One of the many to change uniforms over the weekend
Now that the MLB Trade Deadline has passed and we’ve taken a day, and Sunday’s games, to digest things and see what the teams are doing with either their new players or newfound roster vacancies, it’s time to wrap things up and talk about the fantasy baseball implications from each trade. While there was plenty of action to be had at Saturday’s deadline, there weren’t as many big names on the move as we thought. However, with MLB’s waiver trade deadline still to come, we could, and should, see some additional movement. But for now, there’s plenty to get to, so let’s get to the fantasy aspect and see how these deals will help or hurt your fantasy baseball teams.
The New York Mets trade 1B Mike Jacobs to the Toronto Blue Jays for a player to be named later (PTBNL)
Let’s just start out nice and easy before we get to the real action of the day. Lyle Overbay owners can breathe a little sigh of relief here as Jacobs was only picked up to take over first base at Triple-A Las Vegas after the trade of Brett Wallace. Unless something totally crazy happens in Toronto, Jacobs will finish the season, and likely his career down in the minors.
The Houston Astros trade 1B Lance Berkman and cash considerations to the New York Yankees for RHP Mark Melancon and INF Jimmy Paredes
It was just a matter of time before the Astros dealt Berkman, and according to baseball pundits, they undersold here despite Berkman’s down year. Regardless of that, let’s talk fantasy value. While most people will say that a move to the Yankees and apparently hitting in the 2 hole will boost the Big Puma’s fantasy value, I’m not so sure just yet. Yes, he’s in a better situation acting as the DH, but with the addition of Austin Kearns (see below), he could end up platooning there as his ineffectiveness against lefties is becoming more and more evident. He’ll also need some time to adjust to AL pitching since he’s been an NL lifer in his career. I see maybe a small overall improvement from his Houston numbers, but temper your expectations. He’s already gone 1 for 8 in hi sfirst two game sand doesn’t look comfortable at the plate just yet.
On the Astros side, they get pretty much next to nothing in this deal but the ability to get Wallace’s major league career started. Melancon is nothing more than a low end middle reliever and Paredes has utility bench player written all over him, even in Houston. Perhaps they undersold to the Yankees because they had to pony up the least amount of cash to cover Berkman’s salary.
The Cleveland Indians trade OF Austin Kearns to the New York Yankees for either a PTBNL or cash
The Yankees have been going with a mix of minor leaguers as their backup outfielders and part time DH, so Kearns, as much as I don’t like him, makes sense for them. The Yanks can do a number fo things with him as he’s been a southpaw killer for most of his time in the bigs. They can use him as a complement to Berkman who can’t hit lefties and he can even play the outfield as the Yanks have also grown tired of Curtis Granderson’s inability to hit lefties. Granderson will likely see more bench duty while Kearns plays left and Brett Gardner moves over to center. Fantasy owners that bought on Granderson have got to be disappointed right now.
The Cleveland Indians trade RHP Kerry Wood and cash to the New York Yankees for either a PTBNL or cash
Well, you knew with the team’s disappointment in Joba Chamberlain that they were going to go out and get another arm for the pen. Sadly, for Yankees fans, it ended up being Wood who has been terrible all season long. There’s an outside chance that he turns his season around, but his fantasy value plummets now that he is locked into just a set-up role. It probably goes no further than that, especially after I watched him load the bases and be forced to leave after just two-thirds of an inning during yesterday’s games. Being bailed out by Chad Gaudin isn’t exactly a resume builder.
The Cleveland Indians trade RHP Jake Westbrook and cash to the St. Louis Cardinals for San Diego Padres RHP Corey Kluber while the Cardinals trade OF Ryan Ludwick to the Padres for LHP Nick Greenwood
So a fairly decent three team deal here for fantasy owners. The move to the NL should be a positive one for Jake Westbrook and we shoudl see a decrease in his ratios while seeing an increase in his wins and strikeouts. He’s not the be-all, end-all of pitchers, but the move should help him overall. Think Brad Penny with his move to San Francisco last year. The Cards also land Greenwood, but he’s a long way off from being relevant in baseball fantasy circles.
As for the Padres, they land a solid outfielder in Ludwick, who, if he can stay healthy, should put up some decent fantasy totals. His power might get sapped a little nwo that he lands in Petco Park, but he should get the majority of the playing time and could boost your fantasy offense. It might take a few days for Bud Black to figure everything out, but I’m giving Ludwick a bump in value here.
