AGUILAR ADDED TO THE RAYS LINEUP
The Tampa Bay Rays acquired first baseman Jesus Aguilar from the Milwaukee Brewers for pitcher Jake Faria.
What does it give the Tampa Bay Rays
While Aguilar has fallen off a cliff this season (.225 BA, 8 HR, 34 RBI), after hitting .274 with 35 home runs and 108 runs batted in last year, he is still a solid addition to the contending Rays. The right-handed batter may be used in a platoon role at first, where catcher Travis d'Arnaud has been seeing some time in recent weeks. Adding Aguilar may allow d'Arnaud to focus mostly on his catching duties for the Rays down the stretch.
What does it give the Milwaukee Brewers
The Brewers are contenders yet again this season, but they clearly felt the need to add more pitching depth. Enter Faria, who has pitched exclusively in relief for the Rays this season but has made seven Triple-A starts at Durham. The 26-year-old still has some untapped potential in MLB, so he is a nice addition to the Brew Crew--even at the cost of Aguilar, who at this point probably needed a change of scenery anyway.
Fantasy impact
Both Aguilar and Faria should benefit from this trade, and their respective fantasy values should rise as a result. Aguilar may play regularly if he rediscovers his 2018 form, so he is worth a look in deep leagues. Faria should also be picked up, especially in keeper leagues, with the hope that he can work his way into Milwaukee's rotation plans going forward.
