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    Reds designate Will Benson for assignment

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    CIN Right Fielder #30
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    Reds designated OF Will Benson for assignment.

    Benson showed some flashes of power/speed combo fantasy potential at various points during his career, but was never quite able to establish himself as a long-term everyday option for the Reds in a corner-outfield role. The 28-year-old has been removed from Cincinnati’s crowded 40-man roster after being shipped to the minors back in late June. He figures to attract some interest on waivers.
Cubs stars struggle mightily in Wild Card round
James Schiano reviews the "disappointing" showing from the top of the Cubs lineup after getting swept by the Padres in the Wild Card round, particularly Pete Crow-Armstrong's

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  • CIN Right Fielder #30
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    Benson was sent to the minors on June 23rd after hitting .188/.310/.333 in 114 plate appearances this season with a 33.3 percent strikeout rate. He was then designated for assignment about a week later to make room on the 40-man roster and will now return to Louisville.
  • CIN Right Fielder #30
    Benson is hitting just .188/.310/.333 in 114 plate appearances this season with a 33.3 percent strikeout rate. Now 28 years old and with a 33.3 percent career MLB strikeout rate in 405 games, you have to wonder if Benson’s time in Cincinnati may be drawing to a close. Noelvi Marte could also be pushed off of right field if the Reds want to play Spencer Steer out there with Elly De La Cruz back.
  • CIN Right Fielder #30
    Benson’s home run was his third of the year. He pinch hit to lead-off the bottom of the ninth inning and tied the game with a solo home run off Royals reliever Lucas Erceg. Benson is a bench bat who will continue to see most of his at-bats come against right-handed pitching.
  • CIN Right Fielder #4
    Marte has started just three times in five contests to open the season, which is a bit perplexing considering how he finished last year as one of Cincinnati’s core offensive contributors. It’s notable that he’s in the lineup to face Pirates right-hander Bubba Chandler in this one. The 24-year-old former top prospect will continue splitting time with Will Benson, who is in left field on Tuesday night with Spencer Steer on the bench. The emergence of Sal Stewart and return of Eugenio Suárez has created a logjam for the Reds with Marte drawing the short straw for now.
  • CIN Left Fielder #30
    Benson has started against both right-handers the Reds have faced so far. We rather thought that’d be happening mostly at Spencer Steer’s expense, rather than Noelvi Marte’s, but as long as Benson has that strong-side platoon role, he should offer value in deeper leagues. The 27-year-old had a 15-percent barrel rate and a 54-percent hard-hit rate in his 230 plate appearances last year.
  • CIN Right Fielder #4
    Marte has now sat against both righties the Reds have faced this season, which is a bit confusing considering he had reverse splits last year. To start the year, it seems like Will Benson will be starting against right-handed pitchers, which makes it hard to roster Marte in shallower formats right now, especially considering the Reds are set to face right-handed starters in eight of their next nine games.
  • CIN Left Fielder #30
    The Reds probably wouldn’t have brought in JJ Bleday if they didn’t think he was better than Benson, but Benson, who has a 1.050 OPS through 24 plate appearances, seems like the more interesting of the two from here. Both seem likely to make the team out of spring training, and one could start against most right-handers, assuming that the Reds don’t make Spencer Steer their primary left fielder. Given that Steer has started just once in the outfield thus far, it wouldn’t seem to be the plan.
  • CIN Outfield #30
    That the Reds considered JJ Bleday an apparent upgrade from Benson doesn’t like great news for the 27-year-old, and now they could now bypass both and play Spencer Steer in left field after signing Eugenio Suárez. Still, Benson might be the Reds’ best option in left against righties. Statcast thought he was pretty unlucky to finish at .226/.273/.435 last year, and along with his improved EV numbers, he did nice work to lower his strikeout rate last season.
  • CIN Right Fielder #30
    Benson ended up at .226/.273/.435 in 253 plate appearances, but the drop in his strikeout rate from a career mark of 35.5% to 26.5% last season was encouraging, especially in combination with his career-best 54% hard-hit rate. The assumption is that the newly signed JJ Bleday will get the nod over Benson against right-handers initially, but the guess here is that Benson proves to be the better player of the two, potentially giving him some value in deeper formats.
  • CIN Center Fielder #54
    There was no avenue for Myers to play regularly next season in Miami with Kyle Stowers and Jakob Marsee emerging as core building blocks and Griffin Conine coming back from shoulder surgery. The 29-year-old, who posted a pedestrian .617 OPS with six homers and 19 steals over 333 plate appearances across 106 games for the Marlins last season, provides the Reds with a decent insurance policy behind center fielder TJ Friedl. He’ll enter spring training in competition with Will Benson and JJ Bleday for a corner-outfield role, with a bench assignment the most probable outcome.

