Skip navigation
Favorites
Sign up to follow your favorites on all your devices.
Sign up
Odds by

    Héctor Rodríguez on the bench following debut

    Link copied to clipboard!
    Link copied to clipboard!

    Héctor Rodríguez is on the bench for Wednesday’s showdown against the Reds.

    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.
Skubal subpar in Dodgers debut
Dan Patrick explains why Tarik Skubal's shaky Dodgers debut featuring a 60% strike rate, his lowest in four years, isn't the end of the world and he can be trusted to get better in "a lot more starts."

Related Player News

  • CIN Left Fielder #43
    Personalize your Rotoworld feed by favoriting players
    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.
  • CIN Left Fielder #43
    Rodríguez is one of the more electrifying talents in the Reds’ system and will get his first opportunity at the highest level after hitting .274/.347/.533 with 27 round-trippers and six steals in 455 plate appearances for Triple-A Louisville. The 22-year-old outfielder is worthy of a speculative pickup in deeper mixed leagues based on his over-the-fence power upside. He figures to play everyday for Cincinnati over the final two months.
  • CIN Left Fielder #22
    Bleday drew a two-out walk off of Paul Skenes in the opening inning and raced around to score the Reds’ first run on an RBI double by Tyler Stephenson. He then smacked a 386-foot (105.7-mph EV) solo shot off of Skenes in the third inning that tied the score at 3-3. For the season, the 28-year-old outfielder is slashing .229/.341/.472 to go with 19 long balls and 46 RBI.
  • CIN Center Fielder #29
    At this point, it’s pretty clear that Friedl has been supplanted by Noelvi Marte in the team’s starting lineup, as Friedl has started just once in the team’s last six games despite facing five right-handers during that stretch. It’s Marte in right field once again and batting eighth for the Reds on Friday evening against Pirates’ ace Paul Skenes.
  • CIN Left Fielder #22
    Bleday receives his first day off since the start of July after launching his 18th home run during the second game of Tuesday’s doubleheader against Cleveland. The 28-year-old has cooled off considerably following a scorching-hot return to the big leagues earlier this season, but he’s still managed to connect for five round-trippers in 22 games this month. It’ll be rookie Ivan Johnson getting the nod in left field on Wednesday evening in his place.
  • CIN Left Fielder #43
    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.
  • CIN Left Fielder #22
    Game two featured just six hits, three apiece from both teams, and saw the Reds win despite getting struck out 15 times in eight innings by Gavin Williams and Daniel Espino. Bleday’s homer in the first inning was his lone hit in seven at-bats on the day. He’s batting just .187/.309/.362 in 201 plate appearances since the start of June, but with Spencer Steer out and the Reds likely to shed another position player or two before the deadline, his starting spot is probably safe.
  • CIN 2nd Baseman #15
    Johnson went 0-for-5 in four games in his first MLB stint earlier this season. The 27-year-old is hitting .278/.373/.474 in 61 games at Triple-A with 10 home runs and 11 steals. He will be on the bench on Monday with TJ Friedl starting in left field and JJ Bleday moving over to right field. That could be the regular lineup against right-handed pitchers for the next few weeks.
  • CIN Right Fielder #4
    Marte had one nice liner tonight, but it was caught in center. He’s just not making very good contact for the most part, with a 27.6 percent hard-hit rate that’s down from 38 percent for his career. Given that the Reds didn’t seem to think much of him even at the start of the season, when there was more reason for optimism, it wouldn’t be surprising to see him traded at the deadline, even if he’s probably not someone contenders would pursue.
  • CIN 1st Baseman #7
    Steer receives a breather after being hit by a pitch in the ribs during Monday’s contest. It doesn’t sound like a significant concern. It’ll be Noelvi Marte taking over in right field. Fantasy managers should consider him day-to-day heading into Wednesday’s series finale in Seattle.

Rotoworld

  • Personalize your Rotoworld feed by favoriting players
    Link copied to clipboard!

    Willson Contreras was removed from Wednesday’s game against the White Sox due to illness.

