Twins lose Anthony Banda to IL with lat strain

To the surprise of absolutely nobody, the Mariners are abandoning their ill-fated piggyback experiment with Gilbert making his usual start before Emerson Hancock takes the ball against Toronto on Sunday. It doesn’t sound like the organization has any plans to continue the unorthodox arrangement beyond the All-Star break, especially with the trade deadline looming and top prospects like Kade Anderson and Ryan Sloan looking like they could pitch in the majors down the home stretch. Hopefully this is the last time fantasy managers need to incorporate the phrase piggyback into our vocabulary.

Ritchie provides Atlanta with some additional depth out of the bullpen with Bryce Elder not slated to take the ball until later next week against the Pirates. The 23-year-old top prospect has pitched to a respectable 4.87 ERA, 1.43 WHIP and 37/25 K/BB ratio across 40 2/3 innings in the big leagues this season. He offers minimal fantasy appeal at the moment in what amounts to a low-leverage mop-up role.

Farmer spent time at catcher during his rehab assignment in an effort to give Atlanta some additional flexibility in an emergency. He’s been out since mid-May with a forearm strain. The 35-year-old veteran can be safely ignored in all fantasy formats.

Kim has barely played for Atlanta recently with Jorge Mateo basically taking over the starting shortstop role. The 30-year-old has endured a brutal season at the dish, hitting .068 (5-for-73) with zero homers and one steal in 82 plate appearances since making his season debut back on May 12. It’ll be Mateo and rookie Jim Jarvis filling the void at shortstop in his absence.

Molina heads back to the minors without making an appearance for Atlanta after being called up prior to Friday’s contest against the Mets. He’s made three relief appearances for the Braves this season.

Ritchie was scheduled to start for Triple-A Gwinnett on Saturday. He’s pitched to a respectable 4.87 ERA, 1.43 WHIP and 37/25 K/BB ratio across 40 2/3 innings in the big leagues this season. The 23-year-old can function as either a traditional starter or bulk relief option, depending on Atlanta’s needs.

Martin return coincides with setup specialist Jakob Junis hitting the shelf with a hip impingement, which means he could be thrust into some high-leverage spots ahead of closer Jacob Latz right out of the gate. The 40-year-old veteran reliever is back after missing nearly five weeks with a shoulder impingement.

Junis received an injection and there’s hope it’ll be a minimum stint on the injured list, according to MLB.com’s Kennedi Landry. He’s settled nicely into a setup role behind stopper Jacob Latz for the Rangers this season, which makes his absence a tougher one to swallow than most. The 33-year-old journeyman has posted a strong 2.80 ERA, 1.02 WHIP and 27/6 K/BB ratio across 35 1/3 innings during his Texas debut. He’s also notched five saves during that span.

Griffin singled and stole second base to lead off the contest before swiping home on a designed double-steal with veteran Bryan Reynolds later in the frame. The 20-year-old rookie sensation is up to 19 thefts through 58 games in his first taste of the majors. He finished 1-for-5 out of the leadoff spot in this one. He’s going to be a fantasy force for years to come with sky-hight five-category superstar potential.

Wood clobbered his seventh leadoff blast of the season into the upper deck at Nationals Park, providing some fireworks during Washington’s annual Fourth of July matinee. The gargantuan 428-foot moonshot off Pirates starter Braxton Ashcraft carried a stratospheric 113.1 mph exit velocity. It was his 23rd round-tripper of the season. He also walked twice in the contest as the Nationals were shut out over the final eight innings by Ashcraft and a quartet of Pirates relievers.