“It’d be good to have him back in there, honestly,” Dodgers manger Don Mattingly said before the game. “It changes the lineup from the standpoint of the length of it and the number of guys you have to go through just to navigate it. He’s a dangerous guy in that lineup, so it’s good to have him back.”

While Ramirez had been batting three in the Dodgers lineup before hitting the DL, Mattingly will ease him back into action by spotting him in the five spot for the time being. That should have no effect on his fantasy value.

Cubs shortstop Starlin Castro has been out since August 19th for a much sadder reason; he was back home in the Domincan Republic dealing with the death of a relative and three close friends in a car accident. He’s set to return from the bereavement list Tuesday and his fantasy owners hope Castro, who been OPSing .912 in August, picks up right where he left off.

Castro has had himself a nice bounce back season after struggling mighty in 2013. He’s the seventh ranked fantasy shortstop so far in 2013, topping Ramirez, among others. Not that many would have predicated that.

Sean Doolittle hits the DL strained right intercostal
A’s reliever Sean Doolittle — he of the .705 WHIP and 13.O Ks per 9 — was having himself quite a season. So much so that Oakland ignored his left-handedness and made him closer when Jim Johnson imploded. Now Bob Melvin and company are going to have to find themselves another closer, at least for the next 15 days.

Luke Gregerson is the best bet for that, spot and is worth an add in all leagues. Ryan Cook did close for the As for a good chunk of 2012 and, after an injured filled first half of the season, has looked quite closer-like. So don’t be too surprised if it’s a ninth inning time share, or even if Cook is given the bulk of the work

Gregory Polanco sent down
The Pirates probably did Gregory Polanco‘s fantasy owners a favor by sending him down to Triple-A yesterday. (And recalling Jose Tabata.) On the one hand, the uber-prospect’s power/speed combo makes him hard to rest. But, on the other hand, he was only hitting .222 with two homers over the past month. The 22-year old will be back in six days, when the rosters expand. And he could well turn it around, as the Cardinals equally shiny prospect  Oscar Taveras has been doing over the last couple weeks. But exploring other stolen base options in the meantime would be advisable.

It hasn’t quite worked out that way. Rosenthal has only blown four of his 40 save chances for the Cardinals, but his ERA of 3.51 is pretty blah, and his WHIP of 1.438 is downright bad. Now, for the first time this season, there is a real chance St. Louis removes him from the ninth inning.

On Sunday, Rosenthal came into the ninth inning against the offensively challenged Padres with a 7-4 lead. He walked three of the four batters he faced, before being removed by Cards skipper Mike Matheny. Replacement Seth Maness allowed two of those runners to score before getting the 7-6 save. After the game, Matheny gave Rosenthal, who’s allowed 15 base runners in 6.2 August innings, the “dreaded” vote of confidence.

“That’s not happening,” Matheny said of the chatter that Rosenthal might have to find a different inning to pitch in. “He’s our closer.”

Complicating matters is the performance of veteran Pat Neshek. The 33-year old righthander has a .86 ERA and .573! WHIP in 52 innings of work in 2014. We don’t think Matheny is going to replace Resenthal say, tonight. However, the Redbirds are stuck in a pretty tight race for both the NL central crown and the wild card spots. Another bad outing from Rosenthal and it’s going to be tough to justify sticking with him. Things would be even more interesting if Jason Motte — who was so good as a closer for the Cards in 2012 — wasn’t on the DL.

Jenrry Mejia, who grabbed the Mets closer role and solidified their shaky bullpen back in May, had been on a nice and unexpected run until a couple weeks ago. After giving up two runs in a non-save situation this afternoon against the Cubs, the 24-year old has now given up runs in five of his last eight appearances.  This happens to coincide with information Mejia is pitching with both a hernia and a bad calf.

He is on the record saying he wants to finish the season before getting the surgery needed for the hernia. But if he keeps giving up runs the Mets — who can still see they playoffs if they squint really hard — will have to think about shutting him down.  Jeurys Familia and his 2.02 ERA would take over for closer in the event of a Mejia DL-stint or demotion. As such, Familia is probably worth a speculative add at this point.

Below, we update the status of the fantasy stars who look like they may return for the fantasy season stretch run.

