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Aug1_2025 BHQ Chat
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Ray Murphy
12:03
Phew! Happy Friday everyone... hope you enjoyed the wild deadline yesterday. Good amount of questions in the queue here refer to deadline activity... obviously a lot to discuss/digest. FYI, my answers will lean heavily on our coverage today. Check out our AL PTToday, NL PTToday, and Chris Blessing's ranking of traded prospects. (That last one is one of my favorite articles every year; I don't see anything like it anywhere else.

Let's see what else you want to talk about....
Don Dringus
12:06
How worried should I be about laureano and O'Hearn's playing time going to SD?
Ray Murphy
12:06
Not that worried? Our SD Depth Chart has O'Hearn at 70% PT and Laureano at 75%. That SD lineup has been underperforming, they went out and got these guys because they need a boost. To be fair, it's not totally clear who they're going to push out of the lineup, but we think they'll play a bunch.
Don Dringus
12:09
Do you expect Goldschmidt to get any more playing time with judge out?
Ray Murphy
12:09
Would help if he would hit more. Again, Depth Charts reference... we have him at 60/40 at 1B with Ben Rice. And don't forget, theoretically Judge being out is a short-term thing. But once he's back and DHing, then things get interesting as we find out whether Stanton can actually handle some OF without immediately breaking down. But back to Goldy, I don't see how any of this really benefits him. Getting hot, on the other hand, would benefit him a ton...
Rich
12:11
Hi Ray. Longtime BHQ subscriber. My bullpen (Chapman, Bednar and Suarez) took a hit yesterday. Dennis Lin said SD team officials told him Suárez would remain the closer, but Aaron Boone says he’s sticking with Devin Williams. Is Bednar now a cut in a 12-team 5x5 mixed H2H league? Or should I hold him in the hope that Williams continues to scuffle and cedes the closer role to Bednar? All the newly minted closers are rostered, so I’d probably be dropping Bednar for Yu Darvish, Taj Bradley, or Andrew Vaughn.
Ray Murphy
12:11
12-team mixed, I'm not buying that "all of the newly minted closers are rostered". For more than a couple of teams, we don't even know who they are yet. Sands in MIN? Ferrer in WAS? Santana in PIT? Perkins for ATH? ??? in BAL? I could go on. I've got some teams of my own that could use some Saves help, and I'm figuring that I'm going to be bidding aggressively on some new saves sources this weekend. It might take a couple of days to suss out who they all are, but they're out there.
Brian K
12:13
Hi Ray, 5X5 16 team redraft, talking closers. who now is the favorite to close for Washington & Pittsburgh or do they just user a committee approach.
Ray Murphy
12:13
See previous answer.... I think Santana is favorite in PIT, though I kind of like Mattson there as well. For Washington the skills support Ferrer, but he has been hit pretty hard. I know our Doug Dennis is planning to address all of these newly-unsettled pens in his Bullpen Buyers Guide this Sunday... if you're a Sunday night FAAB league. If you need to decide earlier than that, trust the skills and plant some flags. There are a lot of options out there.
Ron
12:17
Happy Friday, Ray.  Thanks for these chats, especially after a crazy trade deadline.  1. Do any relievers seem like big winners for SOLDs after the deadline (B. Stewart and Kittridge are on top of my list)?  2.  How much is Buxton's value by MIN firesale?  3.  Any reservations ROS about acquiring Judge for a slight discount?
Ray Murphy
12:17
  1. Solds, guys like Kittredge who weren't closing and went to much better team contexts are good targets. Maton to TEX, Ferguson to SEA a couple of others like that (more Holds than Svs).
  2. Buxton actually could be tradeable this winter, he'll have 3 years/45MM on that contract at that point, coming off this year that was productive when healthy. But a lot depends on whatever the new direction is in MIN, need to get ownership figured out first.
  3. Yeah, I'd have some reservations. Does the elbow REALLY not impact his swing at all? Are they going to try to get him back to the OF in a few more weeks? What happens then? I think I'd want more than a "slight" discount, but OTOH if I owned Judge I don't think I'd want to give you much of a discount. Tough/unknowable situation.
will
12:22
Ray, thank you and wow! closer thoughts for Os TB MINNY As NYY  DTE and BLUE JAYS PLEASE!
Ray Murphy
12:22
Again, check out our PTToday coverage today and Doug's article coming on Sunday. But my knee-jerk on these:
O's: Cano
TAM: still Fairbanks, but Jax is leader for 2026
MIN: Sands
A's: Perkins
NYY: still Dev, but Bednar/Doval in mix for 2026
DET: still Vest over Finnegan
TOR: still Hoffman but now they have alternatives if he stays erratic.
Dalton
12:23
Good morning, Ray!

In a 12-team H2H redraft points league and on the wrong end of the Clase situation. Picked up Bednar and that was cool until yesterday. Next up for me is Jansen.

Our season goes until 9/21

With all that said I have two questions:
1.      Is Clase droppable?
2.      Any emerging closers due to the trade deadline fallout that are worth picking up and considered an upgrade over Jansen?

