ESPN

On Wednesday night, all the members of the Tout Wars AL- and NL-only leagues participated in the yearly FAAB (free agent acquisition budget) auction, aptly named the "FAABonanza." During this event, all the big names who changed leagues were picked off in a live auction by the experts. The results, although somewhat predictable overall, had some very interesting surprises.

AL trades

• Jeff Erickson (Rotowire.com) trades Manny Ramirez and Santiago Casilla to Joe Sheehan (Baseball Prospectus) for John Lackey and Jason Michaels

• Sheehan trades Dustin McGowan to Matthew Berry for Brendan Harris

One thing you can't suggest is that Joe Sheehan is colluding, making a trade with the top two teams in the standings. In a blockbuster deal with first-place Erickson, Sheehan grabs the A's closer and the Red Sox slugger in exchange for the Angels' ace and, well, Jason Michaels. Joe then turned to the second-place team (Berry), and dangled Blue Jays fireballer Dustin McGowan for Devil Rays middle infielder Brendan Harris. Sheehan's offense gets an instant boost, while Erickson and Berry see gains in wins, ERA and strikeouts.

FAABonanza results

• Jarrod Saltalamacchia  $87 Steve Moyer, Baseball Info Solutions
• Brian Buscher -- $75 Dean Peterson, STATS, Inc

Who?: Buscher is Minnesota's new candidate for the third-base job, with Luis Catillo being traded and Nick Punto possibly shifting to duties at second base. Buscher had 13 home runs so far this year in two levels of the minors, had a batting average higher than .300 and threw in a couple stolen bases for good measure. Is he worth just $12 less than a guaranteed full-time catcher/first baseman in Saltalamacchia? Probably not, but for Peterson -- who was sorely lacking at third base -- it's the price he had to pay for a possible starting third baseman over the next two months.

• Danny Richar -- $75 Jeff Erickson, Rotowire.com

Who???: Richar and Buscher have more in common than an awkward combination of "ch" in the middle of their names. They are both emerging rookies who will see playing time in the major leagues because of a midlevel trade at the deadline. And, strangely, they both had 13 home runs in the minor leagues this year. Richar will take over second base for the White Sox after their trade of Tadahito Iguchi to the Phillies. He was only in the White Sox organization for a month and a half after a trade from Arizona in June, but impressed the general manager enough to give him a tryout at second base for the remainder of the season.

• Wilson Betemit -- $41 Lawr Michaels, CREATiVESPORTS.com
• Dan Wheeler -- $41 Mike Siano, MLB.com
• Kyle Davies -- $31 Siano

Is he really that bad?: Davies has a career ERA of 6.38, and a WHIP of 1.79. So is there anything to like about him?

Maybe. When Davies first came up in 2005, he was excellent over his first six starts. And his minor league numbers were stellar, with low WHIPs and ERAs at every level. Then he fell apart. A change of scenery may do him some good, especially if that scenery is in Kansas City, where Brian Bannister, Odalis Perez and Gil Meche all have seen varying levels of career resurgence and potential-reaching. Dayton Moore, remember, was the assistant GM in Atlanta before taking over in Kansas City last season, so he has a level of familiarity with Davies, and his faith in him could have played into the trade.

• Jordan Tata -- $6 Moyer

FAAB

• Jason Botts: $30 Ron Shandler, BaseballHQ.com ($29, $25)

So long, Sammy: Botts' arrival will push Sammy Sosa -- who has more home runs in his career than Mickey Mantle -- to a reserve role. The man who is fifth all-time on the home run list will be sitting on the bench, watching balls fly off the bats of players like Nelson Cruz, Marlon Byrd and Botts. Of the three, Botts may be the most intriguing: He was a major disappointment last year in 50 at-bats for the Rangers, but has prodigal power, and he could explode for bunches of home runs over the last couple months of the season.

• Leo Nunez: $1 Jason Grey, FantasyBaseball.com 1 ($0)
• Brian Tallet: $0 Siano

FAABonanza results

• Mark Teixeira -- $103 Peter Kreutzer, AskRotoman.com
• Ty Wigginton -- $100 Pete Becker, ESPN
• Luis Castillo -- $55 Mike Lombardo, Wise Guy Sports
• Octavio Dotel  $26 Cory Schwartz, MLB.com
• Rob Mackowiak -- $23 Jason Collette, RotoJunkie.com
• Chris Roberson -- $16 Scott Pianowski, FantasyGuru,.com
• Joel Pineiro -- $8 Brian Walton, CREATiVESPORTS.com
• Josh Phelps -- $4 Jeff Erickson, Rotowire.com
• Elizardo Ramirez -- $1 Erickson
• Scott Proctor -- $1 Pianowski

America's Choice: Readers have written to say they enjoy the musings of Mike Lombardo, currently in first place in NL Tout Wars. So I give you a look from inside the mind of an expert:

"AskRotoman, Peter Kreutzer, had the honor of tossing out the first nominee (nominations were done in reverse standings order), and choose Castillo, the newest Met. This choice proved extremely significant since he wasn't the most "valuable" talent available. Those that had a legit shot at Teixeira/Wigginton were naturally chary of using their FAAB to pursue this lesser player. Consequently, I, with $69 FAAB dollars available and no chance at the top two, was able to snag Castillo for $55 in a spirited auction.