Andrew McCutchen
It was looking bad for McCutchen after he was drilled in the side in retaliation for the bean ball that ended Goldschmidt’s season. But since the initial rumors of 4-to-6 weeks, we’ve learned two things about Cutch’s injury: 1) It probably wasn’t caused by the pitch from Randall Delgado, and 2) It might not even require a trip to the DL.

Yesterday, Pirates GM Neil Huntington reported that the 2013 National League MVP’s progress on what has been diagnosed as an avulsion fracture involving the costochondral cartilage has been “remarkable.” This suggests the centerfielder, who has been out since last Sunday, could suit up as early as tonight.

Even if he doesn’t, it appears a trip to the DL will be avoided and McCutchen owners should have him back sooner rather than later.

Yadier Molina
The St. Louis Dispatch reports the cast protecting the torn ligament in Yadier Molina’s thumb was removed last week. The six-time All-Star had suffered the injury in early July, and the initial diagnosis had him returning in early September. This latest news confirms that timeline. Although Molina wasn’t playing quite as well in 2014 as he had between 2011 and 2013, his fantasy owners will certainly be pleased to have him back for the home stretch in the thin catcher position.

Joe Mauer
Mauer, who’s been out since July 1 with the dreaded oblique, is expected to be activated for Monday’s game after going 6 for 15 on a minor league rehab assignment. Mauer is a bit a tricky case for his fantasy owners. He was so bad, fantasy-wise, before his injury,  the catcher his owners’ picked up to replace him in early July has probably been an improvement. (Especially if that replacement catcher happened to be red-hot O’s backstop Caleb Joseph.) Mauer’s been a one-category (batting average) fantasy player for a couple years now, and we wouldn’t necessarily plug him back into our lineups until he proves he at least has that one category going.

Troy Tulolwitzki
Tulo has been fantasy brightest star this year, so there is no question he gets plugged back in the moment he gets off the DL. Unfortunately, nobody knows when that will be. When the shortstop first hit the DL for a strained hip flexor on July 19 there was talk of the minimum. That’s come and gone, and there are now reports Tulo might have a torn labrum, which would end his season. Even if that turns out to be a false alarm, don’t expect the slow-healing superstar back before late August.

Masahiro Tanaka
When the Japanese sensation suffered a partially torn ulnar collateral ligament in early July, most were thinking Tommy John and at least a year of recovery. But Tanaka and Yankees opted not to do that surgery and on Friday the 25-year old was seen throwing at 60 feet six inches, suggesting a September return isn’t out of the question. We’re still not sure the Yankees would risk bringing back their 7-year $155 million investment this season. But if they remain in the playoff race — and they’re currently 2.5 games out of the wild card spot — it would be mighty tempting.

Actually, if you listen to Goldschmidt’s manager Kirk Gibson,  the 26-year olds future isn’t so uncertain. He called his star first baseman’s season “realistically” over, given the expected eight week recovery period for the broken hand he sustained after being hit with a pitch from Erensto Frieri. (We pity any fantasy owner who had drafted both Goldschmidt and Frieri. First Frieri stinks it up as a closer, losing his job and his team. Then he ends Goldschmidt’s season.)

In retaliation for Goldschimdt’s injury, D-backs pitcher Randall Delgado plunked Pirates star McCutchen in the side during the ninth inning Saturday, with the Pirates up by four and runners on second and third.  Cutch was able to remain in the game and started for Pittsburgh on Sunday. However, he had to leave that game after re-injuring himself taking a swing.

It it’s the dreaded oblique, McCutchen could be on the shelf for weeks, which would be huge blow to both the Pirates and his fantasy owners; McCutchen is playing even better than he did last year, when he topped Goldschimdt for NL MVP. The Pirates are off today, so we’ll know more tomorrow if the centerfielder’s injury is something to worry about. We already know Goldschmidt needs to be replaced — at least for most of the remaining season — and here are a couple candidates for his fantasy owners to insert at first base.

Lucas Duda:
The Mets appear to have made the right choice when they traded Ike Davis, making Duda more-or-less their full time first baseman. The big left-hander has been hitting .299 with 12 home runs and 29 RBI’s since July 15. He still rests sometimes against lefty pitchers, but his production has been so good when he does play that he is worth a starting spot.  He’s still available in 34 percent of Yahoo! leagues, suggesting they’re is a lot of folks who haven’t realized this yet. As a bonus, he’s also outfield-eligible.

