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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.
Morales falls triple shy of cycle in MLB debut
Nationals rookie Yohandy Morales showcased raw power and offensive upside with a home run and three-hit performance in his MLB debut.

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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

  • ATH Center Fielder
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    Henry Bolte went 3-for-4 with two home runs, a walk, four RBI, two runs scored, and a stolen base as the A’s defeated the Rangers 9-2 on Wednesday.

    Bolte belted a two-run homer off Cody Bradford in the third, and Zack Gelof made it back-to-back with a round-tripper of his own. Then in the fourth, Bolte connected for another two-run homer that even he thought was foul off the bat, but it stayed just inside the right-field pole. It was his first career multi-homer game, and he picked up his 15th steal of the season. He’s been caught eight times, so the efficiency hasn’t been great, but the roto-friendly skill set was on full display this afternoon. Bolte has hit leadoff in every game for the A’s dating back to August 18.
  • ATH Starting Pitcher #57
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    Jacob Lopez earned the win in Wednesday’s 9-2 victory over the Rangers, tossing six innings of two-run ball while striking out seven.

    Lopez allowed six hits and two walks in the 102-pitch performance, continuing a tremendous second-half run. He was optioned to the minors earlier this season after a rough couple of months, but he’s been fantastic since returning. The southpaw now has a 2.38 ERA with 60 strikeouts over his past 49 2/3 innings, spanning nine starts. He’ll look to keep it going at home against the Blue Jays next time out.
  • TEX Relief Pitcher #61
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    Cody Bradford took the loss on Wednesday against the A’s, allowing five earned runs on seven hits and one walk over four innings pitched.

    All five runs came via the long ball. This was Bradford’s sixth start since returning from internal brace surgery a little over a month ago. It was also the most runs he’s given up in an outing this year. Through 30 1/3 innings he has only struck out 17, severely limiting his fantasy upside. He’ll look to rebound on the road against the Mariners next time out.
  • ATH 3rd Baseman #20
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    Zack Gelof went 2-for-5 with a solo homer and a double as the A’s defeated the Rangers 9-2 on Wednesday.

    Gelof connected for a solo home run in the third inning off Cody Bradford, going back-to-back with Henry Bolte. The 26-year-old is now hitting .256 with 15 homers and 10 stolen bases this season. It isn’t the full upside he flashed as a rookie back in 2023, but the health and performance have been a nice bounce-back from the past two seasons. He has started every game since coming off the injured list on August 10, primarily playing third base and left field.
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    Ezequiel Duran went 3-for-4 with a solo home run as the Rangers fell to the A’s 9-2 on Wednesday.

    It was the first career leadoff homer for Duran, who has started every game for Texas dating back to June 28. The versatile 27-year-old is posting career-bests across the board this season, with 16 homers, 75 RBI, 62 runs scored, and a .276/.336/.455 triple slash. He has started at every defensive position other than pitcher and catcher, and he entered Wednesday tied for the eighth-most fWAR among all position players.
  • TEX 2nd Baseman #14
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    Justin Foscue went 1-for-4 with a solo homer in the Rangers’ 9-2 loss to the Athletics on Wednesday.

    Foscue’s homer was one of two the Rangers hit off Jacob Lopez, but those were the only runs they could muster on the afternoon. He’s up to 11 homers on the year, eight of which have come against left-handers. Foscue gets the majority of his playing time against southpaws and has hit them at an impressive clip. His small-side platoon role makes him most valuable in deeper daily-lineup leagues or in DFS.
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    Keibert Ruiz was removed from Wednesday’s game against the Braves with a head injury.

    Nationals manager Blake Butera said afterwards that Ruiz passed concussion protocol and will undergo further evaluation prior to Friday’s series opener against the Dodgers. He was pulled from Wednesday’s contest after taking a foul tip off his mask during the fourth inning.
  • MIL Shortstop #87
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    Cooper Pratt underwent X-rays on his left forearm that came back negative for any fractures.

    Pratt somehow managed to avoid serious injury when he collided with teammates Jackson Chourio and Joey Ortiz in shallow left field during Tuesday’s game at Wrigley Field. He’s in the lineup on Wednesday night without missing any time.
  • ATL Right Fielder #13
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    Ronald Acuña Jr. went 3-for-5 with a home run, three RBI, two runs scored, and a stolen base as the Braves defeated the Nationals 9-0 on Wednesday.

    The homer was Acuña’s 200th, making him the 57th player in MLB history to hit 200 homers and steal 200 bases. He’s also the eighth active player to accomplish the feat. The steal was his 20th of the season, and only the fourth time in his career he’s reached that mark given how many injury-shortened campaigns he’s had. 2026 hasn’t been one of his better seasons, so it’ll be interesting to see where his ADP settles this offseason. Set to enter his age-29 season in 2027, Acuña still possesses plenty of high-end fantasy upside whenever he’s healthy.
  • ATL Starting Pitcher #66
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    Grant Holmes pitched three shutout innings in Wednesday’s 9-0 victory over the Nationals.

    Holmes struck out one and didn’t allow any baserunners. He was cruising, needing only 26 pitches to record nine outs before a rain delay interrupted his day. The right-hander lowered his ERA to 3.62, and he’s had just two starts all season where he gave up more than three earned runs. A home matchup against the Rays is up next.