Rotoworld

  • LAD Designated Hitter #17
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    Shohei Ohtani (biceps, knee) took batting practice once again on Friday without issue.

    Ohtani hit a couple of balls off of the scoreboard during the session and will be in the Dodgers’ lineup for Game 1 of the NLDS on Saturday. While he feels “really good” at the moment, the superstar slugger acknowledged that the injuries are something that he’s going to have to manage for the duration of the postseason.
  • MIL 1st Baseman #28
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    Brewers activated 1B Andrew Vaughn from the 10-day injured list.

    Vaughn had been shelved since September 22 due to illness. He’ll rejoin the Brewers’ roster for the start of their NLDS series against the Padres on Saturday afternoon in Milwaukee.
  • SD Starting Pitcher #34
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    Michael King will start Game 2 of the NLDS against the Brewers.

    King was brilliant in a victory over the Cubs in Game 1 of the Wild Card Series, allowing just one hit over seven innings of scoreless baseball. He’ll be on regular rest for Game 2 on Sunday and would also be lined up to pitch in Game 5 on regular rest if the series goes that long. The expectation is that Nick Pivetta will start Game 3 for the Padres.
  • SD Starting Pitcher #38
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    The Padres announced Friday that left-hander Robbie Ray will start in Game 1 of the NLDS against the Brewers on Saturday evening.

    The 35-year-old southpaw went 13-8 with a 3.59 ERA, 1.35 WHIP and a 140/84 K/BB ratio over 165 2/3 innings in 31 appearances (30 starts) between the Giants and Padres. In his last start against the Brewers on August 12, Ray allowed two runs on two hits and three walks in just four innings of work. He’ll be opposed by Brewers’ ace Jacob Misiorowski on Saturday night in Milwaukee.
  • PIT Starting Pitcher #70
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    Pirates signed RHP José Urquidy to a minor league contract.

    The 31-year-old right-hander signed a similar deal with the Pirates last offseason and wound up making five appearances for the Bucs at the MLB level before being traded to the White Sox in late July. He’ll once again add rotation depth for the Pirates and can continue to be ignored for fantasy purposes.
  • LAD Starting Pitcher #29
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    Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic reports that Tarik Skubal will start for the Dodgers in Game 1 of the NLDS against the Braves on Saturday.

    No surprises here, especially as the Braves have had more difficulty with left-handers this season. Skubal made 10 starts for the Dodgers following the mid-season trade from the Tigers, going 5-2 with a 2.61 ERA, 1.05 WHIP and a 70/13 K/BB ratio across 62 innings of work. He has been brilliant in his postseason career as well, posting a 2.04 ERA and 0.73 WHIP with a 56/6 K/BB ratio in just 39 2/3 frames.
  • SEA 1st Baseman #48
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    Mariners claimed 1B/OF Michael Toglia off waivers from the Reds.

    We’ll give him the /OF slash because the Mariners did, but he belongs at first base, and he missed the final five weeks of this year because of a right shoulder dislocation he suffered while diving in the outfield. Toglia is 28 with a .198/.275/.385 line and a 74 OPS+ in 1,095 major league plate appearances, all except the last 28 of which came with the Rockies. He does offer legitimate power, but he seems more like a minor league signing than someone who should take up a 40-man spot all winter.
  • NYY Starting Pitcher #55
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    Yankees manager Aaron Boone said Carlos Rodón will start either Game 3 or 4 against the Rays.

    Interesting. Because of the extra off day built into the ALDS schedule, teams only need three starters. The Yankees, though, seem set to use four anyway. They could then pick between Gerrit Cole on six days’ rest or Cam Schlittler on four days’ rest in a potential Game 5.
  • MIL Shortstop #3
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    Joey Ortiz is expected to be on the NLDS roster after missing Sunday’s game with abdominal swelling and a knee contusion.

    It’s unclear if Ortiz will be a full-time player against the Padres. If not, that would mean a fair amount of David Hamilton at third base.
  • NYY Right Fielder #99
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    Aaron Judge will work out on the field Friday before a decision is made about his status for the ALDS.

    The call might go down to the wire Saturday morning. Judge hasn’t played since suffering a calf strain on Sept. 16.