Bellinger left Saturday's 3-2 Yankees win over Philadelphia after appearing to strain his left hamstring running the bases. Manager Aaron Boone said the injury 'looks like it could be something,' while Bellinger himself called it 'a little tight' and insisted it isn't serious — but he will undergo testing Sunday. Hamstring strains are the exact injury type that reveals their true severity only on follow-up imaging, not the night of.
The 2026 deadline falls August 3 at 6 p.m. ET — just eight days away. Tarik Skubal is the marquee name after returning from bone chip surgery with his velocity intact, and every contender will overpay. The Cubs are desperate for rotation help (Horton, Brown, Steele, Cabrera, and Palencia all on the shelf) and the Phillies need bullpen depth after Brad Keller's UCL tear. No clean right-handed bat is certain to move.
Bassitt, on the 60-day IL after bone spur surgery on his lower back, threw an encouraging two-batter bullpen session Saturday. Manager Craig Albernaz praised the results: 'He looked great, he felt great. Ball was coming out well, he was moving well down the mound.' The 60-day IL minimum means August 4 is the earliest he can return; mid-August is the realistic target if the throwing program continues without setbacks.
Who's Hot This Week
Anderson's Double-A dominance hasn't wavered — 8-1 record, 1.36 ERA, top pitching prospect in Milwaukee's system. The Brewers are in playoff contention with a rotation that's been taxed all summer, and with the trade deadline unlikely to bring a starter from outside, Anderson is the in-system option most likely to get the call. Still available in nearly all leagues. Claim him at whatever FAAB cost it takes in 15-team-plus leagues.
Worth Reading
RotoBaller's Sunday rankings for the final days of Week 17, focused on adds before tonight's FAAB window closes. Leads with hitting depth for managers covering Soto and Bellinger absences, with Heriberto Hernandez and Tommy Edman featured prominently. Good companion piece if you need to prioritize multiple adds and want a consensus view.
FantasyPros' Sunday waiver piece features Brayan Rocchio (CLE, .303/.333/.461 over the last 23 games with 15 stolen bases) as a must-add shortstop still sitting in most free agent pools. Covers both hitters and pitchers with stash candidates for managers thinking beyond the Week 18 window.
Bellinger left Saturday's 3-2 win over the Phillies after straining his left hamstring running the bases in the late innings. Manager Aaron Boone called it potentially 'something'; Bellinger described it as tightness and said he doesn't believe it's serious. Testing scheduled for Sunday. Grade 1 strains typically mean 2-week absences; Grade 2 would push to 3-4 weeks.
Basallo was placed on the 10-day IL Wednesday with right shoulder inflammation — his first IL stint in the majors. He initially hoped to avoid the IL after leaving Sunday's game vs. Houston in the second inning, but the inflammation required extended rest. No specific return timeline has been given.
Soto's Grade 2 left calf strain (placed on IL Friday) carries a 2-3 week recovery window — return projected around August 10-15. This is the same calf that cost him time in April, raising durability concerns for the rest of the season. He had been slashing .303/.420/.571 with 18 HR before going down.
Bassitt cleared an encouraging two-batter bullpen session Saturday after bone spur back surgery. Manager Albernaz reported everything looked and felt great. The 60-day IL minimum means August 4 is the earliest possible return; mid-August is more realistic. He was posting a sub-3.50 ERA before the surgery.
The four-seam fastball is on its way out of the starting pitcher toolkit, and nobody in this week's RotoGraphs analysis represents that trend better than Kyle Leahy of the St. Louis Cardinals. Vlad's July 23 piece tracks starters who have meaningfully shifted away from their fastball in the second half, and Leahy is the most interesting case study. His sinker usage against right-handed hitters has nearly doubled in 2026 (up to 24.4%), backed by an elite 7.3-foot extension (96th percentile) that makes his below-average stuff play much harder than Stuff+ would suggest.
