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Stats

Blue Jays vs. Cubs postponed on Sunday (rain)

Shota Imanaga

CHC Starting Pitcher #18

Player Stats

Sunday’s game between the Blue Jays and Cubs was postponed due to inclement weather.

It’ll be made up on August 6. There’s actually a ton to unpack here from a fantasy fallout standpoint. Toronto’s scheduled starter, Dylan Cease, will presumably take the ball for Monday’s series opener against the Astros. That would delay Shane Bieber’s return from the injured list for his season debut until Tuesday’s showdown in the Rogers Centre. Cease would close out a two-start week with a showdown against the Rangers at home. Meanwhile, Shota Imanaga gets the ball on Monday against the free-falling Mets as a part of a two-start week that wraps up with a road tilt against the Brewers.

- George Bissell

Source: Chicago Cubs

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Related Player News

Shota Imanaga

CHC Starting Pitcher #18

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Shota Imanaga allowed one run during his lone inning of work during Sunday’s regular-season finale against the Red Sox.

Imanaga surrendered a solo homer to Adley Rutschman while striking out the side during an abbreviated 12-pitch outing at Tropicana Field to close out the regular season. The 33-year-old southpaw wraps up a strong bounce-back campaign with a 3.77 ERA, 1.10 WHIP and 174/37 K/BB ratio across 174 1/3 innings to finish as a borderline top-30 fantasy starter. He’s established himself as a reliable high-volume fantasy contributor in an era where few starters are consistently eclipsing 170 innings. He figures to be available in relief during Chicago’s upcoming NL Wild Card Series matchup against the Padres.
Dylan Cease

TOR Starting Pitcher #84

Blue Jays placed RHP Dylan Cease on the 15-day injured list with right shoulder inflammation.

Cease has been shut down after the Blue Jays were officially eliminated from playoff contention following a loss to the Orioles in the front-end of Wednesday’s doubleheader. The 30-year-old upper-echelon fantasy starter was unlikely to pitch again this season after undergoing an MRI that revealed shoulder inflammation earlier this week. The positive news is that he won’t require surgery and should be a full-go for spring training. He wraps up an impressive Blue Jays debut with a stellar 2.40 ERA, 1.10 WHIP and 239/78 K/BB ratio across 169 innings over 29 starts. He’ll be a top-10 starter off the board in most fantasy drafts next spring.
Shota Imanaga

CHC Starting Pitcher #18

Shota Imanaga allowed one run in five innings and got a no-decision against the Marlins on Tuesday.

Imanaga gave up four hits, walked none and struck out seven. Having likely made his last start of the season, Imanaga will finish with a 3.74 ERA, 1.10 WHIP, 171 strikeouts and 11 wins. Imanaga won 15 games with a 2.91 ERA in rookie 2024 campaign, but hasn’t been able to repeat those numbers over the last two seasons.
Dylan Cease

TOR Starting Pitcher #84

Dylan Cease (shoulder) underwent an MRI that didn’t reveal any structural damage that would require surgery.

Cease added that he’s been diagnosed with shoulder inflammation after undergoing an MRI over the weekend following Friday’s lackluster start against the Rangers. The 30-year-old upper-echelon fantasy starter added that they’re still determining whether he’ll make another start this season, but he doesn’t believe the issue will impact his availability for next year. That’s the encouraging news. It seems highly unlikely that he’ll take the ball again this season with Toronto sitting three games out of the final AL Wild Card playoff spot entering the final week of the season.
Dylan Cease

TOR Starting Pitcher #84

Dylan Cease underwent an MRI exam on his right shoulder on Saturday night.

The results of that exam are not yet known, but Cease will not make his scheduled start against the Orioles in Baltimore on Wednesday. Blue Jays’ skipper John Schneider did not rule out the chance that he pitches over the season’s final weekend against the Reds. Cease has been complaining of fatigue in his shoulder, the result of carrying a heavy load for the Jays’ pitching staff this season.
Dylan Cease

TOR Starting Pitcher #84

Dylan Cease was charged with four runs — one earned — over 2 2/3 innings in a loss to the Rangers on Friday.

