Week 11 Waiver Wire - Mo Money, Mo Problems

Ahh the glories of Waiver Wire Day.  It's like Christmas, only without the old guy in a red track suit breaking into your house to leave you things that you probably didnt really need anyways.  Instead, we get players that we probably didnt need anyways.  Some of us (dont point fingers) get players that we picked up, then decided we didnt need, only to realize that we did really need them and cannot live without them.   This week's waiver wire pick ups are brought to you by various musical artists.

1b Kendrys Morales - $5 - UCCMA - Drop 1b Eric Hosmer

Hosmer has been a HUGE disappointment this season after looking like he had finally grown into his potential in the second half of last season.  Hosmer has only 2 HRs this year and his average and OBP have been steadily tumbling for several weeks.  The switch hitting Morales has yet to play in a game this year after declining a qualifying offer from the Mariners and being passed over by every MLB team so they wouldnt have to surrender a first round pick in the draft.  With the draft happening last week, all signs pointed to the Return of the Morales, and the Twins (for some completely unknown reason) decided that they would give him a 1 year contract to be the 1b/DH on a team that isnt going to compete all season in the AL Central.  Morales can be a middle of the order masher, but Target Field will hold his left handed power down (his more powerful side).  Still, he should be a useable 1b for Jimmy depending on how long it takes to shake the rust off.

Best stache ever

SP/RP Garrett Richards - $4 - MBHB - Drop RP Adam Ottavino
This one hurts me.  I dropped Richards a last week after his huge blow up against the A's because I wanted to get an NA player to replace the called up Oscar Taveras and Richards was fresh in my mind.  I didnt want to admit it at the time, but I should have dropped Ottavino then.  Ottavino was spectacular to start the season and quickly became my favorite fantasy relief pitcher (it was a close contest between him and Jeff Pico, who retired about 24 years ago), but he has fallen on very hard times recently.  Luckily, I can turn Right Round and get Richards back, and all it cost me was a few extra FA bucks and my dignity.  I feel like a teenager who cant decide whether or not I want to break up with my girlfriend, so I keep putting her off, then calling her back and making up with her, only to tell her that I dont want anything serious again.  Some day I'll go off to college and I'll have to leave Richards, because we all know that relationships cant work when one person is in college and the other is in high school.

OF Angel Pagan - $4 - MWP Masters - No DROP
My single favorite name in all of MLB because of the competing religious belief systems represented in his name.  On one hand, you have the Christians and their Angels.  On the other you have the Pagans and their polytheism.  Wars have been waged over the dichotomy that is right there in his name.  Pagan, yet another former Cub doing well elsewhere, has really turned up the California Love this season after a injury plagued 2013.  His ratio stats are all great (321/371/431) and he has scored a ton of runs atop the Giants lineup.  He is even stealing bases at a nearly 30-steal pace for the season.  He doesnt hit for much power and doesnt knock in a ton of runs, but he's great for what he does.  And he gets bonus points for looking like a skeezy Univision soap star and he apparently does meet and greets at Taco Bell (look closely at the picture.  It says "Welcome to our Taco Bell ANGEL PAGAN").  He may be my new favorite ex-Cub/current outfield playing Giant.

RP Jean Machi - $3 - UCCMA - Drop RP Grant Balfour
Uncle Jimmy's got 99 Problems, but Jean Machi aint one. Machi currently sports a microscopic 0.32 ERA and 0.75 WHIP over 25 innings on the season with 5 wins and 10 SV/H.  Obviously all of that screams REGRESSION!!!!, and Machi is likely to see some.  But Machi was solid in 2013 as well and all signs point to him being an elite reliever over at least the rest of the season.  Balfour, on the other hand, was recently removed from the closer's role in Tampa after he gave up 5 runs to the Mariners on Sunday afternoon.  He has 21 strikeouts in 23.2 innings this year, but he also has 20 walks. 
I would make a Ball Four joke, but I'm too classy for that (no I'm not, but the joke is still unnecessary). Also...holy crap is Machi a tubby one.  He is listed at 6'0" 250 lbs (and hes from Le Tigre, Venezuela for those of you that are into that sort of thing) which is exactly the same height and weight as the player I thought of immediately when I looked at him...El Guapo Rich Garces.  I usually dont like to do multiple pictures for the same blurb because it fucks with the formatting, but screw that, I'm putting two pictures here.

SP Trevor Bauer - $1 - UCCMA - Drop Ubaldo Jimenez

I went paper.  Suck it Trevor.

Remember when Ubaldo Jimenez was one of, if not the, best pitcher in the National League?  That was 2009 and 2010 with the Rockies.  Since then, Jimenez is on his 3rd team, has seen a huge decline in his velocity and has seen his control completely abandon him.  In 2009, Bauer was turning 18, graduating from high school and enrolling at UCLA.  He was the #3 overall pick in the 2011 draft, but is now on his second team and his control hasnt abandoned him as much as it never really came in the first place.  Bauer is a tantalyzing prospect who most every baseball person will tell you has the potential to turn into a front line Pony.  He has struck out many many men at all stops of professional baseball (including 35 in 28 innings in the Bigs this year), but his control and that thing between his ears seem to be getting in the way for now.  As a long term pick up, this should be great for Uncle Jimmy, but I am not sure how great he will be over the rest of this year.

SP Josh Beckett - $1 - MWP Masters - No Drop
Dear John-
How the fuck do you have 2 roster spots open where you can add guys and not have to drop anyone?
Sincerely,
Everyone else.

Beckett was written off before the season by just about everyone.  I think even his Mom called him and tried to talk him into retiring.  That's how terrible his 8 start 2013 was.  He finished 0-5 with a 5.19 ERA, a 1.50 WHIP and opponents hit nearly .300 against him.  The writing was on the wall.  But when the calendar flipped, Beckett has turned back into the vintage Ace that we all grew to appreciate when he was with the Red Sawks, including a no hitter against the Phillies a couple weeks ago.  His strikeouts are up, he is limiting opponents to a .213 BA against and his walk rate is right in line with career norms.  His home run allowed every 6 innings pitched rate is a bit alarming and hints towards some regression, but there's no doubt that he has placed himself back into the circle of trust when it comes to SPs in fantasy.  No Diggity!

C Kurt Suzuki - $1 - Huckleberries - Drop C Wilson Ramos

This is too good not to put in somewhere.

With Ramos hitting the waiver wire, there are only a couple vestiges of Jerad's team remaining.  I'll be honest, I had to look up how Wilson Ramos is doing this year.  He has been pretty much non existent on any sort of highlight or wrap up shows, and he hasnt done anything to make me seek him out, until now.  After reviewing the stats (250/306/341 11R 11RBI), WTF have you been waiting for Kevin?  There is nothing redeeming about that line, and its not like there arent catchers available on the wire.  Its like Ramos is laughing at the Nationals saying "I Got Your Money" I dont need to produce. Suzuki has certainly been a better option this year, hitting 307/375/409 with 18R 29RBI, but he was on those same Nats with Ramos last year and the Nats decided Ramos was the better option.  Teams have been wrong before, but this feels like Kevin was watching a Twins game, knew he needed a new catcher, and decided it would be fun to have a Twin and Suzuki just happened to be at that position.  Not there is anything wrong with that, I wish the Cubs had Major League talent anywhere other than 1b (I dont count Samardzija because I dont think he'll be a Cub much longer and Castro just makes me angry so I pretend he doesnt exist.  It isnt hard because when you watch a Cubs game you barely notice he exists).