Padres land Laureano at the trade deadline and the early returns are loud enough to push a club-option decision in favor of 2026 if the production keeps coming. The center of San Diego’s order has feverish-rate value, elevating the lineup and boosting fantasy appeal for rest of season.

Laureano opened the year with Baltimore (.290/.884 OPS, 15 HR, 46 RBI in 82 games) and has blossomed in San Diego to .315/.968 with six homers and 20 RBI in 25 games since the swap. MLB Insider Mark Feinsand believes the Padres are near-certainty to exercise the $6.5 million option, a signal fantasy players should monitor closely as the stretch run unfolds.

Giants ride a late-season surge into Oracle Park as Baltimore's youth movement stalls, setting up a fantasy-friendly showdown. Through 134 games, the Orioles sit at a 97 wRC+, close to San Francisco’s 96, but the Giants have edged Baltimore in value (13.1 fWAR vs 12.2) and have shown a steadier offensive pulse. The piece highlights Gunnar Henderson, Adley Rutschman and Jackson Holliday as frontrunners for Baltimore, while Rafael Devers and Giants’ bats provide momentum for rest-of-season rosters. The three-game series could tilt rest-of-year fantasy projections and streaming opportunities.

For fantasy managers, the Orioles’ core remains intriguing but volatile, with Henderson, Rutschman and Holliday carrying the promise that can flip a matchup. On the Giants’ side, Devers’ recent power and a stronger team-wide OBP suggest affordable exposure as a bolster to a push for 82 wins. Monitor Oracle Park factors, bullpen usage, and interleague dynamics as the set unfolds.

Week 23 bullpen shakeups reshape fantasy closer plans. Milwaukee’s Uribe emerges as the top short-term fix after Megill lands on the IL with a flexor strain, giving Uribe elite closer upside in all formats. Baltimore’s Keegan Akin is a viable adds-now option, while Minnesota’s Justin Topa has carved out a late-inning role that’s worth chasing in 12-team and deeper leagues. In deeper adds, JoJo Romero and Riley O’Brien in St. Louis, Calvin Faucher in Miami, and Reid Detmers in Los Angeles provide leverage-shower paths as teams ride out the rest of the season. Dodgers’ Tanner Scott has reemerged as a saves option, with Kenley Jansen and others still in the mix.

Notes on the holds and saves landscape: Whitlock leads holds while Aroldis Chapman has a record-breaking season, and Ryan Walker’s late-inning work for San Francisco is back in focus after the injury news around Randy Rodríguez. The bullpen mosaic remains volatile, but urgency around adds for Week 23 is clear: target the next man up who can accumulate saves and holds in the coming weeks.

Sept 10, the Orioles host the Pittsburgh Pirates at Camden Yards as Michael Strassner will throw the ceremonial first pitch for The Baltimorons promotion night. This cross-promo aims to drive attendance and create a memorable kickoff to the game beyond the box score.

The Baltimorons tie-in illustrates how film-star appearances dovetail with baseball marketing, fueling fan excitement without altering on-field decisions. For fantasy managers, the promo night carries no direct stat impact, but the elevated atmosphere could marginally influence performance and crowd energy at home.