"Pete Kreutzer subsequently got Teixeira for $103 by virtue of the fact that he had the largest FAAB budget with which to bid ($117). Pete Becker snapped up Wigginton for $100, thus disappointing FantasyBaseball's Rob Leibowitz, who had exactly that amount in his FAAB war chest. Stated a dejected Rob afterward, 'I should have set my sights on Castillo.'

"New Padre Mackowiak, who figures to be a part-time player, drew a winning bid of $23 from Jason Collete, while the interim full timer for the recently DL'ed Victorino, Chris Roberson, wound up on Scott Pianowski's team for $16. Dotel, purportedly in the closing mix in Atlanta, was happily acquired by Cory Schwartz for $26. Boston transplant Joel Pineiro drew an $8 winning bid from Brian Walton.

"The question of whether to save FAAB dollars for FAABonanza is controversial. Both $100 players in NL Toutwars landed on teams that have no chance for the top prize. Of course, their presence will affect category races and ultimately have an impact on the final standings."

FAAB

• Justin Upton: $88 Rob Leibowitz, FantasyBaseball.com 88 ($87, $41, $40, $18, $9)

Bossman Junior, Jr.: Leibowitz, who missed out on the top players in the FAABonanza, comes up big with probably the top consolation prize. Although Upton is only 19 years old (younger than Lindsay Lohan, one year older than the girl from "Spy Kids"), think of him more like a Ken Griffey Jr. or a Doc Gooden. Arizona is in first place, so this isn't the kind of situation in which they're bringing Upton in to get him some playing time and see what he has to offer; if he performs -- and chances are that he will -- Upton could have a place in the major leagues for the next 20 years. He is a must-own in keeper leagues, and worth a look in single-season leagues in which help is needed on offense.

• Tony Armas: $1 Trace Wood, LongGandhi.com
• Delwyn Young: $0 Lombardo

Another D. Young: Yes, Delwyn Young exists only to confuse you in "Young" player searches, joining Dmitri and Delmon. Not as bad as Chris B. and Chris R., or the dueling Ryan Brauns, but it's close. Delwyn will take over "Wilson Betemit Duty" for the Dodgers, as the converted switch-hitting second baseman now takes a place on the bench to await occasional start and pinch-hit assignments.

• Joel Hanrahan: $0 Phil Hertz
• Mark Bellhorn: $0 Hertz

Trade

• Alex Cushing (MLB.com) trades Billy Wagner, Chad Billingsley, and Dustin McGowan to John Hoyos (RotoJunkie.com) for Jake Peavy and Zack Greinke

FAAB

• Justin Upton: $51 Todd Zola, FantasyBaseball.com ($50)
• Adam Jones: $5 Dave Adler, BaseballHQ.com ($4)

The Mariner and Mr. Jones: Lost in all the Justin Upton hustle and bustle was the sly call-up of Adam Jones by the Mariners. Approach this free-agent acquisition with just a smidge of caution. The Mariners already have a full outfield and a designated hitter, so Jones will bounce around from spot to spot, taking playing time away from Raul Ibanez, Jose Vidro and Jose Guillen as Seattle makes a push for the playoffs. However, Jones is considered on of the best prospects in baseball and will most likely start contributing right from the get-go. If you lost out on Upton because a leaguemate thought he was all slick and picked him up Thursday night at 3 a.m., consider Adam Jones in his stead.

• Tim Wakefield: $4 Kastner, CREATiVESPORTS.com ($3)
• Brad Wilkerson: $1 Zola
• C.J. Wilson: $1 Zola
• Joaquin Benoit: $1 Cushing

Solid ground versus speculation: Zola earns the rights to the current Texas closer, while Cushing goes after everyone's favorite choice for the role. As Friday taught us, four saves does not make you the closer (Jamie Walker versus Dannys Baez in Baltimore), so your best bet might be to grab both of them and see how things shake out in a week.

• Morgan Ensberg: $1 Cushing
• Aaron Cook: $1 J.P. Kastner
• Jon Lester: $1 Mike Salfino, RotoAction.com

Salfino Security: After Kason Gabbard's trade to Texas, Lester has the fifth-starter role in Boston all to himself. With the amount of games the Sox are winning, and with Rotisserie standings now coming down to the wire, grasping at wins is something a lot of teams have to consider. What this means is pitchers like Wakefield and Lester, just by being on better teams, will be added to more squads. On the other hand, starting pitchers on Tampa Bay and Pittsburgh may be passed over.

• Kyle Kendrick: $1 Kastner
• Jesse Litsch: $1 Kastner
• Jason Kendall: $0 Cushing

• Corey Hart: $3 Ron Shandler
• Scot Shields: $1 Eric Karabell
• Ramon Hernandez: $1 Tristan H. Cockcroft
• Manny Corpas: $1 Karabell
• Manny Parra: $1 Shandler

Mannys being Mannys: Corpas and Parra could prove to be one of the better pitching combinations available on the free-agent wire right now. Corpas has been effective as the Rockies' closer, and Parra has been electric in long-relief/spot-start duty for the Brewers. If you are in need of overlooked save opportunities and a low WHIP/ERA, consider rostering both Mannys for the remainder of the season.

Nando Di Fino is a fantasy analyst for TalentedMrRoto.com and ESPN.com. You can e-mail him at Nando@TalentedMrRoto.com