The Blue Jays really needed this game with Cease on the hill and a playoff spot within shouting distance, but it simply didn’t happen. The metaphorical floodgates opened up in the fourth inning after a throwing error by shortstop Ernie Clement led to three unearned runs crossing the plate before the frame was over. Cease finished with only three strikeouts and issued a season-high six walks in the ugly outing. He’ll close out the regular season with a road tilt against the division-rival Orioles on Wednesday.
Shota Imanaga

CHC Starting Pitcher #18

Shota Imanaga allowed just four hits and one run with zero walks and eight strikeouts across six innings in a win over the Braves on Wednesday.

Imanaga had a special feel for his splitter in this one. He was commanding it very well in the early innings, so he continued to push its usage up as the game wore on. On the season, he’s thrown it 34% of the time. In this game, it was at a nearly 50% usage rate and forced an eye-popping 14 swings-and-misses. That’s tied for the third-most whiffs from that pitch in a single outing this season and each of the top three marks have come in the last month. He’s incredibly difficult to hit when that pitch is toppling over like it has been lately and he’s scheduled to face the Marlins next week in his regular season finale.
Dylan Cease

TOR Starting Pitcher #84

Dylan Cease walked five batters but limited the Orioles to one run across five innings as part of an 8-1 victory on Sunday.

Cease’s average fastball velocity wasn’t any better than last time — checking in at 94.8 mph — but he struck out nine and managed to keep the Orioles off the board until an RBI single from Pete Alonso in the fifth. Perhaps most impressively, he worked out of a bases-loaded jam in the first inning by striking out three straight batters. Cease has regained the AL strikeout lead (238 after today) and lowered his ERA to 2.38 today, but Cam Schlitter (1.95 ERA after today) isn’t going to be hard to beat for the AL Cy Young Award.
Shane Bieber

TOR Starting Pitcher #57

Shane Bieber (shoulder) is likely to progress to throwing a bullpen session next week.

Bieber was a key cog in Toronto’s unexpected drive to the World Series last year and is attempting to make it back for another postseason run. The 31-year-old has been on the shelf with teres major inflammation that cropped up in late August. He’s expected to throw a bullpen session at some point in the near future. Given where he is from a throwing progression standpoint where he still needs to face hitters in live batting practice before getting into a simulated game, it might be unrealistic to expect him back unless the Blue Jays go on an extended playoff run again.
Shota Imanaga

CHC Starting Pitcher #18

Shota Imanaga pitched six innings of two-run ball in a win over the Pirates on Friday.

Imanaga is back to even at 10-10 after allowing five hits, walking two and striking out four today. Bryan Reynolds homered off him in the sixth. Imanaga’s one start next week will come at home against the Braves, making him a middling play in mixed leagues.

Rotoworld

Randy Flores

HOU General Manager
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The Astros announced that they have fired Randy Flores to be their next general manager.

The news had been broken shortly before the announcement by Ken Rosenthal, Katie Woo and Chandler Rome of The Athletic. The 51-year-old executive had spent the previous 11 seasons in the Cardinals’ organization — the last six of those working as their assistant general manager and director of scouting.
- David Shovein

Source: Ken Rosenthal

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Michael Soroka

FA Starting Pitcher #34
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Diamondbacks RHP Michael Soroka declined his $10 million mutual option for 2027.

This one seemed like a no-brainer given Soroka’s success in 2026. He’ll receive a $1 million buyout and will hit free agency where he should be able to land a highly lucrative multi-year deal. The 29-year-old hurler made 21 starts for the Diamondbacks in 2026, posting a strong 3.41 ERA, 1.09 WHIP and a 114/29 K/BB ratio across 116 innings. He’ll have no shortage of teams vying for his services on the open market.

- David Shovein

Transaction

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Nicolò Pinazzi

LAA Relief Pitcher
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Angels selected the contract of LHP Nicolò Pinazzi from Triple-A Salt Lake.

