The trade deadline has passed and silly season has arrived, with the newly found trend of non- contending clubs placing expensive players on waivers in hopes to shed a month of salary. Last year it was the Angels, who foolishly bought at the trade deadline in a last ditch effort to make the playoffs with Shohei Ohtani, and then released many of their acquisitions just three weeks later.

This year, the defending World Series Champion Texas Rangers project to be the big offender, with up to five names of note garnering speculation of a release. For those who are unfamiliar, waived players can be claimed at no cost other than the remainder of their salary. The order which teams make these claims is the reverse order of the standings, (unfairly) rewarding the worst contending ball clubs with an injection of talent.

Players must be with an organization by September 1 in order to be eligible to play in the playoffs for that team, and as a result, this process will begin for any interested teams within a week. Rockies catcher Elias Díaz was the first to enter the waiver process, but I’ll discuss the five possible Rangers departures, where they might end up, and how their fantasy value would be affected.

Kirby Yates, RP

Kirby Yates made the All-Star team this year in his best season since his days in San Diego, and the closer holds some sparkling peripherals in addition to his outstanding 1.19 ERA. 2% barrel rate, 36% K rate, .150 xBA against and an xERA of 1.79 would make him a serious improvement for any bullpen, with the only blemish an unsightly 12.4 % walk rate. I’d imagine the San Francisco Giants snap him up before he drops any further, but I certainly don’t see him passing beyond the Mets. For fantasy purposes, any team other than New York and Seattle is
great, as those stand to be the only two realistic destinations where he wouldn’t be the primary closer.

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