Adam Dunn
Sure the big donkey hurts your team batting average. But since he walks a lot, his Mendoza flirtations aren’t as painful as they could be. Dunn hits home runs, which are increasingly rare in baseball — thus increasingly  important in fantasy. He’s only owned in 28 percent of Yahoo! leagues, but is producing about the same value as guys like Mike Napoli (72 percent) and Eric Hosmer (67 percent.)

Javier Baez gets the call up
Baez, considered by most to be a top five prospect in baseball, was called up by the Cubs Monday. The 21-year old was hitting 260 with 23 homers and 16 steals in Triple-A Iowa, numbers even more impressive considering he was batting .178 on May 21. Baez is a shortstop, and, at this point, that’s what he will be eligible for in fantasy. But with Starlin Castro entrenched at shortstop for the Cubs for now, Baez will start his major league career at second, and should gain eligibility at the keystone quickly.

If you have a need at either middle infield position he’s certainly worth a shot. He may well struggle to adjust to big league pitching — just like he did when he joined Triple-A. But his speed/power combo (he slugged 37 homers in the minors in 2013) is very, very intriguing.

He also threw 7 2/3 no hit innings against the Mets Sunday afternoon, improving his ERA to 1.31 in his first five major league starts and dropping his WHIP to .90.

Depaigne didn’t get the win; the Mets tied the game 1-1 in the bottom of the eight, only to lose it in the ninth. (Giving the win to new Padres closer Joaquin Benoit.) The 27-year old Despaigne’s record remains at 2-1.

Despaigne defected from Cuba in 2013, making his way to the US earlier this year. He didn’t get big money like his country men Jose Abreu, Yasiel Puig and Yoenis Cespedes. In fact, all that his February showcase for big league clubs netted was a minor league deal with San Diego.

He’s quick jump through the Padres system had more to do with the big club’s injury problems and desperation. Despaigne’s numbers in Triple-A were actually atrocious — a 7 plus ERA and 2 plus WHIP in five starts. He did strike a lot of guys out on the farm, which is something he hasn’t been doing since the call up; he only has 17 Ks (against 11 BBs) in his 34.1 MLB innings.

All and all, it’s a very confusing profile. But the guy plays in PETCO, which’ll knock about a run off of any pitcher’s ERA. If you really need starting pitching, may as well grab him and see if he can continue to confuse on the Big League level. But if he gets completely wrecked in his next turn — which will be in Atlanta — don’t say we didn’t warn you.

Speaking of the Braves, the guy he is most likely to pitch against next weekend is rookie left-hander Alex Wood. Wood evened his record at 7-7 in his Sunday start against Philadelphia, limiting the increasingly hapless Phillies to three hits and one run over six, while collecting 8 Ks.

With a 3.24 ERA, 1.16 WHIP and about a K an inning, Wood has been pitching most of the year like a near-ace. Thanks to a mid-season trip to the minors — through no fault of his own — he’s also available in 25 percent of of Yahoo! leagues and should be immediately snatched up in every one.

Closer Carousel
The aforementioned Benoit is now the man in San Diego, with Huston Street‘s trade to Anaheim. Benoit should have been owned before being named closer and should certainly be 100 percent owned now. Street’s move means Joe Smith is no longer the ninth inning man for the Angels and that Jason Grilli never will be.

There is a good chance Benoit will also be shipped out of San Diego before the deadline, which probably means Dale Thayer gets the ninth inning job. The big right-hander certainly has the facial hair for it, and is good enough to be owned in anticipation of the move.

Phillies closer Jonathan Papelbon was deemed un-tradable not so long ago, thanks to a declining fastball and an enormous contract. His 1.17 ERA and .83 WHIP for 2014 is beginning to make contenders with shaky bullpens think differently about MPH and dollars per inning, and punch-able Pap may well have a new address by the deadline.

Rookie Ken Giles would likely man the ninth for the Phils if Papelbon gets shipped out. He’s a clean-shaven fellow, but can hit triple digits on the gun and has a slider that will remind Philly fans of World Series hero Brad Lidge. In his first 15 big league innings, the 23-year old has only allowed one run and three walks while K-ing 20. Like Thayer, he’s worthy of an anticipatory add.