The 27-year-old southpaw is now safe from being plucked in the Rule 5 draft. Pinazzi had a breakout 2026 season where he registered a scintillating 0.84 ERA, 1.22 WHIP and a 103/33 K/BB ratio over 64 innings across four minor league levels. He should get an opportunity to pitch out of the Angels’ bullpen at some point in 2027.
- David Shovein

Transaction

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Andrew Knizner

FA Catcher #19
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Giants sent C Andrew Knizner outright to Triple-A Sacramento.

The expectation is that the 31-year-old backstop will refuse the assignment and elect free agency, though that hasn’t happened yet. Knizner appeared in 29 games for the Giants in 2026, slashing .219/.288/.356 with a pair of home runs and four RBI in 80 plate appearances. He’ll have no problem latching on somewhere as extra catching depth if he decides to hit the open market.
- David Shovein

Transaction

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Shawn Armstrong

FA Relief Pitcher #43
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Guardians declined RHP Shawn Armstrong’s $8 million mutual option for 2027.

Armstrong will receive a buyout of $1.5 million and will hit the free agent market. The 36-year-old made 41 appearances out of the Guardians’ bullpen in 2026, compiling a 4.58 ERA, 1.36 WHIP and a 34/19 K/BB ratio over 35 1/3 innings. Given the impressive work that he did for the Rays in 2023 and the Rangers in 2025 though, Armstrong shouldn’t have any problem landing a major league deal this winter.
- David Shovein

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Trevor Stephan

FA Relief Pitcher #37
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Guardians declined RHP Trevor Stephan’s $7.25 million club option for 2027.

The 30-year-old hurler will instead receive a $1.25 million buyout and will hit the free agent market. Stephen hasn’t pitched in the big leagues since the 2023 season. He missed the entire 2024 campaign while recovering from Tommy John surgery. He made 22 ghastly appearances at Triple-A Columbus in 2026, posting an 11.12 ERA, 2.07 WHIP and a 23/18 K/BB ratio over 22 2/3 innings. He’ll make for an interesting low-risk flier on what will probably be a minor league contract for someone this offseason.
- David Shovein

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Milan Tolentino

CLE Shortstop
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Guardians selected the contract of INF Milan Tolentino from Triple-A Columbus.

The move protects the versatile 24-year-old from the upcoming Rule 5 draft. Tolentino spent the entire 2026 campaign at the Triple-A level where he slashed .225/.328/.453 with 21 homers, 74 RBI, 20 stolen bases and a 157/65 K/BB ratio over 497 plate appearances. It wouldn’t be surprising to see him debut with the Guardians at some point in 2027.
- David Shovein

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Cedric Mullins

FA Center Fielder #31
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Rays declined their $10 million mutual option on OF Cedric Mullins for 2027.

Instead, the 32-year-old outfielder will receive a $500,000 buyout and will hit the free agent market. Mullins appeared in 107 games for the American League Champions, slashing an underwhelming .207/.284/.344 with 15 homers, 48 RBI and 21 stolen bases (in 31 attempts). He only had five plate appearances in the postseason, going 2-for-5 with a homer, stolen base and three runs scored. His fantasy value in 2027 will be tied to whether or not he’s able to land a starting or strong-side platoon role someplace.
- David Shovein

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Joc Pederson

FA Designated Hitter #3
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Rangers’ DH Joc Pederson declined his $18.5 million mutual option for 2027.

The 34-year-old slugger had a major resurgence in 2026, slashing .235/.329/.487 with 26 homers and 53 RBI in 432 plate appearances with the Rangers — the most home runs that he has hit in a season since 2019. He’s hopeful that he’ll be able to parlay that success into a multi-year deal on the open market this winter.
- David Shovein

Transaction

Source: Jesse Rogers

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Torey Lovullo

AZ Manager
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Dennis Lin of The Athletic reports that the Diamondbacks plan to hire Padres’ bullpen coach Ben Fritz to be their next pitching coach.

Fritz will take over for Ben Kaplan who was let go following a rough 2026 campaign. The 45-year-old has spent the past seven seasons as the Padres’ bullpen coach and this will be his first gig as a full-time pitching coach at the MLB level, though he briefly fulfilled that role with the Padres on an interim basis after Larry Rothschild was dismissed in 2021.
- David Shovein

Source: Dennis Lin

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