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USATSI

The trade deadline looms on Monday of next week, and we're finally starting to see some action. The first true blockbuster of the season came down Thursday night, as the Mariners tried to patch the gigantic, Julio Rodriguez-sized hole in their outfield with Randy Arozarena. 

It's a big deal for the Mariners, who gave up a couple of intriguing minor-leaguers in outfielder Aidan Smith and pitcher Brody Hopkins, but it's not one I'm terribly excited about for Fantasy, just because Seattle is such a tough place to hit. Over the past three seasons, it's been the toughest park in baseball for hitters, per BaseballSavant.com's park factors, and it's not just because of the large outfield dimensions – it's also been the best park for strikeouts, an especially worrisome sign for the whiff-heavy Arozarena.

Of course, Tampa has never been a great place to hit either, and Arozarena has mostly been fine there. This hasn't been his best season, though he's been pulling out of it lately, posting an .892 OPS in June and then a .914 OPS in the month of July. And, while the overall line has been disappointing, Arozarena's underlying numbers have been better all along, in a way that suggests that the recent improvements are something we should be buying into. 

It's probably a downgrade for Arozarena's Fantasy value, especially since the Mariners lineup looks especially weak with Rodriguez out for at least a few weeks with that high-ankle sprain. But I'm not too worried about Arozarena – he should be a must-start Fantasy option moving forward, despite the park and lineup downgrade. 

The other big trade Thursday saw the Diamondbacks go out and grab Marlins lefty reliever A.J. Puk, who flamed out as a member of Miami's rotation early in the season but who has been excellent since moving back to the bullpen. He'll likely help set Paul Sewald up, though with Sewald struggling of late, it's possible Puk could be insurance in case last year's deadline acquisition relief ace falters. Puk's value doesn't change here, but he might have a path to closing for a playoff contender, which is better than what he was facing in Miami, so we'll call it an upgrade in value, albeit one that shouldn't send you running for the waiver wire just yet.

Hopefully, those two deals have greased the skids and we're about to see a flurry of activity leading up to Monday's deadline – and I wrote about five deals we'd love to see go down from a Fantasy perspective here. 

News and notes

Christian Yelich has elected to rest and rehab his back injury, delaying a potential surgery until the offseason. Ken Rosenthal added that offseason surgery is viewed as a strong possibility, and it's not guaranteed Yelich will even make it there without having to go under the knife. It's a tough situation for a guy who has been one of the best players in baseball in a bounceback season, and at this point, I'm kind of viewing anything I get from Yelich the rest of the way as a bonus. 

Mason Miller was placed on the IL with a fractured pinky on his left hand. The initial thought was that Lucas Erceg would take over as the closer since he's been the primary eighth-inning reliever for the A's, but when they had a save situation Thursday, Erceg pitched the eighth, while Tyler Ferguson got the ninth with a one-run lead, striking out two for his first save. One thing I'll note is that Erceg did face the heart of the order, so I don't want to write him off just yet. 

This Garrett Crochet trade situation is getting interesting. According to an article from The Athletic, Crochet desires a contract extension before he would agree to pitch in the playoffs this season. He also wants to remain a starter and isn't interested in transitioning back into a reliever role. It all makes sense from Crochet's perspective, but it does seemingly complicate his trade value. The White Sox aren't expected to shut Crochet down or move him to the bullpen if he isn't moved, though we'd likely see them limit him within certain starts, as they already have. I'm really not sure how to value him at this point, especially since it's an open question how Crochet will respond to his workload as he continues to rack up unprecedented amounts of innings. 

One note from the Puk trade: The Marlins acquired Deyvison De Los Santos in the deal, and he's worth talking about a bit. He's having a monster season in the minors, hitting .325 with 28 HR, and a 1.011 OPS between Double-A and Triple-A as a 21-year-old. He hits the ball extremely hard and has improved as a contact hitter this season, though he also has a massive chase rate that could certainly be exploited in the majors. He'll be worth a look whenever the Marlins opt to call him up, though he's not the kind of prospect you need to be stashing beforehand. 

Triston Casas has been taking full batting practice and could be ready for a rehab assignment by the end of this week.

Bryan Reynolds was placed on the bereavement list and will miss a few days of action.

Giancarlo Stanton is not expected to be activated this weekend. He's still rehabbing his hamstring injury. 

Starling Marte hopes to begin a running progression this week. He's on the IL with a bone bruise in his right knee.

Jorge Mateo was officially placed on the IL with a left elbow subluxation. Connor Norby was recalled. The Orioles optioned Chayce McDermott back to Triple-A.

The Giants are planning to move Jordan Hicks to the bullpen and could do so as soon as this weekend. Alex Cobb would likely take his place in the rotation when he is ready to return from the IL. 

Chris Taylor was placed on the IL with a left groin strain. James Outman was recalled for the Dodgers.