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    Héctor Rodríguez homers yet again

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    Reds OF prospect Héctor Rodríguez went 1-for-4 with a solo home run for Triple-A Louisville on Tuesday.

    Rodríguez now has 25 home runs on the season to go along with a .272 average, 63 RBI, and an .876 OPS. He’s an aggressive hitter, but he’s swinging outside of the zone less than he did last year and has reduced his swinging strike rate to a league-average mark. He also continues to make league-average contact while driving the ball over the fence. We should note that his 42 percent hard-hit rate and 89.2 mph average exit velocity don’t suggest tons of power, but he makes the most of his contact with his approach, and playing his home games in Great American Ballpark will help. We’d imagine he’s up after the August 14th cutoff to retain his rookie eligibility for 2027.
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  • CIN Right Fielder #43
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    Rodríguez did great work over the final 10 days of August and first week of September, hitting .368 with five homers over a 14-game span. However, this .045 stretch has put him back down to .230/.281/.389 in 121 plate appearances as a major leaguer. We worry there’s a slight chance the Reds might send him down in the next couple of days, as doing so would preserve his rookie eligibility for 2027. That opportunity would be lost this weekend.
  • CIN Right Fielder #43
    It’s a different-looking lineup from Reds manager Terry Francona as he mixes things up with rookie Carlos Jorge in the leadoff spot against Dodgers ace Yoshinobu Yamamoto. Rodríguez will get a look towards the middle of Cincinnati’s lineup after leading off against most right-handed starters for the past couple weeks.
  • CIN Right Fielder #43
    After a slow start to his MLB career, Rodríguez came into this game hitting .283/.345/.547 in his last 15 games with four home runs, nine runs scored, and 10 RBI. The 22-year-old was an intriguing prospect with a 42 percent hard-hit rate and .274/.347/.533 slash line in 455 Triple-A plate appearances with 27 home runs and six steals. He has been starting every day and leading off against righties, which gives him a decent amount of fantasy value in most league types.
  • CIN Right Fielder #43
    San Diego had 18 total bases to Cincinnati’s 10 tonight, but the Padres went 0-for-10 with RISP, compared to 3-for-8 for the Reds. Rodríguez’s two hits were liners that left the bat at 107 and 105 mph. He’s a full-timer right now, so he looks like a decent play in mixed leagues.
  • CIN Right Fielder #43
    Rodríguez is one of the more tantalizing power/speed combo talents to enter the fantasy landscape this season and appears to finally be finding his footing after experiencing some initial turbulence at the highest level. The 22-year-old rookie is leading off for the third time in the last five games after launching a three-run homer during Sunday’s lopsided game against the Cubs. He’s homered four times in his last seven games and is hitting .370 (10-for-27) during that span.
  • CIN Right Fielder #43
    Rodríguez was benched for four straight games, three of them against righties, a week into his major league career, but two weeks later, here he is starting five games in a row, including two against lefties. He has a chance to be useful in mixed leagues in September if Terry Francona keeps him in the lineup.
  • CIN Right Fielder #43
    Rodriguez hit a solo shot in the third inning to tie the game at two, and he homered again in the ninth on a ball that left the bat at 115.3 mph. Cincinnati began that inning down six and came all the way back to take the lead. Rodriguez hasn’t been playing every day since he was called up on August 4, but he hit leadoff on Wednesday. With their season not going anywhere, one figures the Reds will give the 22-year-old some runway down the stretch.
  • CIN Right Fielder #43
    The 22-year-old outfielder had started each of the team’s previous four games, so he’ll get a breather to accommodate a crowded outfield mix in Cincinnati. He’s just 2-for-23 (.087) with a 6/3 K/BB ratio in his first 26 plate appearances with the Reds. Noelvi Marte will start in his place in right field and bat eighth against Sandy Alcantara and the Marlins on Friday night.
  • CIN Left Fielder #43
    Cincinnati failed to resolve their crowded outfield situation at the trade deadline earlier this week, but made the decision to promote Rodríguez anyway. The dynamic 22-year-old went 0-for-2 with a walk and scored a run against the Athletics in his big-league debut on Tuesday night. He possesses a fantasy-relevant skillset and is worthy of a speculative roster spot in deeper mixed leagues. The big question is whether he’s able to carve out an everyday role over the next few weeks with JJ Bleday, Noelvi Marte, Dane Myers and TJ Friedl still in the mix.
  • CIN Left Fielder #43
    This move was reported yesterday and is now official. We like Rodríguez, but are surprised by this decision since the Reds didn’t actually trade away an outfielder at the deadline. We assume Rodríguez will play nearly every day between outfield and DH, and the DH spot could be used as a rotation for the extra outfielders. The 22-year-old is an aggressive hitter, and his 42 percent hard-hit rate and 89.2 mph average exit velocity don’t suggest tons of power, but he is hitting .274/.347/.533 with 27 round-trippers and six steals in 455 plate appearances for Triple-A Louisville. He’s worth a flyer in most fantasy formats.

