Noah Schultz sharp for five against Rays

The Littell era in Washington concludes with a cromulent 4.97 ERA, 1.34 WHIP and 70/35 K/BB ratio across 112 1/3 innings over 23 appearances, including 14 starts. The 30-year-old should be able to latch on somewhere as an innings-eater for the final two months of the season, but his odds of returning to fantasy relevance are extremely slim.

Yankees manager Aaron Boone said that Judge was given the green light after followup scans on his right ribs. It’s a significant step towards making it back to New York at some point in the final two months. The 34-year-old generational talent remains without a definitive return timeline and he’s likely to require several weeks to ramp-up from a physical standpoint following the lengthy layoff. Judge has been on the injured list with a stress fracture in his right ribs since early June. There should be a clearer idea of his next steps in the coming weeks.

Freeman was replaced by Enrique Hernández at first base with the Dodgers trailing by five runs entering the sixth inning. He was 1-for-3 at the dish prior to exiting. It feels like a workload management decision by Los Angeles to get the 36-year-old veteran off his feet in a one-sided affair, but he didn’t exactly look comfortable in his final at-bat. We’ll have updates on the situation as they unfold, especially if Freeman’s exit winds up being injury-related.

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.

The Cardinals are presumably handling Walker’s situation with an abundance of caution since they have an off-day prior to Friday’s series opener against the Rockies. The 24-year-old rising fantasy star will receive some extra time off to rest and recover as he deals with right knee inflammation. It’s challenging to dismiss the possibility of an injured list stint, but it sounds like Walker will be ready to return later this week.

Ramírez is officially day-to-day with left wrist inflammation. It’ll be rookie Angel Genao taking over at the hot corner in his major-league debut on Wednesday night. Fantasy managers aren’t completely out of the woods regarding a potential injured list trip for Ramírez, but things seem a bit more optimistic at this juncture.

This is now the second straight game with Caballero on the bench. Now that Heliot Ramos is in town and George Lombard Jr. has been called up, it seems that Caballero might be shifting back to being a bench player. Fantasy managers in deeper leagues can hold onto him for a little bit longer given his stolen base upside, but the time may have run out on his consistent fantasy value.

Waldron had put together some solid runs of production since switching to throwing his knuckleball as his primary pitch. However, he had a 7.16 ERA in 32 2/3 innings for the Padres this season. It’s an interesting gamble for the Blue Jays. He’s out of options, so he’ll presumably go right on to the active roster.

A year ago, Grissom Jr. was in the Futures Game. Now he’s looking for a new team. The 25-year-old had breezed through the minor leagues before struggling in Triple-A last season. He was sent back to Double-A this season and has posted a 6.06 ERA in 16 1/3 innings. There will be another team that takes a chance on him as a developmental prospect.

Dotel has a 5.06 ERA in 26 2/3 innings with the Pirates this season. The 23-year-old has slowed down after the impressive beginning to his MLB career, but the future is still bright for him out of the bullpen.