Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire: Trade deadline could finally open an opportunity for Junior Caminero

The last waiver-wire run for Fantasy Baseball before the trade deadline can be one of the toughest of the season to figure out, because the ground is still actively shifting under our feet. Do you react to what you’ve seen so far, going all-in on whichever players saw the biggest jump in value based on the early moves, or do you try to keep your powder dry in the hopes that moves with even bigger ramifications are coming down the pike. 

There is one player I do want to be somewhat aggressive with this weekend, and that’s Rays infield prospect Junior Caminero, whose return to the majors seems imminent after the team’s decision to trade Isaac Paredes to the Cubs Sunday. The Rays got Christopher Morel back for Paredes, and they might decide to give him a look there. But Morel is an absolute butcher in the field, and the Rays don’t seem likely to stick with that big of a negative out there, so I’d guess he’s slotted for the DH spot before long.

That doesn’t necessarily leave a gaping hole on a roster with several players who could capably fill in at the hot corner, but I suspect at least part of the thought process behind moving Paredes is that Caminero provides a ready-made, in-house alternative to the All-Star they just shipped out. Caminero is back in action for the Rays Triple-A affiliate and is hitting .321 with two homers in his first seven games, bringing him to an even 30 homers in just 122 career games between Double-A and Triple-A. He’s one of the top prospects in the minors and could be a difference maker for Fantasy as soon as he gets the call.

Some of you may not be in position to take a flier on a guy who may not get the call anytime soon, but if you have the roster flexibility to stash a prospect, Caminero is about as good a candidate for that as they come. It’s a high-upside bet, one that could help you win a Fantasy championship down the stretch. 

Here’s who else we’re looking to add on waivers ahead of the All-Star break:

Catchers

Austin Wells, Yankees (22%) – Here’s your cleanup hitter for the New York Yankees, batting behind Juan Soto and Aaron Judge, and as of Sunday, right in front of Jazz Chisholm. I think it’s reasonable to be skeptical about Wells’ recent hot streak, except that his season xwOBA of .360 suggests he’s been a lot better than his actual production all along. For a recent top prospect, that seems like a profile worth buying into. 

Deep-league target: Alejandro Kirk, Blue Jays (12%) – With Danny Jansen shipped out to Boston, it looks like Kirk is going to get another shot – and it might be his last chance to prove he can be a key piece for the Blue Jays. Skepticism is a reason approach, given his struggles since 2022, but Kirk’s underlying numbers suggest there’s still room for growth here. If you’ve gotten nothing from your No. 2 catcher spot, why not take a flier?

First Base

Juan Yepez, Nationals (38%) – Yepez finally went without a hit Thursday, so of course he followed that up by going 5 for 9 with two doubles and five RBI in his next two games. Yepez is making a ton of contact while hitting the ball hard enough that he should be a solid hitter, even if his current .361/.407/.583 line is impossible to sustain. 

Deep-league target: Tyler Locklear, Mariners (8%) – This is solely a bet on pedigree and youth, because Locklear has shown very little at the major-league level at this point. Locklear has moved quickly through the minors, so he only had 94 games across Double-A and Triple-A, but he has an .865 OPS at those two levels, so the hope here is he starts to tap into some of that now that the path to an everyday role is clear.

Second base

Xavier Edwards, Marlins (32%) – Edwards has been absurdly hot since getting the call, hitting .379/.462/.494 in 105 PA to open his season after Sunday’s cycle. That was his first MLB homer, and while power won’t be a big part of his game, I still think he can be a useful Fantasy option who helps out in batting average and steals – and possibly runs as well now that he’s hitting leadoff for the Marlins after the Jazz Chisholm trade. Even in a bad lineup, the leadoff spot is still a good place to be, and Edwards looks locked in there. 

Deep-league target: Connor Norby, Orioles (16%) – Norby has some runway here with Jorge Mateo on the IL, and now it’s time for him to do something with it. He has started four games in a row as of Sunday, but is just 2 for 14 with seven strikeouts in that span. There’s talent here, but he also has middling pop and plays in one of the toughest parks for right-handed hitters to hit for power, so the odds are pretty long.