As for the Indians side, they get a fairly decent prospect in Kluber. He’s currently in Double-A right now and actually leadign the Texas League in strikeouts, but he’s definitely got a ways to go before garnering any kind of call-up. Keep him on your radar for future seasons, but he’s got little to no value for you right now.
The Chicago Cubs trade INF Ryan Theriot, LHP Ted Lilly and cash to the Los Angeles Dodgers for INF Blake DeWitt, RHP Kyle Smit and RHP Brett Wallach
Plenty of fantasy winners in this deal as all the major leaguers involved will grab significant playing time with their new teams. Let’s start with the Dodgers who pick up a rock solid lefty in Lilly who will immediately slot into the rotation and likely take a very nice increase in fantasy value moving to the contending Dodgers and now pitching in a major pitcher’s park. His ratios have always been solid with the Cubs, so expect nothing but improvemnt here. As for Theriot, he should slot into the starting second base job in L.A. He’s not a power guy but does have decent speed and a solid glove, so he should easily be the number one option with Ronnie Belliard taking a back seat. The Dodgers had him hitting second, but that’s likely to fluctuate as Joe Torre plays around with what he’s got now.
As for the Cubs, well, atleast they got a major league ready player in return and DeWitt should slot in at second ahead of Mike Fontenot. We also know the injury concerns that come with Aramis Ramirez, so DeWitt’s versatility will likely keep him in the lineup regularly. Both Smit and Wallach are atleast a few years away from having any kind of fantasy relevance, so I wouldn’t worry about either right now.
The Pittsburgh Pirates trade RHP Octavio Dotel to the Los Angeles Dodgers for RHP James McDonald and OF Andrew Lambo
In addition to bolstering their rotation and infield, the Dodgers add some bullpen depth with Dotel. He might not be the greatest option in the world, but the Dodgers could certainly use him in case Jonathan Broxton has another meltdown. Fantasy-wise, Dotel is immediately devalued with the move and should only be considered in the deepest of leagues that count holds as a category.
On the Pirates side, McDonald could actually get a little value here as there’s a good chance he gets some starts between now and the end of the year. He was on the cusp of really cracking the Dodgers rotation, so with some fairly weak competition in the current Pirate’s rotation, McDonald could get a look as the year progresses. Lambo is minor league material with a drug suspension under his belt and is really of no concern right now.
The Kansas City Royals trade OF Rick Ankiel, RHP Kyle Farnsworth and cash to the Atlanta Braves for LHP Tim Collins, RHP Jesse Chavez and OF Gregor Blanco
The Braves get some decent outfield help here bringing in Ankiel. Fantasy-wise, if he starts regularly, his value should be about the same, although I like him in the NL over the AL for sure. What it does to the other Braves in the fantasy world is a bit different. Jason Heyward will remain the starter in right, so we can leave that alone. But between Eric Hinske, Melky Cabrera and Matt Diaz, it gets a little more cluttered. The way it seems to be unfolding is that when Ankiel is in center, Hinske should start in left against righthanders, but with a lefty on the hill, it looks like Diaz should get the start in left with Hinske moving to first to replace the struggling Troy Glaus. Hinske would seem to be the only guy whose fantasy value doesn’t change. Diaz will lose a decent amount of playing time, and Glaus should be downgraded as he gets rested a lot more often. Pitching-wise, Farnsworth just slots into the set-up corps and maybe gets a chance to close on days that Billy Wagner needs some time off.
On the Royals’ end, it’s just about stocking up for the future. Maybe Blanco gets a few spot starts in the Royals outfield if he stays up, but both Chavez and Collins aren’t worth anything. Fantasy owners need not concern themselves.
The Detroit Tigers traded OF Wilkin Ramirez to the Atlanta Braves for either a PTBNL or cash
Just a little bit of added depth for the Braves who might need Ramirez in Gwinnet if they ever call up Nate McLouth. Ramirez has no fantasy value right now and probably headed into the future. He’s really not very good.
The Atlanta Braves trade OF Mitch Jones to the Pittsburgh Pirates for cash
Hey, it was a deal at the deadline so it gets reported. On the fantasy front, you can just skip ahead to the next one…
The Washington Nationals trade INF Cristian Guzman to the Texas Rangers for RHP Ryan Tatusko and RHP Tanner Roark
With the injury to Ian Kinsler, the Rangers wanted some experience over at second as they continue to pursue a divison title and playoff berth. Guzman has immediate fantasy value in AL only leagues even if it just for a short period of time. Hitting every day in that Texas lineup can do wonders for a players stats. But once Kinsler returns, Guzman loses value immensely as he becomes a utility player the rest of the way.