It seems like forever ago, but last week two players slated to participate in the midsummer classic — Marashiro Tanaka and Yadier Molina — went down with injuries that will take a couple months to heal at best, and will probably keep them out for the rest of the season.

Owners of the two stars have probably spent the All Star break plotting with whom to replace them with.  Some suggestions are below.

Tanaka
Let’s face it, there is no replacing Tanaka, who was the 14th ranked player in Yahoo! leagues even after his three game slide that preceded the news of his ligament damage. Jose Fernandez owners feel your pain. But here are a few suggestions, anyway.

Clay Buchholz: Remember him? The guy who went 12-1 with 1.74 ERA and a decent K rate for Boston last year. Like with most things Red Sox-related, Buchholz has gone seriously south this season. And, lets face it, he was never nearly as good as his 2013 stats suggests. Nor is he nearly as bad as his 7.02 ERA at the end of May portends. After missing a month with an arm injury, the 29-year old has come back with three decent starts, and then a 12-K three hitter of a gem in his last outing. He’s available in over 50 percent of Yahoo! leagues and with a little luck he might be able to pull off a Tanaka-like run.

Chris Young: Even more of a blast from the past is Chris Young. (The really tall right-handed pitcher, not the really bad center field.) The Princeton grad missed all of 2013, but has been better than solid for the Mariners in 2014. He’s not going to strike anyone out, so you will have to replace Tanaka’s Ks elsewhere. Howeve,r everything about his career and current situation suggests his 3.15 ERA and 1.09 WHIP is sustainable, and he’s also been doing a good job accumulating wins. Young is only owned in 38 percent of Yahoo! leagues.

Molina
He’s still one of the better players in the game, thanks to his defense. But the youngest Molina brother’s offense wasn’t quite up to his usual standards in 2014, and offense is all that matters in fantasy. So much was Molina’s decline at the plate that there are actually widely available backstops who may be able to replicate what Molina had so far provided.

Kurt Suzuki: The Twins catcher is hitting .309 with 2 HRs, 26 runs and 37 RBIs. Molina was hitting .287 with 7 HRs, 30 runs and 30 RBIs. See what we are saying about replacing Molina? Suzuki is available in 65 percent of leagues.

Wilson Ramos
Two trips to the DL have suppressed Ramos production, which is a bad thing. They’ve also suppressed is ownership, which is good thing for those trying to replace Molina. Health has always been an issue with the Nationals’ backstop. But he’s been playing every day lately and he’s starting to show the form that had him slug 16 home runs with a decent batting average in 77 games last year. Snatch up the 26-year old before it’s too late.

The first was a bonafide blockbuster. The Cubs sent their two aces, Jeff Samardzija and Jason Hammel to the As for Addison Russell, one of the 15 best prospects in the game, Billy McKinney, the team’s second best prospect, and Dan Straily, who was an effective starter in 2013.

Samardzija jumps out as the biggest beneficiary of the trade. Shark had only won two games with the Cubbies, despite his 2.83 ERA. The 29-year old already has one win with the A’s, taking his first start after seven innings of one run ball with 5 Ks on Sunday. Not only does Samardzija go from one of baseball’s worst offenses to the best, but Wrigley Field favors hitters, whereas as O.co Coliseum, with his sprawling foul territory, is a pitchers’ park.

That’s why Hammel, who wasn’t having any problem accumulating wins for the Cubs, also becomes much more of a fantasy asset. It’s been under the radar — maybe because he doesn’t have long hair, Notre Dame football ties and a cool nickname –but Hammel was actually having a better season than Samardzija, even when taking wins out of the equation. Having spent the last six years in hitter’s havens Colorado, Baltimore and Chicago it will be interesting to see what Hammel can do in the spacious Coliseum. If he improves much on his current numbers he’s a front line ace.

Russell and McKinney are still at least a year from the majors and the Cubs plan on keeping Straily at Triple-A for now. He will likely be called up by the end of the season and should be monitored when he is.

In the week’s second significant trade, The Yankees acquired starter Brandon McCarthy from the Diamondbacks for starter Vidal Nuno. McCarthy’s inability to strike batters out has always made him a dodgy fantasy play. He should improve in New York — if only because his 5.01 ERA should regress to his 3.79 FIP. But we really don’t view him as being much better than Nuno, who you probably weren’t considering for your fantasy roster.

