Two long-time veterans were dealt to contending teams on Thursday afternoon. While there’s little question new Houston Astros left-hander Scott Kazmir has been the more valuable fantasy option than new (and old) Pittsburgh Pirates third baseman Aramis Ramirez so far, I have doubts it will continue to those lengths. Kazmir is just a hair outside the top 20 for starting pitchers on the Player Rater for the season, along with Corey Kluber and Matt Harvey for perspective, and barring injury should continue some degree of success, though I'm a tad wary. Then again, he’s owned in most fantasy leagues already. Ramirez is not.

Thus, Ramirez is really the one to watch in fantasy, since he’s readily available for ESPN standard leagues. By the way, while he’s not a top-20 third baseman for the season, he has been over the past 30 days, which is more important. Ramirez is hitting .352 with a .922 OPS and a pair of home runs in July. Over the past month, he’s sixth at his position on the Player Rater. Perhaps he simply wasn't healthy the first few months, or at this stage of his career he needs months to find his stroke, we might never know. Ramirez is playing well now and the Pirates need him. They will likely insert him right into the cleanup spot in the lineup.

The Pirates lost leadoff hitter and regular third baseman Josh Harrison earlier in July with a torn thumb ligament, and don’t expect him back for another month, at least. Shortstop Jordy Mercer should be out even longer after his left knee was run into last week, moving Jung Ho Kang to his spot. Ramirez will play regularly, and I don’t see that changing in September. He should be itching to get to the playoffs, too, since it hasn’t happened for him since 2008. Ramirez, due to retire at season’s end, needs to be owned in more leagues, and I suspect that trend starts this weekend. Don't be surprised when Ramirez, who hit .380 last August and boasts a career .309/.370/.545 slash line in his favorite month for his career, performs on par with other borderline top-10 third basemen from here on out.

As for Kazmir, he leaves spacious, pitcher-friendly O.co Coliseum, where he featured a 1.36 ERA, 0.90 WHIP and nary a home run permitted over 10 starts, and moves to Houston’s Minute Maid Park, considerably more hitter-friendly, especially to right-handed power hitters. I'm guessing Kazmir will allow a home run in a home game pretty soon. Meanwhile, Kazmir’s road ERA is 3.92, and his WHIP is 1.35. We can’t assume these splits will continue in his final 12 or so starts. It’s just not a reasonable sample size. I don’t really think Kazmir will suddenly fall apart statistically and hopefully not physically as well, but with so much pitching depth in the game, I was selling high on Kazmir even before the trade. It’s more obvious now.

Baseball’s non-waiver trade deadline is next Friday, and surely there will be more moves. In many cases, the winners and losers in a trade aren’t involved in the deal at all, but with the Ramirez and Kazmir transactions, there’s not so much collateral news. The Athletics have, in theory, room for right-hander Jesse Hahn and lefty Sean Nolin in the rotation for when they come off stints from the disabled list, but they're mainly intriguing for deep leagues. It’s the same for Astros rookie right-hander Vincent Velasquez, who loses his rotation spot for now and heads to the bullpen. As for the Brewers, Hernan Perez is expected to handle third base, which is awesome for him, not so awesome for us. Perez has hit .329 for the Brewers in limited duty but with no power, no speed and no plate discipline. In other words, it’s no big deal.

NL report: The amazing Clayton Kershaw shut out the beleaguered New York Mets Thursday, but at least he allowed them a few hits, so it wasn’t total embarrassment. I’d use Kershaw and his colleague Zack Greinke whenever they pitch in DFS. It’s worth noting the Mets could avoid Greinke this weekend, as Greinke’s wife is scheduled to give birth. … Dodgers shortstop Jimmy Rollins homered Thursday, the lone run off right-hander Bartolo Colon, who was actually impressive despite a month of struggles. Rollins isn't heartily owned in fantasy leagues, but everyone’s watching to see if he’s eventually replaced by top prospect Corey Seager. … St. Louis Cardinals third baseman Matt Carpenter homered Thursday and isn't in danger of losing his job, but he’s really been struggling for two months. Perhaps he’s hurt, but now’s not a wise time to trade for Carpenter. … Cardinals rookie Stephen Piscotty was penciled into Thursday’s lineup at first base, but was scratched due to a stiff neck. However, it doesn’t appear to be a long-term issue. Continue to invest. … I bet Ian Desmond owners have noticed the Washington Nationals shortstop has a pair of homers and a stolen base in the past four days. Hey, it’s a start. ... Pirates first baseman Pedro Alvarez smacked his 13th home run Thursday, but if you're choosing between Pirates corner infielders, I’ll still take Ramirez. Alvarez can’t hit lefties and isn’t exactly torching right-handers.

AL report: Chicago White Sox outfielder Melky Cabrera homered twice Thursday. He entered play with only four blasts in three-plus months, but Cabrera is hitting better than .300 in July with four of the home runs. It’s improvement, and the streaky Cabrera could still matter in fantasy. … Cleveland Indians right-hander Trevor Bauer fanned nine White Sox, but allowed three home runs and six runs in six messy innings. Bauer’s still a bit too inconsistent for many owners, despite the strikeouts, and he’s already eclipsed last season’s home run total. … Baltimore Orioles third baseman Manny Machado hit his 21st home run Thursday, a day before he stole his 14th base. He’s on pace for 36 homers, 24 steals and 102 runs. Amazing season. … If you want to rely on Orioles right-hander Ubaldo Jimenez, pretty much ever, be my guest. He permitted seven runs Thursday for the second consecutive outing. Good luck guessing when the good outings will be. … Minnesota Twins third baseman Trevor Plouffe is hitting again. His homer Thursday was his third in seven games. Remember Plouffe has a 24-homer season to his credit, and can duplicate it. … The Toronto Blue Jays save Thursday was earned by right-hander Bo Schultz, who saved seven games for Triple-A Buffalo, and not Roberto Osuna. I think Osuna is still the main guy, even after losing Wednesday’s game, but if you have bench space, add Schultz, the long-time minor league journeyman, in case.

Have a great weekend and enjoy the Hall of Fame festivities. There will be many games, and be on the lookout for more trades. They're coming!