    Fantasy managers can go ahead and mark another square on their Willson Contreras early-exit bingo cards for the season. It’s a relief that he isn’t dealing with any additional physical issues after being replaced at first base in the fifth inning after going 1-for-1 with an RBI. He also drew a walk. The 34-year-old should be ready to return to Boston’s lineup once he’s feeling better. It’s entirely possible he’s ready to play in Thursday’s series finale at Fenway Park.
  • PHI Starting Pitcher #24
    Player Stats
    Link copied to clipboard!

    Andrew Painter was removed from Wednesday’s start against the Nationals with left hamstring tightness.

    Painter threw just 63 pitches over four innings during his second start back in the majors. He finished with four strikeouts and allowed one run on three hits over four frames. The 23-year-old former top pitching prospect will undergo further evaluation to determine the severity of the issue and whether he’ll require a trip to the injured list. There should be a decision on his status later this week.
  • DET Starting Pitcher #76
    Player Stats
    Link copied to clipboard!

    Tigers signed LHP Austin Gomber to a minor league contract.

    Gomber heads to the Motor City as organizational depth at Triple-A Toledo. The 32-year-old southpaw hasn’t pitched in the big leagues this season and has spent time with the Rangers and Braves at the Triple-A level where he’s compiled a 6.01 ERA across 82 1/3 innings.
  • PIT Relief Pitcher #57
    Player Stats
    Link copied to clipboard!

    Pirates sent RHP Chris Devenski outright to Triple-A Indianapolis.

    Devenski was jettisoned from Pittsburgh’s 40-man roster after spending three months on the injured list with an undisclosed illness. The 35-year-old journeyman reliever made three appearances for the Pirates earlier this year.
  • Link copied to clipboard!

    Royals sent SS Andrew Velazquez outright to Triple-A Omaha.

    Velazquez passed through waivers unclaimed after being removed from Kansas City’s roster earlier this week once Bobby Witt Jr. made it back from the injured list. The 32-year-old middle infielder went 1-for-15 at the plate during his time with the Royals.
  • FA Relief Pitcher #22
    Player Stats
    Link copied to clipboard!

    Phillies RHP Lou Trivino elected free agency.

    Trivino passed through waivers unclaimed after being removed from Philadelphia’s roster at the trade deadline. The well-traveled 34-year-old wound up making only three relief appearances for the Phillies.
  • FA Relief Pitcher #66
    Player Stats
    Link copied to clipboard!

    Twins released RHP Cody Laweryson.

    Laweryson went unclaimed on waivers after being designated for assignment last weekend. The 28-year-old made 15 relief appearances for Minnesota earlier this season.
  • TEX Right Fielder #24
    Player Stats
    Link copied to clipboard!

    Brandon Nimmo went 2-for-3 with a homer, two RBI and a walk in the Rangers’ 6-0 shutout of the Giants on Wednesday.

    Nimmo’s homer off Carson Seymour didn’t even rate as a hard-hit ball, leaving his bat at 94.0 mph, but it got over the wall down the left field line. It was his 12th of the year. He’s up to .329/.397/.543 in 19 games since the break.
  • TEX Starting Pitcher #61
    Player Stats
    Link copied to clipboard!

    Making his first major league appearance since 2024, Cody Bradford pitched 4 1/3 scoreless innings in his start against the Giants on Wednesday.

    It’s good to have Bradford back from elbow surgery. Despite averaging just 90 mph with his fastball, he had a 3.03 ERA in 13 starts for Texas in 2024. Today, he averaged 88.8 mph with his fastball, but he had his changeup working and racked up five strikeouts and a 40 percent CSW. He was, however, quite lucky to get outs on long flies from Buddy Kennedy and Bryce Eldridge that would have been homers in 26 and 16 ballparks, respectively. He’s probably not a mixed-league starter right now, but he might be once he gets back to throwing 90-100 pitches. He’ll face the Angels next week.
  • SF Starting Pitcher #88
    Player Stats
    Link copied to clipboard!

    Carson Whisenhunt surrendered four runs in 3 1/3 innings Wednesday in a loss to the Rangers.

    Whisenhunt has lost all three of his starts since his recall, giving up 14 runs and walking nine in 11 2/3 innings. The Giants intended to give him a long look, so he’ll probably stay in the rotation for now and face Houston next week. There isn’t much here to be optimistic about, though.