No one has ever accused me of having a case of the Mondays, but if they ever did, today would be that day. As I sit here and type, Jacob deGrom has given up three runs to an anemic Giants offense, Drew Storen is hitting Yankees like he’s playing a carnival game, Blake Snell is making the Royals look like the Nationals, the Nationals are looking like the Royals and friggin’ Manny Machado hasn’t done squat against Gio Gonzalez. Frustrated? Yeah, I would say so. Like my granddaddy always used to say, “Some days you’re the dog and some days you’re the hydrant.”

As a result, we’ll keep it brief since there are more games to go and plenty of others who can salvage my night in both seasonal and daily play…

Trade Central

While I’m sure you would have loved to have heard about my latest negotiation in an industry league where we have one particular guy who treats everyone else like an idiot and makes those stupid offers I continuously speak out against (really? You really think your Taijuan Walker for my Andrew McCutchen is legit?), this is actually real world trading. We’re not talking about any major fantasy impact, but we saw a pair of deals made today which are worth noting.

The Cubs dealt fringe fourth outfielder Matt Szczur to the Padres in exchange for Justin Hancock, a minor league right-handed reliever. Hancock has little to no value in fantasy, but given the extensive injuries to hit the Padres outfield, there’s a chance the 27-year old right-handed bat of Szczur could see regular platoon at-bats against lefties. It’s not extensive value, but for those playing in a deep NL-only league, he just might be able to scrape together enough at-bats to give him a splash of value. He’s shown a little bit of pop in his bat and some minor speed. Nothing to write home about, but certainly not a complete throwaway, depending on your format.

The other deal we saw made was the Twins sending utility-man Danny Santana to the Braves in exchange for left-handed reliever Kevin Chapman. There’s no value to be had in Chapman, even in deep AL-only leagues, but again, in a deep NL-only, Santana, who qualifies in both the infield and the outfield, just might have some sneaky value. Dansby Swanson has been absolutely atrocious and the club obviously has little to no faith in Jace Peterson to provide value as a back-up. With Matt Kemp and Nick Markakis manning the corners in the outfield, Santana could also be used there just for relief purposes. Again, this isn’t a world-beater of a deal, but fantasy owners in NL-only formats should look to Santana on waivers as he stands the best chance of working his way into the lineup more often.

Our Best to Jameson Taillon

No matter how important you think the fantasy game is, you can always count on the baseball gods to smack you in the face and remind you that it’s just a game. I say this because I’m sure when news broke this afternoon that Pirates starting pitcher Jameson Taillon was being treated at Allegheny General Hospital this morning for suspected testicular cancer, some jackass in a dynasty league somewhere made some comment about how it screws his team. I don’t know this for sure, but knowing the world in which we live, someone said something, whether it was in jest or not.

I’m not going to get all preachy here, don’t worry. I just want to say that my heart goes out to Taillon, his family and friends, and, of course, the Pirates fans who have loved and supported him here at the beginning of his career. I’m sure I speak for every member of the Fantasy Alarm family when I wish Taillon to best in his recovery. And if we need to continue with the positive vibes, let’s also remember the number of athletes who have beaten cancer and gone on to have lengthy, successful careers, one of whom is very near and dear to me in former major leaguer, Mike Lowell.

Other Additions to the DL

The hits just keep on coming. Let’s add Jason Heyward (finger) and Brandon McCarthy (shoulder) to the list of players taking a ride on the DL Train. Both are regular passengers so there is little surprise here. Heyward is dealing with a sprained finger he suffered while diving for a ball. The club does not believe he will need longer than the 10 days and he was actually placed on the DL retroactive to May 6. As for McCarthy, he suffered an injury to his non-throwing shoulder during a session in the weight room. He actually wanted to make his next start, but the Dodgers, actually using a little common sense here, made the decision to play it safe and sit him down. It’s refreshing, isn’t it? I mean, it sucks that he’s on the DL now, but it’s nice to see a team and its medical staff making the decision and not the player.

One potential bummer for fantasy owners, though, is that the Angels are considering Mike Trout for the 10-day DL and Mike Scioscia seems to be leaning that way. Including today, Trout has missed three-straight games with a hamstring issue and the club is debating whether it’s just best at this time to DL him and let him heal properly or to give him a couple more days. I think I can speak on behalf of the level-headed Trout owners and say put him on the DL. No reason to rush him back, especially when we can retro the move, amirite? Please?