Third base

Eugenio Suarez, Diamondbacks (39%) – Suarez was left for dead in Fantasy, but he’s been pretty terrific in July, hitting six homers, driving in 19 runs, and hitting .293/.365/.600 in the month. And the underlying data backs it up, as he’s up to a .377 xwOBA over his past 100 PA. That’s probably just a hot streak, too, but at least it’s backed up by the data, in this case. 

Deep-league target: Justyn-Henry Malloy, Tigers (10%) – Malloy is starting to tap into some power, with two homers in the past seven games and four in the month of July. He’s not doing a ton else, but in 15-team leagues, he’s worth a look as a CI option.

Shortstop

Tyler Fitzgerald, Giants (59%) — Fitzgerald doesn’t want to go back to the minors this time. He’s been up and down a few times this season, but after homering in five straight games earlier in the week, he followed that up with a two-homer game Friday and then with another homer Saturday, and is now hitting .364/.440/1.000 in the month of July. The underlying data doesn’t quite back that up, but his .466 xwOBA during July suggests it isn’t just a total fluke, either. Fitzgerald had 28 homers and 30 steals in 119 career Triple-A games, and while the PCL certainly inflates that somewhat, it still shows that there’s an interesting skill set here for Fantasy. He’s maximizing his middling raw power by pulling the ball consistently, and his bat control might help him remain a viable Fantasy option, even if he can’t sustain all this.

Deep-league target: Nacho Alvarez, Braves (13%) – Okay, so Alvarez’s first six games have not gone according to plan, I think it’s fair to say. He is just 2 for 23 with 10 strikeouts, a massive number even without accounting for the fact that contact was supposed to be one of Alvarez’s strengths. He might just be overwhelmed – he wouldn’t be the first rookie to struggle like this – but I’m willing to have some patience here with a guy who should have a long runway with Ozzie Albies out for potentially almost two more months.

Outfield

T.J. Friedl, Reds (59%) – I was skeptical about Fried continuing his success from last season, but it’d be nice if he could actually get a chance to prove it, one way or the other. Friedly is hitting just .208/.306/.340 for the season, but that’s amid multiple trips to the IL. He’s been back from his latest stint for just three games, so I still have some optimism that he can be the power/speed threat we hoped he would be. At the very least, I want to take the flier on it if he’s available in any of my leagues. 

Victor Robles, Mariners (15%) – I have no idea what’s going on with Robles. He has a .375 xwOBA over his past 100 plate appearances, a mark he has never even come close to in a season before – his career-high in that particular metric is .322, which actually came last season (albeit in just 126 PA). Maybe we’re seeing a delayed breakout? Probably not. But he’s playing pretty much everyday for the Mariners right now and should continue to provide plenty of speed if nothing else. And there’s at least a chance he provides more than just speed. 

Jasson Dominguez, Yankees (52%) – I’m not sure how the Yankees acquisition of Jazz Chisholm changes Dominguez’s timetable, if at all. Between that and the looming return of Giancarlo Stanton from the IL, there doesn’t seem to be an obvious need for another outfielder here. But there has also been talk of the Yankees trying Chisholm out at third base in addition to second and center (where he started in his debut Sunday), which could be a way to clear a path for Dominguez if they determine he is ready. Dominguez has homered twice in 10 games at Triple-A Scranton, so it might not be long now that he’s healthy. 

Austin Hays, Phillies (9%) – Hays has become an afterthought in Fantasy, but the trade to Philadelphia may have changed that, because it’s a huge upgrade for Hays in terms of playing time and home park. Remember, Hays looked like he was on the verge of breaking out after a 22-homer season in 2021, but he has maxed out at 16 over the past three seasons, including just three in his first 63 games this season. Hays, a right-handed hitter with good but not elite power has been especially harmed by the decision to move the fences back in Baltimore, which you can see in his home/road splits over the past three season: he has a .728 OPS at home between 2022 and 2024, compared to a .749 mark on the road; keep in mind that the league as a whole tends to OPS about 20-25 points better at home than on the road and it’s even more pronounced. Hays is unlikely to turn into a star in Philly, but he’s going to play everyday and is going from a bottom-five park in baseball for right-handed power to a top-10 one. I think he’ll be relevant in five-outfielder leagues, at least.

