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Closing Time: Joe Smith steps in for Huston Street

Closing Time: Joe Smith steps in for Huston Street

There’s nothing particularly exciting about Joe Smith, veteran relief pitcher. He has an ordinary name, ordinary stuff, a somewhat forgettable role as a set-up man. But the Angels know he’s the stand-in closer for when Huston Street needs a maintenance break, something we come to expect at least once a season.

And now we’re at that period of the time, the temporary changing of the guard.

Street is dealing with an oblique injury and will go on the disabled list at some point before the weekend. This comes with the territory when you draft Street — he’s averaged 55 innings per season since 2009, and has never gone past 62.1 innings in that period. He’s not the king of durability. This isn’t a six-month cruise.

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Enter Smith, a man with just enough tools to get the job done (2.88 career ERA, 7.5 K/9, 2.3 strikeouts for every walk). He picked up 15 handshakes in his Anaheim debut two seasons ago, and was needed for five saves last year (when Street was a little bit more durable than expected). Smith finished off the Royals on Wednesday (scoreless inning, one hit, eight pitches, seven strikes) and could be in the ninth-inning chair for 4-6 weeks while Street rehabilitates.

You can acquire Smith for nothing — well, the cost of your weakest perceived player on roster — in three-quarters of Yahoo leagues. Put some saves into your basket, proceed to checkout.

Accent on second syllable (Hannah Foslien/Getty)
Accent on second syllable (Hannah Foslien/Getty)

• The Jose Berrios debut was nothing special, but it shouldn’t change anything you were excited about 24 hours ago. For the record, he worked four-plus innings against Cleveland (4 IP, 6 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 2 BB, 5 K), laboring during a cold and rainy night in the Twin Cities. Perhaps nerves played into Berrios giving us an underwhelming performance, and the game conditions didn’t do him any favors. You feel good about the strikeouts, and some of the video. (When you strike out Michael Brantley, you've done something special.)

Better days are surely ahead, and the Twins rotation needs Berrios to hang around. He draws starts at Houston and against Baltimore over the next two weeks.

• Catcher has been a mess this season, with a number of name-brand players injured or underperforming. You can add Miguel Montero to the list. The Cubs backstop has a back problem and will need a stint on the 15-day disabled list.

What’s a fantasy owner to do? Some players are looking across town for a replacement. Dioner Navarro has two home runs in his last four games, pushing into a handy 6-for-14 run. He’s still looking at ugly numbers for the full season, but things are desperate, especially in two-catcher formats. Navarro is the most-added Yahoo catcher over the past 12 hours, though his ownership level is below five percent overall.

I’m surprised J.T. Realmuto trades at a mere 36 percent, given all the positive things we saw from him last year. He hasn’t set the world on fire in April, but a .270 average will play, and he’ll give us a little pop and a little speed down the line.  In medium pools, he's someone I'd be targeting, even if it required a trade.

David Ross is Montero’s presumed fill-in for the next couple of weeks, not that his career profile is anything exciting. He’s 6-for-23 this year, but just a .229/.314/.422 man for his career. He’s on the roster in part because of his work with Jon Lester. Ross did hit 21 home runs with the Reds many moons ago, back in 2006.

• One thing the 2016 catching landscape has taught me is to appreciate the merits of a quiet contributor like Francisco Cervelli. The Pittsburgh catcher only has seven home runs since joining the team at the beginning of 2015, but he’s also posted a useful .298/.378/.400 line. He’s probably going to be around 130 starts again, and his OBP (.425 this year, .361 for his career) is a dream in hybrid leagues.

Cervelli has become my most common share in two-catcher leagues (a boring value pick, but nonetheless a dedicated starter), and I know he must have a fair amount of universal value because I keep fielding unsolicited trade offers for him. The depth of the Pittsburgh lineup is also a plus.

• Another interesting pitching prospect is on the way, with Oakland planning to add Sean Manaea before Friday’s game against Houston.

Manaea is a big 24-year-old lefty (6-foot-4, 245 pounds) who showed up as a Top 100 prospect on the three primary scouting clipboards this winter (high of 56, low of 85). He was dominant in three Triple-A turns this spring (18 IP, 16 H, 3 R, 4 BB, 21 K), and has the type of strikeout upside (10.8 K/9 for his career) that often translates to instant fantasy success. Oakland’s big park also figures to help, along with the underwhelming schedule of the AL West. Assuming the first turn goes well, Manaea will then face Seattle at home (lovely) and Boston on the road (tricky).