TL;DRSkim

The five fastest-moving roster calls of the morning, in priority order:

• DROP - Cody Bellinger (97% owned) - Grade 2 hamstring strain; a 4-6 week absence guts the Yankees outfield at the deadline.
• BUY LOW - Griffin Conine (MIA, OF) - eighth homer and a .250/.344/.554 July with five long balls; the power is real and he's widely available.
• WATCH - Clay Holmes (NYM, RP) - final rehab start today in Florida, roughly 60 pitches, with activation possible within days.
• WATCH - Juan Soto (NYM, OF) - Grade 2 calf strain; he says he'll return this season, but no timeline is set.
• HOLD - Zack Wheeler (PHI, SP) - four-seam down 1.7 mph in a five-run, two-inning start; monitor before his next turn.

Bellinger's Hamstring Costs Him 4-6 Weeks

DROP · NYY · OF

Cody Bellinger (97% owned) suffered a Grade 2 hamstring strain and will miss four to six weeks, per Aaron Boone, with an MRI scheduled to confirm the extent. The timing is brutal for a Yankees club fighting to stay in the race, with Aaron Judge now transferred to the 60-day IL and Giancarlo Stanton still working back.

Action: Drop in redraft unless you have a deep IL slot; four to six weeks plus a ramp-up runs into September. Spencer Jones is the beneficiary and the better use of the roster spot.

Conine's July Surge Makes Him Worth Adding

BUY LOW · MIA · OF

Griffin Conine homered for the eighth time this season, a 98.3-mph, 392-foot shot that gave Miami a 3-2 lead. He's hit .250/.344/.554 in July with five homers and seven RBIs, one of the few bright spots for a club that just snapped a 12-game franchise-record skid.

Action: Add in 12-plus-team leagues. The exit velocity backs up the power, and a month of everyday at-bats on a rebuilding team means the playing time is secure.

Judge Transferred to the 60-Day IL

HOLD · NYY · OF

Aaron Judge (99% owned) was moved to the 60-day IL after his rib injury kept him from starting baseball activities. He's out through August at minimum.

Action: Hold in redraft; he's still a difference-maker if he returns in September. The transfer is procedural given how long he's already been out, not new bad news.

Wheeler's Velocity Dips in a Rough Outing

HOLD · PHI · SP

Zack Wheeler allowed five runs in two innings against Miami, his first five-run game since May 2025. His four-seamer averaged 93.5 mph, down 1.7 from his season mark and among the lowest readings of his career.

Action: Hold, but this is the one to watch closely. A velocity drop that size paired with a blowup start is how arm trouble usually announces itself - check for an injury update before his next start rather than assuming a bad day.

Holmes Makes His Final Rehab Start Today

WATCH · NYM · RP

Clay Holmes pitches for Single-A St. Lucie today, moved to Florida because of rain in the Northeast, and is expected to throw around 60 pitches with scouts in attendance. A clean outing likely clears him for activation.

Action: Hold a bench spot if you have one. A 60-pitch outing suggests the Mets may still stretch him out, so confirm his role before expecting saves.

Mead Exits His Red Sox Debut After a HBP

WATCH · BOS · 2B

Curtis Mead's Boston debut lasted two at-bats. Batting second in Sacramento, he struck out looking in the first, then took a 95-mph Jack Perkins fastball off the outside of his left hand leading off the fourth. He stayed in briefly - diving back to first twice on pickoff throws and playing the field in the bottom of the inning - but Anthony Seigler replaced him at second base for the fifth. The Red Sox announced a left wrist contusion with negative X-rays, and more testing follows today. "Looks like we dodged a bullet, maybe," said interim manager Chad Tracy after a 4-2 win keyed by Ceddanne Rafaela's first career grand slam.

Action: Hold and wait on today's imaging. Worth noting for the alignment question: Boston is playing Mead at second with Caleb Durbin at third, the opposite of the widely expected setup - which means Mead may gain 2B eligibility, a meaningful bump given how thin that position is.

