The trade deadline has come and gone, and it did not disappoint.  And as expected, there were many that will cause fantasy teams problems and will open some doors for other players to produce.

Closer Corner 

And the biggest changes wind up being in the bullpens with closers coming and going. The biggest surprise comes from Anaheim where Raisel Iglesais gets traded to Atlanta.  He’ll play second fiddle to Kenley Jansen, and will probably only get a handful of saves the rest of the season.  The Angels will go to a committee of Jose Quijeda and Ryan Tepera.  The Orioles trade Jose Lopez to the Twins where he takes the closer job from Jhoan Duran. Baltimore will turn to Felix Bautista. The Phillies pick up David Robertson to close from the Cubs, who will now turn to Rowan Wick. The Marlins traded Anthony Bass to Toronto, where he backs up Romano. Anthony Bender should close for the Marlins now.  And it looks like Ian Kennedy has taken over as the Diamondbacks closer from Mark Melancon.  

Some other players who will see playing time because of trades and other moves include Nolan Jones, Will Benson and Oscar Gonzales in Cleveland with Fernando Reyes’ release. In Texas, Cole Regans will step in the rotation and if you need stolen bases, Bubba Thompson will get regular playing time.  He stole 49 bags in AAA. Peyton Burdick will see regular time in Miami.

Schedule Woes

There are 20 teams that play six games this coming week.  The five teams limited to five games this week are Atlanta, LA Dodgers, Milwaukee, Minnesota and Tampa Bay.  And three teams play seven in seven, Pittsburgh, Baltimore and Arizona. And the Chicago White Sox and Kansas City Royals will play seven in six days with a doubleheader.

Two Start Pitchers

Jose Saurez starts at Oakland and at home versus Minnesota. Zack Thompson gets two road starts at Arizona and San Francisco. And the Annibel Sanchez starts at Wrigley against the Cubs and then at home with San Diego.

Help is on the Way

The Phillies get Jean Segura back and release Didi Gregorius.  Up and down starter David Peterson is back up for the Mets.  Elieser Hernandez has returned to the Marlin rotation. The Cubs get shortstop Andrelton Simmons back. Brandon Crawford and Joc Peterson returned to the Giants.  The Twins get outfielder MaxKepler back as do the Mariners get Mitch Haniger back. A couple catchers returned; Francisco Mejia to the Rays and James McCann to the Mets. And the Josh Haderless Brewers get Freddie Peralta back in their rotation. And finally on a rehab assignment is Fernando Tatis. Juan Soto can’t wait.

Walking Wounded 

Toronto lost George Springer. The Dodgers will be without Clayton Kershaw. The Rangers will be without Kole Calhoun and Danny Santana. And the Tigers lost Tarik Skubal. The Reds lost Hunter Greene. And the Brewers lost catcher Omar Navarro and the Twins will be without outfielder Kyle Garlick. 

That’s all for now.  It was a great weekend in baseball in St Louis as for the first time in history the Cardinals swept the mighty New York Yankees.

Have a great week!

Charlie Wiegert was the sixth person to be inducted in the Fantasy Sports Hall Of Fame in 2001. He is a founder of CDM Fantasy Sports and Fantasy Sports Trade Association. He has been playing and winning fantasy baseball leagues since 1984. If you have any questions for Charlie, email them to cwiegert@cdmsports.com. Follow him on Twitter @GFFantasySports.