Major League Baseball

MLB Quick Hits: Who wins the Trumbo deal?

Published Jun. 4, 2015 6:32 a.m. ET

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John Halpin

The Mariners tried to bolster their offense on Wednesday, trading for 1B/DH Mark Trumbo. in a deal that didn't involve anyone else of great significance (unless you really want Welington Castillo in your NL-only league). Trumbo figures to bat in the middle of the Seattle order, and impact the playing time of Dustin Ackley and/or Logan Morrison.

In Arizona, the deal opens things up for others, as the D-backs were getting crowded between 3B/LF/RF. With 3B Jake Lamb starting a rehab assignment this week, the D-backs were facing a Trumbo/Yasmany Tomas/Ender Inciarte/David Peralta logjam at the corner outfield positions. GM Dave Stewart said that Tomas will split time in one of the outfield corners and at third base, and since he's arguably the team's second- or third-best hitter, he should play every day. The homers will come soon for Tomas, who should be owned in just about all formats. Inciarte probably gets the fewest at bats moving forward, but not as few as he'd have gotten with Trumbo around. Anyway, every trade needs a winner, and for fantasy purposes, it's Tomas.

In other news ...

Dodgers closer Kenley Jansen was mysteriously unavailable to pitch on Wednesday - here's a breakdown of all that happened during and after the game. All the Dodgers said was that Jansen didn't feel well, and Jansen didn't talk to the media. We'll probably know more today, but for now, try not to worry too much if you own Jansen.

Masahiro Tanaka pitched very well in his return to action on Wednesday. A quick scan of headlines this morning shows no trace of "he should have had the Tommy John surgery," but maybe we'll hear it again if Tanaka has more arm issues.

Speaking of guys that pitched well, Lance McCullers dominated the Orioles, allowing one run on four hits and striking out 11 in a complete-game win. McCullers is owned in 20 percent of FOXSports.com leagues, and has a 1.88 ERA with 29 strikeouts against six walks in 24 innings over four starts. I was skeptical about McCullers' short-term outlook early on, but maybe he's turned a corner this season. However, based on his past workload, it would be surprising to see him surpass 140-150 innings.

Brewers OF Ryan Braun missed Wednesday's game while having a cryotherapy procedure performed on his right thumb (details are here). According to the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, manager Craig Counsell is "is hopeful he'll have Braun for at least part" of this weekend's series at Minnesota. This probably isn't serious.

Dodgers OF Yasiel Puig (hamstring) starts a rehab assignment today, and could be activated next week.

Yankees C Brian McCann had an MRI on Wednesday to check on soreness in his right foot. His prognosis is TBD.

The Red Sox acquired Alejandro De Aza from the Orioles, because they apparently want a roster of 25 outfielders. De Aza will be a reserve.

Here's an update on some injured Nationals. Spolier: Stephen Strasburg doesn't seem too far away from returning, and Anthony Rendon appears likely to play second base when he comes off the DL. 

Today's schedule includes three afternoon games, starting with A's-Tigers at 1:08 p.m. ET. Set your lineups accordingly.

With the oft-injured Josh Hamilton (hamstring) on the shelf for approximately four weeks, rookie slugger Joey Gallo will probably stick around even after Adrian Beltre comes off the DL. Gallo hit another home run on Wednesday, and fantasy owners are knocking over their own grandmothers to grab Gallo off the wire (he's up to 50.7 percent ownership around here already). Please recall that Gallo's .314 BA at Double A came with a ridiculous .453 BABIP and a sky-high 33.6% K rate, and that he batted .232 at the same level last season. He'll hit homers, and be prone to deep slumps, because he's 21 freaking years old. This ends my daily "Being a Wet Blanket on Joey Gallo" rant.

Mike Foltynewicz got knocked around a bit in his role as our Wednesday streaming starter. Today's pick is Tampa's modestly improving Erasmo Ramirez (2.8 percent owned) at Seattle. The M's rank 26th in wOBA (.293) vs. RHP, with MLB's third-worst strikeout rate.

DFS advice (based on 50/50 games, salaries from DraftKings, night games only): This week's dismal performance makes me want to outsource this section, but we'll shake it off ... Matt Harvey ($10,400) is your ace if you're the type that always likes to use one ... Aaron Harang ($6,800) faces the Phillies' MLB-worst offense vs. RHP ... Carlos Rodon ($5,600 @ TEX) and Ramirez ($5,300) aren't terrible options, either ... Rays 2B Logan Forsythe ($3,200) has always been pretty good vs. LHP, and he faces Roenis Elias tonight ... Seattle isn't exactly the best place to hit, but fellow Rays Steven Souza ($4,200) and Evan Longoria ($3,800) are also lefty killers ... The catching pool is unappealing, so go cheap. I might see which Ranger (Chirinos, Corporan) starts against Rodon and roll with him ... 1B/OF Brandon Moss ($4,900) crushes mediocre RHP, but he'll cost you ... Maybe Mets SS/3B Ruben Tejada ($2,800) is just riding a hot streak, but I'll take him at that price against a mediocre starter like Jeremy Hellickson if I need to save.

See you back here tomorrow morning.

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