Welcome to the Depth Chart Review! Every week I’ll be going over transactions, injuries, and lineup changes around the big leagues and how they affect fantasy baseball. This week we’ve got a closer trade, a closer demotion, a slugger demotion, and the Nationals shaking up their lineup.
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Royals Send Herrera to Washington
The Royals traded their closer Kelvin Herrera to the Washington Nationals on Monday in exchange for three prospects. Herrera will move into a setup role for the Nationals behind incumbent closer Sean Doolittle. Herrera is a decent holds option, but loses pretty much all of his value in leagues without holds because Herrera won’t be getting saves while Doolittle is healthy. The biggest fantasy impact of this trade is in the Kansas City bullpen because now there is an open closer job.
Looking at the remaining members of the Royals bullpen is stomach turning. They have a 5.67 ERA and 5.01 FIP as a unit this season, and that was with Herrera’s 1.05 ERA. Since Brad Keller was moved to the rotation, the only active member of the Royals’ bullpen with an ERA below 4.00 is Kevin McCarthy. McCarthy has a 3.86 ERA, 3.49 FIP, and 2.71 K/BB ratio in 30.1 IP out of the bullpen this season. He doesn’t quite have the strikeout stuff of a traditional closer with a 5.64 K/9, but McCarthy gets it done by limiting home runs and inducing groundballs. He has only allowed two home runs this season and has a 60.4% groundball rate. McCarthy isn’t very exciting, but he looks like the most reliable option in Kansas City right now.
Tim Hill is an under-the-radar stash in the Royals bullpen. Hill may have a 4.98 ERA, but he also has a 2.82 FIP, 9.55 K/9, 61.7% groundball rate, and he’s only allowed one home run this season in 21.2 innings. Pretty much every stat except the ERA is good for Hill, and his ERA is inflated by a .339 BABIP and 54.1% strand rate. Hill will need to get better results before the Royals consider him for closing duties, but he’s a dark horse for saves down the line.
Miguel Sano Demoted by Twins
Struggling slugger Miguel Sano was sent to the Twins High-A team in Fort Myers, FL. He will work at their spring training complex in Fort Myers to try and fix his swing. The disappointing Twins had expected to contend for a playoff spot this season, but at six games under .500 they must have gotten fed up with Sano, as his struggles are one of many reasons they have failed to meet expectations. Sano had struggled all season long but hit new lows in June. Before his demotion Sano was hitting .162 with zero home runs and a 45% strikeout rate during June. There is no set timetable for Sano’s return, but it would seem likely that this is a short-term move to try and get him mentally and physically refreshed and ready to contribute in the majors. If you can afford to hold Sano on the bench it’s worth trying to hang on to him. He possesses elite power as evidenced by his career .237 ISO and 21 homer first half last season, but the lows can be brutal. He’s a bit like a right-handed Joey Gallo. Gallo is also struggling in June with a .128 AVG and 47% strikeout rate, but players like that are hard to drop because their power is game-changing.
On the big club the Twins activated Joe Mauer from the disabled list and promoted utility man Taylor Motter from Triple-A to take the roster spots of Sano and outfielder Jake Cave. Mauer will reclaim his job at first base, while Eduardo Escobar will play third base and Logan Morrison will be the designated hitter. Sano would fit at any of those positions when he returns, and the obvious move would be to slide Escobar back to shortstop and move Ehire Adrianza to the bench. Adrianza has actually hit better than either Sano or Morrison with a 96 wRC+ on the season compared to an 81 wRC+ for Sano and a 78 wRC+ for Morrison. The Twins are also set to get shortstop Jorge Polanco back from suspension around the beginning of July and Polanco would presumably be the starting shortstop upon his return. Escobar has had a 148 wRC+ and .932 OPS and isn’t going anywhere, meaning Sano either has to play first or DH to play regularly. Sano’s demotion may also represent one last chance for Logan Morrison, who has struggled as much as Sano with a .191 AVG, .643 OPS, and seven home runs in 241 PA. The Twins have no long term commitment to Morrison and Sano could take his roster spot in a few weeks if Morrison doesn’t turn it around. If Morrison does rebound then Sano could see extended time in the minors or platoon with Morrison at DH.
Phillies Demote Hector Neris
Miguel Sano wasn’t the only high-profile demotion this week, as the Phillies sent reliever Hector Neris to Triple-A on Monday. The day before Neris nearly blew a five-run Phillies lead in the ninth inning, surrendering two home runs and four runs total to the Brewers on Sunday before being yanked from the game and rescued by Jake Thompson, who finished the game and preserved the Phillies one-run lead. Neris entered the season as Philadelphia’s closer but has posted a 6.00 ERA, 5.57 FIP, and blown three saves. He has also allowed eight home runs in 27 innings. Neris should be dropped, as he was hardly ownable before his demotion anyway. Even if he returns to the big leagues Neris probably won’t get any save opportunities.
The Phillies had already been toying with a closer-by-committee approach before Neris’ demotion and it seems likely that the committee will continue. There might not be a true closer that emerges from this bullpen all season. Seranthony Dominguez has three saves for the Phillies this season and is probably the best reliever to own from this team, but won’t be saved for the ninth like a traditional closer. Edubray Ramos has posted a 0.68 ERA and 3.0 K/BB ratio in 26.2 relief innings this season and is another interesting option to snag a few saves, but again won’t be used as a closer. There is no one to be relied on for saves in this bullpen.
Nationals Place Matt Adams on Disabled List, Shuffle Lineup Around
The Nationals placed Matt Adams on the disabled list Tuesday with a fractured finger. As of writing this there is no timetable for Adams to return, and since he was being phased out of the lineup with the return of Daniel Murphy, Adams can safely be cut in standard mixed leagues. The Nationals also made a few lineup changes on Tuesday, moving Juan Soto up to second and Anthony Rendon up to third, while moving Bryce Harper to fourth and Trea Turner to sixth. The Nationals might be trying to get Harper out of a funk, as he was in a 1-for-25 slump going into play yesterday. The biggest winner in all of this shuffling would be Soto, who was hitting mostly fifth before the move. Soto has been great since his promotion to the majors, and with a .411 OBP and 172 wRC+ the Nationals want to maximize the number of plate appearances he will get. The second spot is one of the premier lineup spots in baseball and Soto should rack up more runs and RBIs if he hits there all season.
Trea Turner would be the biggest loser if this is a permanent change. Turner was hitting sixth when the season began, but due Adam Eaton’s extended absence Turner was hitting either leadoff or second for the Nationals before everyone was healthy. This would obviously eat into Turner’s counting stats like runs and RBIs and he would receive fewer plate appearances. It hopefully wouldn’t affect his stolen base totals, and in fact Turner might get more green lights from the dugout hitting sixth because the hitters behind him are weaker and the Nationals would be more willing to risk an out on the basepaths. Overall it’s a net negative for Turner, but he’s still someone that should be started in every league anyway.
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Elliott Baas is a correspondent at FantasyPros. For more from Elliott, check out his archive and follow him @elliottbaasbb.