Injured first baseman
Tough break for owners of Edwin Encarnacion and Joey Votto as both appear to be headed to the DL today and are expected to miss two-to-four weeks. The truth is, Votto owners aren’t going to have that tough of a time replacing his production. The four-time All-Star hasn’t looked right all year and if you take away his walks — which don’t do much good in fantasy — he’s been a below average fantasy first baseman. Encarnacion, with his 26 homers and 70 RBIs, however, is a pretty substantial blow.

Votto and Encarancion owners should take a hard look at C.J. Cron, who’s first base eligible for the Angels. The 24-year old has nine homers in a 160 plate appearances with a .288 batting average and has been playing every day. He doesn’t have terrific minor league pedigree — although the power is real — and he never walks, so he’s run of good play may not last. Still, he’s available in over 80 percent of Yahoo! leagues and is as good a bet as anyone the free agent first baseman pool to give you production for the next couple of weeks.

Encarnacion’s injury, coupled with Brett Lawrie’s broken index finger,  has also fueled speculation that the Blue Jays will make a deal for Padres third baseman Chase Headley. Headley has struggled all year, but it seems everybody hits once they put on a Blue Jay uniform. If Headley is moved up north, he’s worth a flyer. He just turned 30 and is only two seasons removed from a 31 home run 115 RBI 17 steal season at the notorious Petco Park, where hitters careers go to die. He’s available in 67 percent of Yahoo! leagues.

However there are more ways to win when you are mindful of the categories. We’re about halfway through the season and here are some suggestions to boast lagging steals and saves totals.

Steals:
Our favorite way to build the steals category is to be conscious of otherwise productive players who will give you between 10 and 20 steals. That way you can stay afloat in SBs without sacrificing a roster spot to a player you doesn’t give you much in the power categories. You can call it the Paul Goldschmidt strategy (Or now maybe the Todd Frazier strategy.) The downside is that it’s generally not a tactic you can start employing mid-year.

You’re going to have to hit the waiver wire to find steals come June, and here are few suggestions that can pad your totals.

Craig Gentry: After going 24 for 27 stealing bases last year for the Rangers, Gentry is a perfect 15 for 15 in 2014 for Oakland. The A’s love their platoons and as of late Gentry has been the right-handed side of center field split with Coco Crisp. That means he’s only getting a couple starts a week. But it also means you are going to know what days he plays, he’s typically going to bat lead off, and he’s going to put up decent numbers in his starts beyond the SBs. Things get even more interesting with Gentry, who can play all the outfield spots, in light of Josh Reddick hitting the DL this weekend. We actually like Gentry better as a platoon piece since he can’t hit righties. But if you really need steals Gentry should be able to swipe as many as anybody in baseball with more of a full-time role and is available in 98 percent of Yahoo! leagues.

James Jones: Although he got a day off Sunday, Jones seems to have won the Seattle‘s center field job. The 24-year old has 14 steals in 15 attempts for the season, including nine the last 30 days. His .275 average won’t hurt you, and he’s been scoring runs at decent clip. He has no homers so far, but did show a bit of power in the minors. He also wasn’t that efficient of a base stealer in the minors, so there’s a good chance his caught stealing percentage will climb and he may lose the green light. Still, it probably won’t cost you anything to see if he can continue his thieving ways since he’s available in 93 percent of Yahoo! leagues.

Denard Span: With Bryce Harper returning soon and Ryan Zimmerman maybe now an outfielder, Span could be out of a job any day. Perhaps that’s why the speedsters been trying to show his worth by stealing bases, something he hasn’t always done during his career. Span is on pace for 27 steals, which would be a career high, and has swiped six bags so far in June. What happens with Zimmerman will have a big impact on Span going forward.  But if the slugger goes back to the infield, Span — who is un-owned in almost 80 percent of Yahoo! leagues — becomes a good bet for steals going forward.

Mookie Betts:  The Red Sox called up Betts Sunday and he’s sure to be a popular pickup this week because he’s shortstop eligible, had good numbers in Triple-A, and is named Mookie. Speed is a big part of the 21-year olds game. He was caught stealing Sunday in his first start, but had already swiped 29 bags with decent efficiency during the minor league season. He’s up to 40 percent ownership in Yahoo!, so if you want him you need to hit add ASAP.