The raw numbers over Leahy's last four starts are stunning on the surface: 0.47 ERA, 94% left-on-base rate, .185 BABIP. His underlying xFIP sits at 4.27 — a significant gap that tells you luck is propping those numbers up more than command alone. But here's the nuance Vlad makes: a 105 Location+ (above-average command on every primary pitch, not just his best offering) creates a floor that luck-dependent starters typically can't sustain. Pitchers with genuine command depth suppress hard contact more consistently than their Stuff+ suggests because they're not living in the zone's center.
Leahy's transition from the bullpen to the rotation is a real story with a real fantasy angle. He won't win you a week on strikeouts — the K-rate isn't there — but in ratio-heavy leagues where ERA and WHIP matter, a command-first SP with a mid-rotation ceiling is a streaming asset you want to own. His below-average Stuff+ (90) has been improving over the last 30 days but hasn't crossed league average, so the ceiling is real but bounded. Stream him in favorable matchups in 14-team-plus leagues while being realistic: he isn't holding a 0.47 ERA through August.
Wednesday's Leverage Ledger covered 14 games across MLB with 11 save opportunities. The headline was Kirby Yates (LAA) blowing his first save of the week when Hao-Yu Lee ripped a two-run double in the ninth inning. The broader pre-deadline theme: fewer than half of MLB bullpens have a truly locked-in closer, and the next eight days of deadline activity will reshuffle several more. Cade Smith (CLE) leads the majors with 29 saves and has been dominant — his situation is one of the few that requires zero monitoring.
Read the full Ledger →| Closer | Team | Status | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kirby Yates | LAA | 🟡 Watch | Yates blew his first save of the week Wednesday when Hao-Yu Lee hit a two-run double in the ninth inning vs. the Athletics. He rebounded with a scoreless outing Thursday but the blown save puts his hold on the Angels' closer role under real scrutiny. Ryan Zeferjahn is the only other LAA pitcher with a save in 2026, and Ben Joyce (shoulder) hasn't debuted yet. Yates is still the preferred option, but another miscue opens a genuine committee. Hold in 12-team leagues; watch carefully in 14-team-plus. |
| Grant Taylor | CWS | 🔴 Committee | The White Sox three-man committee of Taylor, Sean Newcomb, and Seranthony Dominguez has no clear resolution in sight. Taylor is the highest-upside arm and gets the most ninth-inning work, but usage is inconsistent game-to-game. With the trade deadline approaching, any Chicago addition could further complicate the hierarchy. Own Taylor in 14-team-plus if saves matter; add all three in 15-team-plus leagues. |
| Jacob Webb | CHC | 🟡 Watch | Webb remains Chicago's primary save option with Daniel Palencia (elbow) on the IL and no clear return date. He's converted multiple saves in the interim and the Cubs have enough offense to generate ninth-inning situations. The trade deadline is the wildcard — Chicago is actively shopping for pitching, and any bullpen addition could reshape the hierarchy. Add in 14-team-plus formats until Palencia returns or a deadline move changes the math. |
| Carmen Mlodzinski | PIT | 🟡 Watch | After his first blown save of 2026 (Ben Rice three-run homer in the ninth last week), Mlodzinski is on a short leash in Pittsburgh. The Pirates have no obvious alternative in the ninth, so don't drop him — but a second blown save in the next two weeks likely triggers a committee. Hold in 12-team leagues; streaming candidate in shallower formats where the opportunity cost is lower. |
Beat reporter Jake Rill confirmed on X that Orioles RHP Chris Bassitt was out throwing on the field Saturday in full uniform, indicating a live bullpen session — the clearest sign yet that his back surgery recovery is on track.
Official full game highlights from Saturday's Cubs vs. Pirates contest. With Mlodzinski's blown save last week still fresh, this is tape for managers deciding whether to hold or stream Chicago's closer situation — shows how both bullpens were deployed in the late innings.
Blue Jays vs. Red Sox full game highlights from Saturday in Boston. Ranger Suarez was scheduled to start for Boston after returning from a groin/illness absence — this game shows whether his velocity and stuff were sharp on his return outing.
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