Roto Rush: Derrek Lee Traded to Braves

Derrek Lee is on his way to the Atlanta Braves after the Chicago Cubs dealt the first baseman for three minor leaguers on Wednesday.

Lee started slowly in Chicago, batting just .234 with a .708 OPS through the month of June, but has stepped up his hitting of late. Since the beginning of July, Lee is hitting .288. If you look just at August, Lee is hitting .306 with four home runs and a 1.075 OPS.

The Braves seem to be getting Lee just at the right time, in an upward trend with the bat. Unfortunately, Lee is dealing with a bulging disc in his back and won't be able to play right away, says Carroll Rogers of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

The only questions were whether Lee would waive his no-trade rights for the Braves and about his back injury. Lee left Sunday's game with tightness in his back. He was diagnosed with a bulging disc and given an epidural shot of cortisone. He was out of the Cubs' lineup for the past three games. But Wren said the Braves think it's a short-term problem, and Lee told him on the phone he would be ready to play Friday.

"It's not a concern at all," Wren said. "We had our doctors look at the MRI -- he had an MRI on Monday -- and they think it's going to clear up in the next few days."

One of the moves the Braves made to make room for Lee was placing Troy Glaus on the disabled list. He'll take time to recover from a sore knee and then work in Triple-A Gwinnett for a while to make the move back to third base. Upon returning to the Braves, Glaus will play third base, Martin Prado will move back to second and Lee will be at first.

Expect Lee to get a slight boost in fantasy value as he'll be playing on a team that gives plenty of RBI opportunities to their hitters.

Bits From the Box Scores:

• Evan Longoria drove in four runs on Wednesday and went 3-for-4 with a home run and a double. This was his fifth multi-hit game in his last 10 appearances, and he's batting .304 in August.

• Rookie Lorenzo Cain went 2-for-3 on Wednesday with a double and a triple against one of the tougher right-handed pitchers in the business. The fact that Cain is being allowed to hit against the likes of Adam Wainwright means that the Brewers are starting to get really comfortable with him in the lineup.

• Not only did Adrian Gonzalez hit his 23rd home run of the season on Wednesday, but he reached base all five times he came to the plate. He was 2-for-2 with three walks.

• Coco Crisp was 3-for-3 on Wednesday with a home run and a stolen base. Over his last 10 games Crisp has six multi-hit games and has driven his batting average up from .257 to .289 while stealing five bases. Crisp is only owned in 13 percent of fantasy leagues and is red hot at the moment.

• Jimmy Rollins had a magnificent day on Wednesday with three RBI and a 3-for-5 day where he hit a single, triple and a home run. He also had two stolen bases and has been swiping like crazy lately, stealing five bases in his last seven games.

• Juan Pierre was 4-for-5 on Wednesday with two stolen bases. He now has 47 stolen bases on the season and is currently working on a seven-game hitting streak. He's still only owned in 61 percent of fantasy leagues.

• Joe Mauer went 4-for-5 with a home run and a double on Wednesday and drove in two runs. Since July 15, Mauer is hitting .442 with 15 doubles and four home runs. His OPS over that time is 1.185.

• Jay Bruce was 4-for-5 with two RBI and three runs scored on Wednesday. He was a double short of hitting or the cycle.

The Afflicted: The Astros have placed former closer Matt Lindstrom on the 15-day disabled list with bask spasms. The move is retroactive to August 17. David Wright was removed from Wednesday's game because of lightheadedness and nausea. He's hoping that medicine and fluid intake will get him back into the game on Thursday. Carlos Gonzalez bruised his right knee crashing in into the outfield wall on Wednesday. The team will evaluate the knee on Thursday. Joey Votto was scratched from Wednesday's game because of stiffness in his back. He may sit out until Friday. The Braves put Troy Glaus on the 15-day disabled list with a sore left knee. Alcides Escobar has been diagnosed with leg cramps and will be listed as day-to-day. Colby Rasmus did not start on Wednesday because of a calf injury, but he did pinch hit. He should be considered day-to-day.

Locking Your Lineup: Washington is in Atlanta and the Tigers are playing against the Yankees at 1:05 p.m. ET on Thursday.

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