Starting pitcher

Spencer Schwellenbach, Braves (66%) – I’ve been pretty bullish about Schwellenbach’s upside, but I’ll admit I didn’t see an 11-strikeout effort coming down the pike. But that’s exactly what he did Saturday against the Mets, racking up 15 swinging strikes on 15 pitches, including eight on his slider. Schwellenbach has a deep arsenal, and if the slider can emerge as a consistent putaway pitch, I think there’s significant upside here, with his curveball and splitter both already looking like plus pitches as well. The Braves have had a lot go wrong this season, but the 24-year-old’s emergence is a real exception, and he should probably just be rostered in all leagues at this point. 

Jeffrey Springs, Rays (64%) – You can’t really ask for a softer landing spot than Springs is getting in his season debut against the Marlins Tuesday. The Marlins are dead least in the majors with a .274 wOBA against lefties, while striking out 21.8%; for some context, only five qualified hitters have a lower wOBA this season than the Marlins have against lefties. I’m not sure I’d start Springs right away, because I prefer to give players coming off the IL a start to prove they have shaken off the rust, but if I were ever going to break that rule, this seems like a decent spot to do so. 

Alex Cobb, Giants (11%) – Cobb’s debut was supposed to come Tuesday or Wednesday of this week, but it looks like that’s been delayed at least a few days after he had a blister on his right index finger pop during his final rehab start over the weekend. Cobb has yet to pitch in the majors this season due to hip and shoulder injuries, but he should be back soon despite the setback, and has been a pretty useful pitcher in recent seasons, sporting a 3.79 ERA since 2021. 

Yariel Rodriguez, Blue Jays (29%) – The biggest knock against Rodriguez at this point is simply pitch counts: In four (very good!) starts since returning to the rotation, Rodriguez hasn’t topped 83 pitches, which means he has to be extremely efficient to have a chance to put up a quality start. Which probably means he’s best left for category-based leagues, where he can directly help your ratios while providing solid strikeout numbers – he has 25 in 22.1 innings in July. I’m excited about Rodriguez’s breakout prospects in 2025, but he can still be useful the rest of the way, even if his ceiling is capped in the short term. 

River Ryan, Dodgers (32%) – It’s still not clear how long the Dodgers are going to keep Ryan in the rotation, but he made a strong case to stay in Sunday against the Astros. Ryan pitched into the sixth inning for the second start in a row, something he never did in the minors, and he held his effectiveness while throwing 91 pitches, by far a career-high; he had never thrown more than 75 pitches prior to that. He racked up eight strikeouts in 5.2 innings of work, with 14 swinging strikes on those 91 pitches, including five on his slider to lead the way. At the very least, it sounds like Ryan is going to get a third start, despite the schedule theoretically allowing them to skip him, and coming off Sunday’s start, that’s a good reason to buy in. 

Relief pitcher

Chad Green, Blue Jays (29%) – With the Blue Jays trading Yimi Garcia to the Mariners, it looks like Green is more or less locked into the closer’s job … unless he gets traded himself. That risk should help keep the price down, and I don’t mind taking a shot on Green on waivers this week just in case they end up keeping him and he remains the closer the rest of the way. If he does get moved before the deadline, I’m not sure there’s an obvious alternative for the Jays, though Genesis Cabrera seems like a decent bet to get the first opportunity. 

Ben Joyce, Angels (15%) – And if you want to go the other way, Joyce is the potential closer-in-waiting for the Angels if they make one more move at the deadline. They’ve already shipped Carlos Estevez out, but veteran Luis Garcia got the save Sunday, and manager Ron Washington confirmed that’s the plan unless Garcia himself is traded. Garcia isn’t such a dominant reliever that we would expect him to run away with the job even if he remains, and Joyce is clearly the higher upside arm in this bullpen, despite his iffy peripherals so far. The low strikeout rate (7.5 per nine) is especially surprising, given his big stuff. I’d rather bet on him figuring it out than Garcia if I’m speculating for saves here.