Roto Rush, Deal Edition: Cliff Lee, Jarrod Washburn, George Sherrill and More

Poppin' out the box scores and right into your cubicle, the Roto Rush is your double espresso shot of fantasy baseball advice every weekday.

Apologies for the lack of R.R. yesterday, but we're hitting you with a special extended trade edition today to make up for it. There's been a lot of activity over the past few days, especially with top pitching commodities like Cliff Lee, Jarrod Washburn and George Sherrill. We've also seen a pair of Pittsburgh starters head outta town and two prized minor-league prospects change locations. Time to break it all down from a fantasy perspective.

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Trade Winds:
• Washburn (8-6, 2.64 ERA) has been one the biggest steals of the fantasy season, but he owes some credit to the outstanding outfield defense that's backed him in Seattle. Now that he's heading to Detroit, I expect his ERA to rise a bit; did we really believe Washburn would keep an ERA under 3.00 all year, anyway? His run average sits at 4.65 if you look at Expected Fielding Independent Pitching, an experimental statistic you can read up on over at The Hardball Times. Despite the predicted regression, he'll still be a valuable part of fantasy rotations.

• Cliff Lee couldn't have asked for a better matchup in his first game for Philadelphia. He'll face the Giants on the road Friday night and should get his National League career off to a strong start. Lee has really been sharp over his last five outings, with a 2.37 ERA and 26:5 strikeout-to-walk ratio over that span. Usually, I'm a very big fan of American League pitchers shifting over to the NL (see Javier Vazquez), but I don't think Lee's value changes all that much in this case. He will have to make his home starts at a hitter's park now, with a short timeframe to make any adjustments. That said, if you're bidding in NL-only leagues and need the pitching, I'd break the bank. There's a slim chance any minor-league call-up will help you as much as Lee this late in the game. No more Tommy Hansons around the corner.

The other two players affected in this swap are outfielder Ben Francisco and pitcher Carlos Carrasco. The Phillies will use Francisco off the bench once Shane Victorino is healthy, so his shot at a 20-20 season likely goes out the window. Francisco, who hit 10 homers and swiped 13 bases for Cleveland, is batting .324 over his last 23 games. Carrasco has struck out an International League-leading 112 and could take a spin in the Indians' rotation in late August. At age 22, he still has a lot of learning to do, but is well worth monitoring in AL-only leagues.

• George Sherrill loses most of his usefulness in the Dodgers-Orioles swap, while Baltimore reliever Jim Johnson is actually the biggest winner. Unless your league favors middle relievers or counts holds, Sherrill the specialist won't do much for you. It's been a stealthy 20 saves for the lefty, but now we'll see Johnson get his shot to close games for the Orioles. The 26-year-old has been roughed up over his last 10 appearances to the tune of a 5.91 ERA, so it'll be interesting to see whether he can keep the gig on lockdown. Johnson is worth snagging in all mixed leagues and will draw a fairly high bid in AL-only. If he falters in the role, Danys Baez could be next in line to pick up saves.

• The Tom Gorzelanny to Chicago deal is semi-intriguing, if only because the Gorz was pitching so well for Triple-A Indianapolis. Even though he's struggled in the bigs, don't forget he's only two years removed from a strong 14-win season. There's hope left for the 27-year-old lefty, but we'll have to wait a while to see what he can do for the Cubs.

• Freddy Sanchez hasn't been all that exciting for fantasy purposes, so seeing him get dealt to the Giants generated a "meh." The real player to watch closely is Tim Alderson, all of 6-foot-6 and 20 years old. The pitching prospect formerly with San Francisco's Double-A club was 7-2 with a 3.65 ERA in 18 starts. He could have a very bright future ahead of him, even if he sticks in Pittsburgh long-term.

• First baseman Ryan Garko was also traded to San Francisco, but with only 11 homers and 39 RBI at a power position, he wasn't starting in most mixed leagues. The real boon will be for NL-only owners who can pick up a solid hitting boost. With no other decent corner bats heading to the NL, he'll come at a strong price.

The Afflicted: As if we couldn't have already surmised, Brandon Webb's season is likely over, and his Diamondbacks career could be, too. I really believed Webb could make it back to the mound at some point, but after yet another setback on his ailing right shoulder, it's a season to forget for fantasy owners. In other injury news, the Orioles put waiver-wire gem Brad Bergesen on the DL with a bruised leg and activated Chris Ray. Those who are losing Bergesen may want to jump on the Tommy Hunter bandwagon if replacements look meager. Over his six starts in the bigs this year, the Rangers youngster has posted a 2.00 ERA and held opposing batters to a .226 average. Blue Jays left-hander Marc Rzepczynski (3.25 ERA, and pronounced zep-chin-ski for your information) is also a good option.

Down on the Farm: Let's stick with the pitching theme. Jarrod Parker, already being heralded as the next great D'backs starter, got roughed up over four innings of work but struck out five and walked one. His ERA stands at 3.68 and he remains on target for a rotation appearance sometime in 2010. Red Sox prospect Michael Bowden has been mentioned in various trade rumors, but he just keeps doing his thing in Triple-A. After seven innings of one-run ball with six punch-outs, his ERA dropped to 2.96.

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