Going forward, all potential waiver claims will be written up in my Friday post. Almost all commentary will specifically pertain to the strategy behind the move.
Arthur Rhodes $4. Other bids $4, $2.
Rhodes gets some FAAB play because of Neftali Feliz's injury; the winning bid is from Feliz's owner and the $2 bid is from Darren Oliver's owner. Oliver is probably the favorite the grab most of the saves while Feliz is out, but Ron Washington indicated over the weekend that he'll mix and match so Rhodes certainly worth picking up in A.L.-only. He's murder on lefties but still effective against righties. His fly ball tendencies probably won't play well in Texas. The velocity is down on his fastball thus far but it's too early to know if that's a sample size blip or something to actually fret over.
Bruce Chen $3. Other bids $2, $1.
I wrote about Chen on Friday. I'm still scared. He does get a fairly favorable match-up at home this week against the injury-riddled Twins.
Cody Eppley $2.
Eppley was called up by the Rangers to replace Feliz on the roster. Lone Star Ball did a thumbnail write-up on him that I'll briefly summarize here. Eppley uses a sidearm delivery and has had a great K/IP rate in his brief minor league career. He's not a big time prospect but could put together a long career as a middle reliever. His delivery will probably cause hitters fits the first time through the league.
John McDonald $2. Other bids $1, $1.
It's expected that McDonald will get most of the PT at second base for the Jays with Aaron Hill on the DL, though Chris Woodward and Mike McCoy may see some time there as well. McDonald used to profile as a player who offered practically nothing but a little speed and great defense, but as he's aged the speed has mostly disappeared, the defense isn't as remarkable, and he's shown a little power. He's a mediocre option in A.L.-only but chances are decent that he's the guy you're going to be stuck with if you owned Hill.
Mike McCoy $1.
McCoy's value to the Jays is almost entirely wrapped up in his versatility and solid defense at multiple positions. He's stolen a lot of bases in his minor league career, so we always hope he'll bring that speed to our Roto teams. Thus far he hasn't. The Jays are running a lot thus far this year, though, so maybe he will.
Luis Rodriguez $1.
Rodriguez got some play for the Mariners two weeks ago when they decided to put Jack Wilson in a time-out for misbehaving, but last week Rodriguez went back to mostly sitting on the bench. The power he showed at AAA last year (16 HR in 345 AB) was intriguing given that Rodriguez had never hit for power previously in his career, but this doesn't necessarily mean it will translate to the Majors. Rodriguez won't do much for you at the moment as a part-timer.
Rich Thompson $1.
Thompson is a solid middle-of-the-road middle reliever for the Angels who had an extremely lucky year in 2010. It was especially lucky for him because while he is solid, he's solid in that way plenty of relievers in AAA are that never get a chance in the Majors. Such luck probably gave Thompson a long Major League career. It's more likely Thompson puts up a 3.5 ERA this year. He's OK to own in Roto, but has next to no chance of getting saves and is extremely fungible.
Jim Johnson $1.
Here is yet another decent middle reliever with next to no chance of saves. I like Johnson better than Thompson, but like Thompson he's a fairly fungible pitcher even in a deep, deep league.
Ryan Sweeney. Claimed by 12th, 9th, 7th and 3rd place teams.
If you were wondering how thin OF is in A.L.-only leagues, here is your answer. Shelley Duncan, McCoy, Jason Repko and Reggie Willits were the only other OF available in my home league this week. Sweeney's a freebie while those other players would have cost $1 FAAB, but given that the ninth and seventh place teams were attempting to replace Manny Ramirez and Franklin Gutierrez, I might have thrown $1 at one of those other guys.
Chris Tillman. Claimed by 11th, 7th and 5th place teams.
Tillman's turn in the rotation was skipped and he'll go Saturday at the White Sox.
Elliot Johnson. Claimed by 4th place team.
Ramon Castro. Claimed by 1st place (tie) team.
1 comment:
I am the guy trying to fill Franklin Gutierrez' spot. In retrospect, a $1 flier on one of the outfielders might have been okay, but there are two primary reasons I did not.
One, some at-bats are not worth getting; Repko is that type of guy. Moreover, the very limited counting stats of the other players are just not relevant, in light of the damage they could do in the longer term, are just not worth it.
Two, since I am contemplating dumping, the open slot gives me some flexibility in trying to work deals with other teams. That, in and of itself, does have some value.
Post a Comment