Saves
In fantasy baseball cheap saves are just a closer implosion away. This week saw two ninth inning man, Sergio Romo and Ronald Belisario, do just that and lose their jobs

Giants Manager Bruce Bochy has gone out and said Romo will be replaced by a combo of Jeremy Affeldt and Santiago Casilla. Each have been good enough this year to own as middle relief pitchers, although Affeldt did get roughed up last night in a non-save situation. Casilla — who was the Giants closer before Romo took his job — would be our pick to get the bulk of the save opportunities because he’s right-handed. We also wouldn’t be surprised to see Romo get the job back, as his peripherals are still pretty solid. If he gets dropped, he’s probably worth an add.

White Sox manger Robin Ventura doesn’t have the benefit of having Affeldt or Casilla-type talent in his bullpen, and has yet to name anyone as Belisario’s replacement. Jake Petricka got the save Friday and pitched the ninth with a 4-0 lead on Sunday. Zach Putnam got the save on Saturday, but was shaky. Javy Guerra is the guy in Chicago’s pen with the most closing experience and has been good this year. Keep an eye on them all, but it looks like Petricka has the early lead. (In this case, we don’t see Belisario winning the job back.)

After Sunday’s game St. Louis GM John Mozeliak announced that pitcher Michael Wacha was being placed on the the disabled list with a stress reaction in the scapula of his right shoulder. Wacha, the 27th best pitcher in 5-by-5 fantasy baseball this year, had already been scheduled to miss his start Sunday, so a trip to the DL suggests the 22-year old will be out for at least a few weeks.

“Based on what the doctors are telling me, they believe it’s in his best interest to shut down for a little while and let this quiet,” Mozeliak explained. “He’s just too young and too valuable.”

The Cardinals also placed Jaime Garcia on the DL. During his start Friday the left-hander re-aggravated the shoulder injury that had kept him out the first month-and-a-half of 2014.  Garcia’s bullpen session on Sunday “didn’t go well,” according to Mozeliak.

There is no timetable for his return and if you are among the 22 percent of Yahoo! league players who own Garcia you may as well cut bait on a pitcher who hasn’t really been healthy since 2011.

(There was some good news in St. Louis this weekend. Ace Adam Wainwright was back to  his dominant self Saturday after missing a start.)

If you need to replace Wacha or Garcia on your roster, the man whom the Cardinals ran out on Sunday instead of Wacha might be worth a look. Carlos Martinez was decent in his second start of the year, getting the win with 5 Ks, 3 runs and only four base runners allowed in five innings.

Martinez, 22, has been a top prospect for the last couple years and has good numbers in the minors. He is certainly worth monitoring, especially considering the the magical affect putting on the Cardinals uniform seems to have on pitchers.

Other options to replace St. Louis’s fallen duo should include Angels righty Matt Shoemaker, who followed up his ten K performance earlier in the week with another very nice win against the Rangers last night. Shoemaker is still un-owned in 90 percent of Yahoo! Leagues.

Rays righty Jake Odorizzi (88 percent available) is another interesting add. He struck out ten and allowed no runs and just three base runners in his last start. His ERA of 4.29 is on the high side.  However he sports a FIP of 3.15, suggesting better day are ahead.  If he just splits the difference between his ERA and FIP and maintains his 10.5 Ks per nine innings he would be a very useful fantasy pitcher.

Closer carousel
Both the Angles and the Rays have threatened to go with the dreaded closer-by-committee. Joe Madden seems a better bet to actually go through with it, and since the Rays don’t win games anyway we’d stay away from their entire ninth inning committee of Grant Belfour, Jake McGee and Joel Peralta. In Anaheim, we still think Ernesto Fierri is a good bet to keep getting saves. Joe Smith’s stuff plays better in the eighth, and closer scion Cam Bedrosian’s fist shot at a ninth inning save resulted in a pretty ugly loss on Thursday. (Which Fierri did play a hand in when he was called in to clean up Bedrosian’s mess and gave up a homer.)

For a while, it looked like Neil Ramirez was going to replace Hector Rondon in Chicago. But Rondon, who was having some arm issues, pitched a clean ninth to pick up a save on Friday. Ramirez’s stats are pretty great.  But so, actually, are Rondon’s. Expect Rondon to keep the job if healthy and consider Ramirez borderline own-able as a set up guy.

Mark Melancon has replaced Jason Grilli in Pittsburgh. On the off-chance Melancon is still available he’s a must add.

