MLB Fantasy Baseball: Sunday Trade Talk and Daily Notes

Q:My starting pitching is in shambles (Laffey, Verlander, Aaron Cook, Lester, Ervin Santana). Should I trade Vernon Wells and Bobby Jenks for Erik Bedard and Hunter Pence? Could I get Felix Hernandez instead of Bedard?

Other important information, I have Ryan Franklin, Joe Borowski, Grant Balfour, and Brad Lidge as closers. I would either use Pence or Matt Kemp in the outfield spot.

A: First, good call on identifying the need. That's half the battle.

Looking at the trade, you have the closers to be able to make up for the lost saves that Jenks would provide. Balfour and Wheeler will likely both see time with Percival on the DL, with JP Howell potentially stepping in to grab a save as well.

Franklin and Lidge should serve you fine, and Borowski will record saves as long as he's in the role. My piece of advice there would be to watch and make sure that Franklin stays in the role with Isringhausen getting healthy. Masa Kobayashi would get first crack in Cleveland. You'll just want to be aware.

The first choice of those two pitchers has to be Hernandez. He's the ace and will continue to be. I don't think his ankle injury is anything to be concerned with. He'll be back and pitching fine. Hernandez has done well to limit his fly balls, forcing at least ten ground outs in seven of his last ten starts.

Add to that, his strikeout numbers have been solid and he's allowed less than three runs in four of his last five outings. His WHIP is what you would consider elite (under 1.25) and his opponents batting average is under .250. All good signs. He'd be the primary choice here.

But you don't lose much with Bedard right now. Both of these guys are stuck playing for a Seattle team that has been lousy offensively, so wins will always be tough to come by. Bedard's main short coming when compared to Felix is strikeouts (97 for Hernandez vs. 60 for Bedard).

Bedard's WHIP is 1.30 and his ERA is 3.79. He's been much better at home. His ERA would be better if it weren't for two bad outings that skew the entire number, one of which was against the Yankees.

Wells is better than Pence, but Pence should rebound in the second half. He had a bad June coming off an amazing month of May. I think the offer your making is more than fair in either case. If you can't get Hernandez, you would do fine with Bedard.

Notes for Sunday's Games:

• Tim Wakefield hasn't had much success against the better Yankee bats. Jeter, Abreu, and Cano all hit over .300 against the knuckler. You probably have better options than Jason Giambi, who's just a .183 hitter against Wakefield. Wakefield is just 2-8 against the Yankees since 2005 and just 1-4 at Yankee Stadium.
• Joba Chamberlain hasn't seen an offense like Boston's, but he's improved in every single start this season. I wouldn't let what Boston has done deter me from the start in this case. He's a solid option.
• Kevin Millwood will make his start, despite suffering a bruised calf on Tuesday. That should only make you want to start more of your Orioles. Millwood has had nothing but problems on the road all season long, recording just one win and allowing a .342 opponents batting average.
• Jeff Suppan at home is always a good play. He's been able to keep the better Pirates hitters in check, keeping Xavier Nady to .269 and Jason Bay to .129. Nate McLouth and Ryan Doumit are the best of the options for the Pirates. I'd start Nady, but look for a better option if I had one for Bay.
• No concerns in starting your better Brewers against Zach Duke. Duke struggles on the road and hasn't been able to figure out J.J. Hardy, Prince Fielder, Corey Hart, or Rickie Weeks. All are good plays.
• Glen Perkins has allowed three runs or less in his last five starts and has worked into the sixth in four of those outings. Perkins draws a Tigers lineup that is hitting better, but is a decent spot play if you're looking for a decent WHIP and ERA number to end the week.
• Jon Garland has not pitched well against Toronto and is just 2-4 at home on the season. Vernon Wells and Shannon Stewart struggle, but any other Blue Jay that you would normally have in your lineup should still be there.
• If there's ever a reason to bench Ryan Howard, his 1-16 totals against Oliver Perez is probably that reason. Perez has had a fair amount of problems on the road, but hasn't allowed a run against the Phillies in 11 innings this season.
• Spot starts for Sunday? Suppan, Jesse Litsch, Todd Wellemeyer, and Wandy Rodriguez.

Back as the need arises.