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  • SD Center Fielder #47
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    Padres signed OF Cal Stevenson to a minor league contract.

    The 30-year-old outfielder spent the 2026 season in the Tigers’ organization where he slashed .264/.410/.456 with nine homers, 33 RBI and seven stolen bases in 330 plate appearances at Triple-A Toledo. He’ll add extra outfield depth for the Friars.
  • LAA Relief Pitcher #67
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    Angels re-signed LHP Sammy Peralta to a minor league contract with an invitation to spring training.

    Peralta made 16 appearances at the MLB level between the Angels and Rockies in 2026, posting a miserable 6.65 ERA, 1.87 WHIP and a 23/9 K/BB ratio over 23 frames. It’ll take a strong showing in Cactus League action for him to crack the Halos’ Opening Day bullpen.
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    Angels and C Tyler Heineman avoided arbitration by agreeing to a one-year, $1.2375 million contract.

    The 35-year-old backstop will remain with the Angels in a backup role heading into the 2027 campaign. Heineman slashed just .175/.223/.220 with one homer and 10 RBI in 200 plate appearances between the Blue Jays and Angels in 2026.
  • TOR Right Fielder #25
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    Anthony Santander publicly apologized Friday for since-deleted Islamophobic social media posts.

    Santander shared anti-Muslim videos following the U.S. election last week before eventually taking them down. The Blue Jays released a statement Thursday condemning all forms of hate. Most assume the Jays would like to rid themselves of Santander at this point, though he still has $49 million left on the five-year deal he signed after hitting 44 homers for the Orioles in 2024. He’s since played in just 54 games in 2025 and none in 2026 because of shoulder issues. Even if the Jays are willing to eat the contract, it makes financial sense to wait until after the lockout ends, since any missed games next season would lead to a corresponding reduction of his $16.5 million salary.
  • FA Starting Pitcher #43
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    According to Kevin Barral of Fish on First, the Marlins have expressed interest in free agent southpaw Patrick Sandoval.

    The Marlins are in the market for arms that could fill out the backend of their rotation or provide quality depth. When right, Sandoval should be able to do that, be he had very inconsistent results in his first action back from Tommy John surgery — posting a 1-7 record, 5.12 ERA, 1.68 WHIP and a 73/32 K/BB ratio across 70 1/3 innings in his 15 appearances.
  • FA Starting Pitcher
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    Bruce Levine of 670 The Score in Chicago reports that both the Cubs and White Sox have expressed interest in Japanese right-hander Kaima Taira.

    Both teams met with agent Scott Boras during the general manager’s meetings to discuss the 26-year-old hurler. The Padres are also known to have expressed interest in his services. With the potential lockout looming, it doesn’t sound like Nippon Professional Baseball is going to change the posting rules at all, so any player that has been posted for MLB teams will need to sign before the lockout or return to their clubs in Japan. Expect the interest to really heat up here in the coming days.
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    Rangers re-signed INF Max Wagner to a minor league contract.

    Wagner got a $1.9 million bonus from the Orioles as the 42nd overall pick in the 2022 draft, but Baltimore gave up on him after he hit .218/.301/.339 in Double-A in 2025. The Rangers signed him in April, and he put up a much-improved .249/.337/.523 line with 21 homers in 85 games in Double-A at age 25 last season. If he can do that again in Triple-A next year, he might become a candidate for a major league bench gig.
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    Reds re-signed OF Shane Sasaki to a minor league contract.

    Sasaki, the Rays’ third-round pick in 2019, hit .241/.340/.371 in 53 games for Double-A Chattanooga last season before missing the final 3 1/2 months with an injury. He’ll aim to win a spot on the Triple-A roster when minor league spring training starts.
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    Reds re-signed LHP Ben Wereski to a minor league contract.

    Wereski, 28, had a 4.42 ERA in 12 starts between Double- and Triple-A after being plucked out of indy ball last season. He’s probably just Triple-A depth, but there’s the chance he’ll be needed to come up and make a start or two next season.
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    Reds re-signed RHP Trevor Kuncl to a minor league contract.

    Kuncl will compete to retain his spot in the Triple-A Louisville pen after posting a 5.40 ERA and a 42/29 K/BB in 37 1/3 innings for the Bats last season.