Francona has recently shuffled up the Reds’ infield. Elly De La Cruz has started a few games at DH recently, opening up shortstop to Matt McLain. Edwin Arroyo returned from the IL on Friday and has started three straight games at either second or third base. Juan Brito was called up when rosters expanded and started the first game at second base.
Daniel Schneemann was recalled on Tuesday. He’ll likely move all around the diamond, once again serving in the team’s super utility role.
Petey Halpin’s playing time in center field has dried up. Steven Kwan has been getting plenty of reps up the middle, starting four of the last five games in center.
Ezequiel Tovar looks like he might be losing his grip on the starting shortstop job. He’s started just one of the last three games, with both Ryan Ritter and Cole Carrigg also receiving starts at shortstop. This could just be the Rockies giving Tovar some rest; it’s hard to say with just a three-game sample. If Tovar loses playing time, Carrigg seems the most likely to move to shortstop, opening more playing time in a crowded outfield.
The Tigers got their starting left fielder back when they activated Riley Greene from the IL on Tuesday. Brett Callahan and Javier Báez’s playing time will take hits with Greene back in the fold.
Jake Meyers was recalled to the big leagues on Tuesday, but doesn’t have a clear path to playing time barring an injury to one of the Astros’ current starting outfielders.
Starting second baseman Michael Massey was placed on the IL last week. To fill the gap in the starting lineup, manager Matt Quatraro has used a variety of options: sliding Nick Loftin over from third base to second, moving Isaac Collins into the infield, and giving Tyler Tolbert starts at the keystone. Until there’s a clear-cut plan for second base in Kansas City, it’s better to avoid the situation in fantasy.
Wade Meckler made short work of his IL stint and returned to the starting lineup last Friday. He’s started all five games since returning and has largely hit first or third while playing left field. He’s a solid pickup in deep or five-outfield leagues.
Gustavo Campero, who briefly manned left field while Meckler was injured, was placed on the IL with a right hamstring strain.
Last year’s early-season breakout star, Kyren Paris, was called up when rosters expanded. He’ll likely work out of a backup role with minimal fantasy impact, but an injury would change that.
The Dodgers’ catching situation received a major boost on Tuesday when the team activated Will Smith from the IL after a nearly three-month absence. Smith will be the unquestioned starter moving forward, with Hunter Feduccia in the backup role.
Dalton Rushing also returned from the IL on Tuesday, but with his UCL injury in his right arm, he’ll be unable to catch the rest of the season, meaning we’ll likely only see him work out of a bench bat role.
Alex Freeland was recalled to the MLB team when the roster expanded. He started his first game back at second base as Tommy Edman shifted to center field. The Dodgers demoted Alek Thomas, meaning Freeland at second base and Edman in center will remain the game plan until Andy Pages is healthy.
A left thumb sprain sent Xavier Edwards to the IL. Javier Sanoja has taken the first two starts at second base since Edwards’ injury. Leo Jiménez and Graham Pauley have filled the void that Sanoja left at third base, splitting the first two starts.
The Marlins have moved Heriberto Hernández up the lineup. He’s now hitting leadoff when facing a left-handed starting pitcher and second or third versus righties.
Griffin Conine’s playing time has taken a hit recently, starting just four of the last eight games. It’s largely due to him not getting much run against lefties, so rather than dropping Conine, hold him until the Marlins are facing a string of right-handed starters if you have the roster space.
Once again, Andrew Vaughn’s playing time is slipping. He’s started just one of the last five games after having been in the starting lineup for 12 of the previous 14.
The Brewers recalled Bo Naylor from Triple-A. He’ll factor into the backup catcher mix alongside Gary Sánchez, although with William Contreras playing nearly every day, neither Naylor nor Sánchez should have much of a role.
Byron Buxton is once again back on the IL with a hip impingement. Reports state that he may need offseason surgery to address the problem long-term, but it’s still unclear whether that would mean he’ll miss the rest of the season.
Without Buxton’s steady presence in center field, the Twins called up another one of their top prospects, Walker Jenkins. He debuted on Friday and has started every game since, while hitting ninth. With a big prospect profile, it’s likely Jenkins was already snatched up in your league. If not, go get him. The 21-year-old outfielder was hitting .308/.407/.532 in Triple-A and has a dual-threat, power-speed profile.
