Last Updated on July 15, 2026 5:55 am by André Lemos | Published: June 9, 2026

Sneaky and under the radar are our themes for today’s quartet of waiver wire adds, starting with a two catcher must roster coming off the IL.

Francisco Alvarez – C – Mets – 15% Rostered

Players returning from long-term injury are always under-rostered upon their activation from the IL, but Francisco Alvarez‘s case is unusually unique. On May 12, Alvarez tore his meniscus, requiring surgery that generally carries a recovery timeline of six to eight weeks. After the surgery on May 14, doctors estimated it would take the full eight weeks to return from their findings in the operation.

Alvarez is expected to make his return tomorrow, Tuesday, June 9, less than four weeks removed from his surgery. This timeline is completely unprecedented, and it remains to be seen whether he’ll be playing compromised, but his ownership percentage is far too low for a fringe single catcher league guy, and a must roster player in two catcher formats. The offensive inconsistency can be frustrating, but his raw power has translated into terrific power metrics, which will continue to yield premium extra base pop, especially when he’s hot.

Kody Clemens – 1B/2B/3B – Twins – 8% Rostered

We’ve seen platoon bats like Spencer Horwitz and Luke Raley gain fantasy popularity in recent weeks, and Clemens essentially provides a more under the radar version of the same thing, consistently commanding playing time and producing against right handed pitching. Platoon options are generally only useful as strong side platoon players in leagues that enable a daily lineup set, but if your league allows for it, they can be very sneaky ways of getting premium production from the waiver wire.

I don’t expect Clemens to be as consistent as Horwitz, or to have Raley’s power, but he is a more under-the-radar name in a weak division who can prey on some subpar right handed pitching. For a player only rostered in 12% of leagues, he is more than worthwhile for applicable 12 team formats, and can even be utilized as a streamer in 10 team leagues-that 14% barrel rate will yield some big power weeks even in shallower leagues.

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• About the Author
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Nathan Baker

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