Thanks and have a great weekend
Ray Murphy
12:23
Yes, I think Clase is droppable. And as we're discussing here, there are a ton of new options to sift through. But Jansen's been pretty solid, I would probably stick with him.
Analyst
12:25
Deep NL-only 5x5. All categories are in play, slight preference for more RBI and SB. Who do you prefer Laureano, Cedric Mullins, O'Hearn or Tyler Lockyear ROS? Second pick? How much of your FAAB would you spend? My chief rival has $14 more to spend than me.
Ray Murphy
12:25
I'd prefer O'Hearn, then Mullins/Laureano.
Leon
12:27
1) What stats would you project for Jared Jones next year? 2) Would you take the over or under on 130 IP, 3.80 ERA and 1.19 WHIP? 3) A lot of over/under or just a bit?
Ray Murphy
12:27
Really can't have confidence in any projection at this point. Look at what Alcantara's been through this year. Love the guy, spent an early pick on him this past winter in my sim league rookie draft. But really I'm just hoping he comes back on time and gets his innings in next year, and by 2027 is ready to provide the kind of numbers you are hoping for here.
Guest
12:28
Hey Ray!  12 team 5x5 daily league, is Caballiero worth picking up? He doesn't look good as far as Ct%, eye & h% not impressive, does this improve w Yankee stadium? Same question w Bader.  Thank you
Ray Murphy
12:28
Caballero's basically a one-trick guy, worth a spec if you're SB-desperate. He could steal some time from Volpe if AV keeps having defensive issues, but for now I think Caballero is just an insurance policy.

Bader's going to play a good amount of the time, and he just got a park and lineup upgrade. I'd chase him before Caballero for sure.
Porcho Villa
12:30
Who is the better hold ROS: Michael Harris II or the surprisingly not traded Marcell Ozuna? (5x5 OBP)
Ray Murphy
12:30
I think we know why Ozuna's been bad... he's not healthy, and I think not getting traded is an indication that other teams don't think there's a rebound coming there. Meanwhile, Harris has finally gotten going over the last few weeks. I'd want Harris for the rest of the year, and it's not that close.
Porcho Villa
12:31
Lost Doval and Shelby… who’s the best RP target for SVs among R. Rodriguez, R. Walker, JoJo Romero, Jack Perkins, Sands, Ferrer, and C. Martin? (Confess to never having heard of a few of these guys before today)
Ray Murphy
12:31
Bunch of thses guys mentioned already. If we get clarity as to which SF option is the guy, I think that's your first choice. Perkins might be my next choice.
Beano
12:32
Hi Ray! Busy day, eh? NL 10 team 5x5 I’ve somehow successfully managed to be in contention this year while gathering contracts for next year! I only have $13 left in FAAB so no big guns for me. Small guns? Would I want to take a stab at T Locklear or M Andujar or W Castro over $11 N Gonzales or $11 N Lowe? (I think not but,,,,)
Ray Murphy
12:32
Locklear is at least going to play a lot, and offers an interesting broad skill set (including some sneaky speed). And Castro always finds his way into the lineup, I assume that will hold in Chicago. Those are two good lower-tier targets for the FAAB-limited.
Chris
12:33
Happy first of the month Ray!
 
What do I do with a problem like Clay Holmes, who is running out of gas? NFBC 5x5, not sure I can win bids for Gil or Bieber. How would you rank Holmes ROS with C. Quantrill, R. Vasquez, M. Abel (assuming he gets a shot), C. Javier (once off IL) and K. Bradish (ditto)?
Ray Murphy
12:33
I'm worried about Holmes too, but I think I'd still prefer him to all of these guys... MAYBE I'd take a shot at Javier or Bradish depending on how they look late in their rehab/first turn back.
Porcho Villa
12:34
Any signs of hope below the hood for Lindor or Pete? As a Mets fan and fantasy owner I am suffering doubly!
Ray Murphy
12:34
Both slumping lately, but what you've gotten YTD isn't that far from what you should have expected. I think both bounce back and finish strong.
Meow
12:35
Locklear's (ARI, 1B) BHQ projections (130 AB, .239, 3 HR, 88 PX) don't seem in line with his output and peripheral stats this year.  While he doesn't hit LHP well, he had a 136 wRC+ in AAA overall.  What do you expect?
Ray Murphy
12:35
Yeah, I had a whole bunch of proj updates to make yesterday, but he might need an upward revision there. I like him a bit more than that... and as mentioned, if he hits he can play more than that too.
Katman
12:35
Please rank ROS, NL 5x5:
Willi Castro
Will Wagner
Ray Murphy
12:35
Wagner got assigned to AAA. Castro, as mentioned, always finds his playing time. Easy call.. Castro.
Katman
12:36
Please rank ROS, NL 5x5
Willi Castro
Will Wagner
Cedric Mullins
Harrison Bader
Ramon Laureano
Ray Murphy
12:36
Cheating with back-to-back questions, but I'll revise:

Mullins
Bader
Castro/Laureanco
Wagner
fernand gignac
12:37
hi Ray, hopefully you get to my question. Can you rank my 3 best closer options among these free agents for rest of the year (ROS saves according to bhq projections): cano-30 akin-30 martin-25 ferrer-60 romero-35 graceffo-35 mattson-30 ashcraft-30 ginkel-80 walker-20 topa-35 fenderburk-30. Thank you
Ray Murphy
12:37
Covered a bunch of these in the chat already. Wild amount of uncertainty here, really going to need to watch for a couple of days. We KNOW Ginkel has a closer role right now, that has to bubble him to top of this list.
Sidd F
12:37
Hi Ray!  Trying one last time to remind you about the old article, which I asked about a few chats ago, in which you told us which metrics we should be using to look at our teams at midseason.  If there's another, better way to remind you to look for it, let me know.
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