This was a busy free agent week in advance of Wednesday's trade deadline. In most of my leagues, Bo Bichette is either already taken or still ineligible, having only been called up on Sunday without any previous major league experience. The biggest movers were closer speculations and catchers, especially Will Smith of the Dodgers. I was doing my bids while packing up to go home from Hawaii (yes, total non-humble brag) or from the airport, but I don't think I missed out too much in the process. Let's take a look.
AL Tout Wars
The joys of an AL-only league at work, when you get bummed out that you got outbid on Pedro Severino. I'm not crestfallen that I got outbid on Sergio Romo, only because I'm already first in saves in the league. I remain fifth in FAAB remaining, so even if a big interleague deal or two occurs, significant help isn't likely coming from the waiver wire. I added Montgomery hoping that his new lease on his professional life, both in location and in role, sparks a resurgence in his performance. Hope is a good thing, but it isn't a plan.
NFBC Main Event
Here once again you can see the Ghost of Nicky Lopez (among others) rearing its ugly head, as I had to settle for inferior options on my closer speculations. Instead of Nick Anderson, I got Jarlin Garcia. Instead of Chris Martin or one of the two Arizona options, I got Keone Kela - backing up my lone full-time closer in Felipe Vasquez no less! Also, note the drop of Brandon Woodruff. Things are going great, thanks for asking!
RotoWire OC1
This is the first of my Jose Urquidy shares this week, and I'm pretty happy with the result, even though it came at the cost of cutting Nick Senzel. I'd never cut him in a 15-team league, but in a 12-teamer he sits out just often enough to not make the cut. I kept David Fletcher over him. I think Urquidy keeps his rotation slot even after the Astros make a trade, and I'm not confident that they'll get Brad Peacock back in time to make an appreciable difference.
NFBC OC2
This was a really active week for a 12-team league - the sign of a good league. Unfortunately it's not the sign of a good team for me, as I'm mired in the middle in this league. Tony Wolters replaces an injured Gary Sanchez here.
TGFBI
I really wish I could have bid on Bo Bichette and his seven games against Royals and Orioles pitching here, but he's not eligible until next week. Instead, I'm using Brandon Crawford and his three games at Coors Field at the end of the week to replace Dansby Swanson. Meanwhile I got two more starting pitchers to stream hopefully the rest of the season, as I'll be going with eight starters and one closer for the near future, with wins and strikeouts being the two most critical categories for me.
FSTA
This one hurt - I went aggressively after Will Smith, bidding $43, only to fall short by $3. Making matters worse, it was the combo of Steve Gardner and Howard Kamen from USAToday that beat me out on him - they're one point ahead of me in the standings in second place. Instead, I'll have to keep rolling Roberto Perez out there - and I picked up Perez too late to enjoy most of his production.
Mixed LABR
RotoWire Staff Keeper League