The Nationals get two pitching prospects that don’t seem to fall into fantasy baseball owners plans this year. Both will continue to work in the minors and neither seems like anything you’re going to want to deal with in the future.
The Texas Rangers trade C Jarrod Saltalamacchia to the Boston Red Sox for 1B Chris McGuiness, RHP Roman Mendez, a PTBNL and cash considerations
Originally, I thought Salty was going to get himself a nice little upgrade in value moving to the injury-riddled Red Sox, but he’s already been shipped down to the minors. He’ll probably get a recall when rosters expand in September, but this is more of a move for the future. Victor Martinez is going to need a move to 1B or DH eventually and Jason Varitek isn’t going to be able to play and collect his Social Security, so the Sox could be stealing away a solid future backstop. Of course, Salty will need to learn how to stay healthy and hit consistently, but it’s a good risk for a potentially high reward.
The Rangers are just trying to replenish their farm system now that they’ve made the moves for Cliff Lee and Guzman. Neither McGuiness nor Mendez are going to have any fantasy value here.
The Boston Red Sox trade RHP Ramon Ramirez to the San Francisco Giants for RHP Daniel Turpen
The Sox weren’t happy with Ramirez’ performance lately and they were better off getting atleast something for nothing here. Turpen doesn’t project as anything more than a low-level middle reliever, but that doesn’t mean someone can’t sprinkle him with a little pixie dust and see what happens.
The Giants, however, make out very well here. I’ve actually always been a fan of Ramirez and think that the move away from Boston and into an NL pitcher-friendly park is going to help him regain some of that confidence he lost. Fantasy-wise, his value isn’t really there, but he could certainly help the starters increase their wins total by being more successful at bridging the gap to closer Brian Wilson.
The San Francisco Giants trade RHP Joe Martinez and OF John Bowker to the Pittsburgh Pirates for LHP Javier Lopez
Even more good news for the Giants’ starters as they also add a fantastic lefty specialist in Lopez. While his fantasy value is extremely limited, on a real baseball note, this could be a huge steal for the Giants who are in need of such an arm.
The Pirates get themselves another mediocre outfielder to fill up either the bench or their Triple-A team. Bowker might get, like he had with the Giants, a spot start or a pinch hitting chance if he stays with the big club, but he’s not worthy of fantasy consideration. Same really with Martinez, but he stands a better chance of cracking the Pirates rotation than Bowker does cracking the outfield.
The Arizona Diamondbacks trade RHP Chad Qualls to the Tampa Bay Rays for a PTBNL
A dump for the D-Backs and a potentially solid set-up guy for the Rays. It should be interesting to see how Qualls responds to the change of scenery, but it’s not like he’s supplanting Rafael Soriano as the team’s closer.
The Arizona Diamondbacks trade C Chris Snyder, INF Pedro Ciriaco and cash to the Pittsburgh Pirates for OF Ryan Church, INF Bobby Crosby and RHP D.J. Carrasco
A very interesting deal here and I’m curious to see how things pan out even further. The big name here, for me, is Snyder who should probably come in and start for the Piartes who have been using Jason Jaramillo and Erik Kratz while Ryan Doumit is banged up. This kills any potential fantasy value for either youngster and actually that of Doumit’s as well. Word out of the Steel City is that Doumit will serve as the back up catcher now and grab a few spot starts at first base and right field. It’s bad enough that you invested in Doumit and hi sinjury prone ways, but now he drops even further down when he’s healthy.
The Diamondbacks look like they’re adding some depth which could be a foreshadowing of a waiver deal in their future. Church will serve as a reserve outfielder for now and Crosby will back up Stephen Drew at short. But keep an eye on things to come. There could be additional developments in Arizona.
The Baltimore Orioles trade LHP Will Ohman to the Florida Marlins for RHP Rick Vandenhurk
Pretty simple and unexciting way to finish it off, but here you go. The Marlins grab some lefty bullpen help and the Orioles get a pitching prospect that is currently sitting in Triple-A. If you’re looking for fantasy relevance, then you might want to go back and re-read another passage.
So that’s where we’ve ended up right now. Obviously more things will unfold in the coming weeks — plenty of waiver trades, I’m sure along with plenty of roster juggling to be done. The fantasy fallout won’t be 100% visible for a couple of weeks while managers sort out their new rosters, but we’ll all have a better read on things soon.
Loading ...