Edward Cabrera just returned from a near two-month absence for elbow tendinitis to no-hit the Cubs over five innings Friday.
Earlier this year, he one-hit the Rockies over six innings and also two-hit the Nationals over six. In fact, if you take out a seven-hit outing at the Astros just before he landed on the IL, Cabrera has allowed a total of four hits over 29 innings in his last six starts between the majors and minors.
His return to the mound Friday is the headliner from this weekend, but he'll need to keep it going for another four starts to live up to Reid Detmers' return. The Angels' left-hander was strong again over seven innings Sunday. Meanwhile, Cabrera's teammate, Jesus Luzardo, looked good in his second start back from the IL Sunday. Likewise, Jean Segura just returned from a two-month absence for a broken finger, and Paul DeJong is back after a three-month banishment to Triple-A. Even little-known Michael Massey is a returnee of sorts after getting a brief look early in July.
They're all among the eight players featured in today's Waiver Wire.
Possible waiver wire pickups
Each of Luzardo's two starts back from a strained forearm has gone well enough, but his most recent Sunday at the Cubs, in which he allowed one hit with six strikeouts in seven innings, was particularly noteworthy. Granted, his average fastball velocity has been down more than a mile per hour since returning, but it's basically back to 2021 levels after a big jump earlier this year. It was also only his fourth most-thrown pitch Sunday. He's leaned more on his offspeed stuff since returning, primarily his curveball in this one after primarily his changeup last time out. Both have much better metrics than his fastball, so tweaking his arsenal in this way may be a bigger key to his success than pure velocity.
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What more will it take for you to buy into Detmers again? The changes he made to his slider during his brief banishment to the minors have been completely transformative. All five of his starts since returning have been nothing short of excellent, his swinging-strike rate jumping from 9 percent before then to 14 percent thereafter. After striking out 12 over seven innings last time out, he again went seven strong Sunday at the Mariners, this time throwing the slider a season-high 41 percent of the time. The more confidence he shows in it, the more confidence we should have in him. Keep in mind he was rushed to the majors after being drafted 10th overall in 2020, so his need for some additional tweaking is understandable.
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After missing all of June and July with a fractured right index finger, Segura was back in his usual second base spot Thursday, shifting rookie Bryson Stott to shortstop. The Phillies even released Didi Gregorius to ensure no playing-time disputes. Segura went 3 for 4 with a stolen base in his third game back Saturday and remains a quality option at a weak position as sort of a jack of all trades, master of none. If second base has been a struggle for you all year, you'll want to make a play right away. Normally, you wouldn't have a chance at someone this good so late in the year.
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Mateo's primary contribution remains stolen bases, which makes him best left for 5x5 categories league still. But with what he's shown at the plate recently, he's gone from being just a cheap steals specialist to something like a must-start player in that format, at least for however long this run continues. Over his past 35 games, he's hitting .266 (29 for 109) with seven homers, seven steals and an .894 OPS. He's striking out less during that stretch and impacting the ball a little harder -- nothing plainly transformative, but enough marginal improvements to add up to something. This is the kind of player we dreamed he could be at the start of the year, and looking at his minor-league track record, there's hope it will continue.
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Cabrera got his first chance to step into the Marlins rotation (this year, anyway) back in June, remember, and one-hit the Rockies over six innings. He then two-hit the Nationals in his second start before running into trouble in his third. That's when he hit the IL with elbow tendinitis. He was sidelined for two months before coming back Friday, and what did he do then? He no-hit the Cubs over five innings. Even on his rehab assignment, he allowed just one hit in 12 innings. Sure, there are control issues, but the guy's nearly unhittable. He has plenty of weapons to work with, too, recording at least three swinging strikes on four different pitches Friday for a total of 17. We've seen him be a big bat-misser in the minors already, and he may finally be poised to take off in the majors.
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The biggest winner among relief pitchers at the trade deadline was Devin Williams, but since he's already rostered in 80 percent of CBS Sports leagues, I'll instead highlight the second-biggest winner: Felix Bautista, who's taking over for departed closer Jorge Lopez in Baltimore. Lopez was a big find for the Orioles, obviously, making the All-Star team and fetching a nice return from the Twins. Bautista you could argue has been even better, boasting a lower WHIP and a considerably higher swinging-strike rate. He's worked the ninth innings four times since Lopez's departure, notching two saves, and will be as high-end as the Orioles (a team that's over .500, it's worth noting) allow him to be.
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After filling in for an unvaccinated Whit Merrifield during a series in Toronto earlier in the summer, Massey came back up the day after Merrifield was traded and has started all but one game at second base since. It's clear the Royals consider him their future at the position, and looking at the minor-league numbers, it's obvious why. Between Double- and Triple-A this year, Massey hit .312 with 16 homers, 13 steals and a .903 OPS. He was just impressive last year but didn't get much prospect love as a 23-year-old at High-A. Though he's still looking for his first home run, his time in the majors has gone well enough to merit a pickup. In fact, he just had his best game yet Sunday, going 2 for 3 with a double and a walk.
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It's hard to say exactly what's different for DeJong after his three-month banishment to Triple-A. The 29-year-old himself says he has more confidence now. His manager, Oliver Marmol, says he's taking what the pitcher gives him and no longer trying to pull everything. These are the typical explanations for why a player is going well, and I'm not particularly compelled by them. Nonetheless, DeJong has three home runs and three doubles in eight games since returning. He's also walked six times during that stretch. Factor in his minor-league numbers, and he has nine home runs in his past 17 games. He's been a Fantasy mainstay before -- as recently as 2019, in fact -- so it wouldn't be a total stretch to see him regain that form, even if no one's offering much of an explanation for it.
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