Just when you thought it was safe to finalize your fantasy baseball roster and make that push towards a championship, those wacky MLB general managers are at it again. While the non-waiver trade deadline passed back on July 31st, teams still have until August 31st to continue making deals provided the players involved have cleared waivers. For those who are unfamiliar with the process, it is simple – a team can place a player on waivers which allows every team an opportunity to claim him. If he goes unclaimed, his team can freely trade him to anyone. If he is claimed, his team can either pull him back and keep him, let him go for nothing or they can pull him back and work out a trade with the claiming team. They have 24 hours to consummate a deal. It’s an interesting twist on things and one that tends to drive fantasy owners a little crazy, especially those who play in AL or NL-only leagues.

When the Indians and Reds announced a deal that sent outfielder Jay Bruce to Cleveland for 22-year old pitching prospect Ryder Ryan, the panic from owners in NL-only leagues was immense. Mixed league owners were left undisturbed and AL-only owners ran to the waiver wire like giddy little schoolchildren running to a candy store. NL-only owners were devastated.

Those who have never owned Bruce simply don’t understand. He is probably one of the most consistent yet underrated outfielders in the fantasy game. Early in his career, he was routinely dogged for his struggles against left-handed pitching, but as he matured and found his groove at the big-league level, he became the best-kept secret in fantasy.

Not many people are aware of this, but over the last 10 years, Jay Bruce ranks seventh overall in home runs. His 270 home runs are more than Joey Votto, Ryan Braun, Chris Davis and Adrian Gonzalez have hit in that span. Surprised? Many usually are.

Since 2008, Bruce has averaged 27 home runs per season and that includes his first two years as a major-leaguer in which he would sit against most left-handed pitching and 2014, the year he suffered a serious knee injury and was limited to just 134 games. In fact, over his last eight years, save for 2014, he’s never hit fewer than 25 home runs in a given season. Also during that span, he’s surpassed the 30-homer barrier four times and is on the verge of doing it for a fifth as he is sitting on 29 dingers with another month and a half to go.

For those who have now lost Bruce in their NL-only leagues, it’s going to take some serious work to replace that type of power production. Your waiver wire is likely picked clean at this point and your best bet is to start fishing in the prospect pool and see if you can catch lightning in a bottle. The Phillies are calling up Rhys Hoskins who has 29 home runs in 115 games down at Triple-A this season, so perhaps he can help fill the void. It will be tough, but not impossible.

But just wait one second, mixed leaguers. You’re not out of the woods just yet and you may want to take a look at Hoskins too. One of the downsides of Bruce heading to Cleveland is that Progressive Field seems to stifle power for lefty bats. Over the years, players such as Brandon Moss, Jason Kipnis and Carlos Santana saw their power numbers increase while on the road. The raw park factor numbers don’t exactly indicate that for everyone, but when you look at the home/road splits for the aforementioned Indians (and former Indians), it tells a different story.