The combination of Juan Soto’s return from the IL to a DH role and Luis Robert Jr.’s waiver move to Baltimore has opened a starting spot in New York’s left field. The starts so far have gone to the trio of Brett Baty, Christopher Morel, and Nick Morabito. Until one of them takes over the majority of the left field reps, you’re better off avoiding this unclear playing time situation.
George Lombard Jr. has missed three straight games with a knee injury. As of this writing, the Yankees insist he’ll avoid the IL. If he doesn’t, expect José Caballero to take over the starting shortstop job.
Ryan McMahon returned from the IL on Tuesday. He’ll start at third base against righties, while Amed Rosario or Caballero will do so against lefties.
Rafael Flores Jr. continues to carve out a bigger and bigger role with the Pirates. He’s now starting behind the plate more often than not, including three of the last four and six of the last nine. The 25-year-old catcher/first baseman is generating a lot of power, but striking out often (7 HR in 92 PA; 31.5% K%). If you need home run help, Flores is a good pickup in two-catcher leagues.
The Padres lost a pair of left fielders over the last week with Luis Rengifo and Gavin Sheets going on the IL. In their absence, it looks like left field duties will be split between Dustin Harris (versus righties) and Samad Taylor (versus lefties). Both Harris and Taylor are interesting stolen-base plays if you can pick one of them up when the Padres face a string of same-handed pitchers.
Top catching prospect Ethan Salas was called up to make his MLB debut on Wednesday. It seems unlikely that the Padres would call Salas up without a plan to play him regularly, but Luis Campusano is putting together a nice season with a .285/.390/.457 slash line across 54 games. At the very least, the two should split time while Freddy Fermin moves into more of a third catcher role.
Cal Raleigh’s hot bat has moved him back up in the batting order. He’s hit cleanup or fifth in seven straight starts.
The Mariners called up Lazaro Montes to make his MLB debut on Tuesday. He appeared as the DH and hit seventh. With the Mariners already having four starting-caliber outfielders on their roster, it’s unclear where and how much playing time Montes will receive, so I’d hold off on picking him up for now.
The Cardinals lost NL Rookie of the Year contender JJ Wetherholt to a sore wrist. He was placed on the IL on Sunday. With both Wetherholt and Masyn Winn out, the Cardinals’ middle infield appears to be Thomas Saggese at shortstop and José Fermín at second base.
Blaze Jordan was also placed on the IL over the weekend. His absence opens up time for Nolan Gorman and Ramón Urías at third base.
St. Louis made a change at catcher, sending Jimmy Crooks down and calling up Leo Bernal to make his MLB debut. Bernal was slashing .278/.363/.468 with 16 home runs and nine stolen bases in 101 Triple-A games. He should split time behind the plate with Pedro Pagés moving forward and is worth a look in deep two-catcher leagues.
Victor Mesa Jr. returned from the IL on Tuesday, which will severely hurt Jonny DeLuca’s fantasy stock. They’ll likely return to their platoon situation with Mesa batting against righties while DeLuca faces lefties.
Jesús Sánchez has seen his playing time dry up. Toronto has been facing plenty of lefty starters recently which hasn’t helped, but Sánchez hasn’t started the last two games against righties, either. Myles Straw has gotten most of the work in left field with Sánchez trending down and Daz Cameron designated for assignment.
The Blue Jays activated Josh Smith from the IL on Tuesday, but he hasn’t started a game since returning. He’ll likely operate out of a bench utility role.
James Wood returned from the IL on Wednesday, and was immediately reinstated at the top of the Nationals’ lineup.
Washington’s plan to transition CJ Abrams off of shortstop has begun. Out of Abrams’ last nine starts, only two have come at shortstop, while five have been at DH and the other two have been at second base. Nasim Nuñez has taken over at shortstop when Abrams isn’t there. There isn’t a lot of action for fantasy managers to take on this, but the extra eligibility this season and next will be a benefit to both Abrams and Nuñez.