Soto Confident He'll Return This Season

WATCH · NYM · OF

Juan Soto spoke publicly for the first time since his Grade 2 calf strain and said he'll be back this year: "Definitely. 100 percent." No timeline has been set.

Action: Stash in an IL slot. Player optimism doesn't shorten a Grade 2 strain, and the Mets at 42-62 have every reason to be cautious rather than aggressive with his return.

Steer Diagnosed with a Partial Tendon Sheath Tear

HOLD · CIN · 1B

Spencer Steer (32% owned) has a partial tear in the sheath protecting his wrist tendon after taking a foul ball off his hand. He'll be in a splint for two weeks, with rest rather than surgery the current plan.

Action: Hold only in deeper formats. Two weeks in a splint plus a ramp-up means a month-plus, and wrist injuries frequently sap power well past the return date.

Carpenter Trending Toward the IL

WATCH · DET · OF

Kerry Carpenter (34% owned) has been diagnosed with plantar fasciitis in his left heel, and Detroit is trending toward an IL placement pending a final evaluation. Eduardo Valencia is on standby.

Action: Expect the IL move. Plantar fasciitis is notoriously slow to resolve and helps explain his 2-for-36 stretch - drop him in shallow formats rather than waiting this out.

Seager Progresses to Live BP

WATCH · TEX · SS

Corey Seager took live batting practice and is moving toward a rehab assignment, though no start date has been announced.

Action: Hold; live BP puts him roughly one to two weeks out if the rehab games go smoothly.

Kikuchi Begins a Rehab Assignment Thursday

WATCH · LAA · SP

Yusei Kikuchi starts his rehab assignment Thursday with Single-A Rancho Cucamonga, throwing three innings, and believes three outings will have him ready, targeting a mid-August return to the Angels rotation.

Action: Stash in deeper leagues. Three rehab starts is an optimistic schedule, so treat mid-August as the earliest case rather than the expectation.

Hernández Set for Activation

WATCH · LAD · OF

Enrique Hernández is scheduled to come off the 10-day IL today after completing his rehab assignment.

Action: Deep-league and NL-only interest only; his role remains a utility one.

Lee's Hitting Streak Reaches 12

HOLD · DET · 2B

Hao-Yu Lee extended his hitting streak to 12 games with an RBI single. The young infielder has been one of the more consistent bats in Detroit's lineup this month.

Action: Add in deeper leagues if he's still out there; a 12-game streak from a middle infielder is worth a look while the price stays low.

Holton's Scoreless July Continues

HOLD · DET · RP

Tyler Holton hasn't allowed an earned run in July and has walked just two of his last 134 batters, holding a 1.85 ERA since May 1.

Action: Hold in holds leagues. The control is elite, but he isn't Detroit's closer, so the save upside is limited.

Caissie Nearing a Rehab Assignment

WATCH · MIA · OF

Owen Caissie is taking batting practice and was expected to travel to Jacksonville for a rehab assignment, with a plan to play three games before reassessment.

Action: Monitor; a return within a week is realistic if the three games go cleanly. Miami's outfield playing time is wide open.

Antone and Garcia Emerge in the Reds' Pen

WATCH · CIN · RP

Tejay Antone and Julian Garcia were the oldest players on Cincinnati's Double-A roster less than a year ago and are now trusted right-handed options in the Reds bullpen.

Action: Monitor both for late-inning work; either could matter in holds leagues if the leverage increases.

Harper Nears a Franchise Mark Against Miami

HOLD · PHI · OF

Bryce Harper hit his 40th career home run against the Marlins, trailing only Freddie Freeman (42) for the most by any player against Miami.

Action: Hold; routine production from a star, not a signal.

Abrams and Peña Take Player of the Week Honors

HOLD · WSH / HOU · SS

CJ Abrams (NL) and Jeremy Peña (AL) earned Player of the Week honors. Abrams has been the hottest hitter in baseball since the break, and Peña has been producing since returning from his own IL stint.

Action: Hold both as top-tier shortstops.