But there is another just as important hot stove league that forms in the weeks before July 31,  the last day teams can trade a player without securing waiver rights.

As a fantasy owner you need to be on top of any potential summer hot stove league developments because a change of scenery can radically change the outlook for a player.

Hot stove talk is already heating up on Chicago’s north side. The Cubs are obviously going nowhere in 2014 and GM Theo Epstein has a stacked minor league system and a want to remake Chicago like he did the Red Sox. The team is reportedly listening to offers on starting pitchers Jeff Samardzija and Jason Hammel.

Samardzija, if you remember, came out like gangbusters, leading the league in ERA for most of the first two months of the season. However, he didn’t get his first win until May 26, thanks to the Cubbies anemic offense. He has two wins now, but his ERA has gone from 1.46 to 2.77 in the past few weeks. In fact, his numbers are very similar to Hammel, who has six wins along with a 2.81 ERA. .984 WHIP and 8.2 Ks per 9, and has quietly put together a pretty spectacular fantasy season.

But we still think it’s Samadzija who would benefit the most from a trade to a contender. The former Notre Dame football standout is playing for a contract this year and just has better stuff than Hammel. If we were a Hammel owner we’d actually be weary of him being shipped out because the well-traveled 31-year old has never pitched as well as he has during his first year with the Cubs.

The Mets ageless wonder Bartolo Colon is also starting to pop up in trade rumors. Last year, when he was a mere 40, he was darn near the American League Cy Young winner. He hasn’t been quite that good in Queens, but he is striking more batters out in 2014 and could see a bump in value if he’s moved to a better team, particularly one in the National League. Curtis Granderson, who’s been heating up lately, is another veteran the Mets might want to cut bait on, but his contract probably makes him untradable. There had been Twitter-sphere talk that New York was also looking to deal second baseman and stealthy base-stealer Daniel Murphy, but GM Sandy Alderson shot that down during a Q&A sessions with season ticket holders Saturday, for whatever that’s worth.

Phillies GM Reuben Amaro apparently doesn’t understand the difference between at-bats and plate appearances. Yes, really. Not the person I’d want running my team. However he’s inexplicably still pulling the strings in Philly and over the last couple weeks he’s indicated there may be a fire sale if his team continues their losing ways.

You can blame the Phillies old vets for the teams decline, because most of them are playing pretty well. However Chase Utley and Jimmy Rollins both have no-trade protection and have indicated a strong preference to remain in Philadelphia. Although Rollins seemed to soften that stance a bit after setting the team’s all-time hit record this week.

Ryan Howard still has one of the most unmovable contracts in the game, Marlon Byrd continues his renaissance, but the 36-year old’s 2016 plate-appearance-based option might make him a tough sell, and Cliff Lee is currently injured.

Lee’s rehab is progressing and he’s about to start on a throwing program. If all goes well he should be back in a few weeks and would be the Phillies biggest trading chip if he can prove he’s healthy. And a healthy Lee on a contender would be a beautiful thing for any fantasy owner that currently has the left-hander stashed in their DL spot. (Ditto Rays ace David Price, who’s been pitching more to his ability as of late, and is about a 50-50 bet to be moved before the deadline.)

According to multiple sources, the first Phillies to be traded may well be closer Jonathan Papelbon. The notorious baseball jerk has learned to pitch with diminished velocity and has only given up one run in his last 25 appearances. He’s been linked to Detroit, who could use a closer now that there is increasing evidence their 39-year old incumbent Joe Nathan is done.

Like Papelbon, Huston Street and Chad Qualls have also exceeded expectations as a ninth inning men this season. And, like Papelbon, if we owned them in fantasy we would not want to see them traded to a contender.

Bad teams still generate plenty of save situations and closers are creatures of habit; you don’t necessarily want them to to have to pick up their lives and move to a different city mid-season. Papelbon would probably still be decent in Detroit, but Street, with his flyball tendencies, wants to be pitching in San Diego. Qualls, who’s been shockingly lights out, is only making $3 million this season.  So if he gets dealt to a contender they can afford to use him in a set up role, where he would lose all of his fantasy value.

They key is not to automatically assume a trade to a better team is a good thing. If you keep that in mind, and continue to monitor all the latest trade rumors, you can get a leg up in fake baseball.