The Red Sox took a hit on the weekend, losing Alex Bregman to a right quadriceps strain. The injury is feared to be significant, perhaps similar to the strain Bregman had four years ago — an injury that forced him to miss about two months.
With Bregman unavailable, Boston manager Alex Cora needs to be creative with his lineup. First order of business: give catcher Carlos Narváez a promotion.
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Narváez wasn’t on any fantasy radars in the spring, expected to be Boston’s backup to Connor Wong. But Wong suffered an early injury and hasn’t hit much since, opening the door for Narváez. Or maybe we should say Narváez kicked the door down, because he’s slashing .299/.365/.485 with five home runs. That’s why Cora lifted Narváez into the cleanup spot after the Bregman injury (with OF Wilyer Abreu sliding into Bregman’s No. 3 position).
Narváez had limited MLB experience and no real prospect pedigree before this year, so this 39-game sample has to be considered carefully. But if any of this proves real, it’s a real coup for the Olde Towne Team. The Red Sox, after all, added Narváez from the hated Yankees back in December, in exchange for minor league pitcher Elmer Cruz-Rodriguez. The pitcher is still toiling in Single-A, while Narváez is knocking down walls in the Back Bay.
Narváez has a mixed bag on his Baseball Savant page. You like the plus walk rate and plus barrel rate. The suggested stats say his average and slugging have been fortunate. But let’s make a bet on a hot hand, a plus lineup and a run-favoring home park. I added some Narváez shares this weekend, and he’s still ready to acquire in 87% of Yahoo leagues.
2B/SS/3B Chase Meidroth, White Sox (37%)
We gave Meidroth plenty of pickup love in these spaces last week, but until he climbs over 50%, we need to repeat the pick. You love the .305 average and the 8-for-8 log on steals, and with a BB/K ratio almost an even one, you see Meidroth is controlling his at-bats. He fills three infield positions in Yahoo leagues and although the White Sox don’t have a destination offense, at least Meidroth gets the maximum volume, slotted first. He gets extra points for the Baseball IQ — those eight steals have come despite sprint speed that’s below average.
1B/OF Gavin Sheets, Padres (28%)
Sheets didn’t gain much traction with the White Sox over the past three seasons (after a useful rookie debut in 2021), so you probably ignored his shift to San Diego this year. But something has popped for Sheets in his new city — .283/.327/.516 slash, with 10 homers. The Padres use him against all kinds of pitching — Sheets has made 17 straight starts — and they move him around the lineup (first base, left field, DH). Sheets can take advantage of a favorable schedule this week, lining up against the Marlins and Pirates.
2B/3B Brett Baty, Mets (15%)
Player development is not always linear, so it was no surprise when the well-regarded Baty failed in his 2023 trial with the Mets. He spent most of last year in Triple-A, trying to regain his confidence. But things are trending upward this month.
Baty’s still a little too free with the swings — note the five walks and .286 OBP — but a .250 average isn’t a kill shot in today’s game, and he’s knocked six home runs in 100 at-bats. The Mets are giving Baty a chance to play against all pitching handedness, and that’s a key hurdle to clear if we want to consider a hitter in mixed leagues. His bat has been especially useful the last 15 games, on a .333/.364/.714 binge with five of those homers. Maybe the light is going on for the 25-year-old infielder.
OF Austin Hays, Reds (27%)
The Reds go down as a disappointment about a third of the way through the season, under .500 and with a minuscule chance at the playoffs. Only four of their regulars have an OPS+ better than league average, but Hays is at the front of that line, with a .324/.368/.583 slash and six homers. Perhaps Baltimore didn’t appreciate Hays, who was a plus hitter in five of his seasons there. Hays owns the cleanup spot in Cincinnati and even if this Reds lineup doesn’t thrill us from top to bottom, the upper half is still worth some chase, especially in a hitter-friendly environment. Now that Hays is in the boring veteran stage of his career, his roster tag is merely half of what it should be.