Is your fantasy team starting to look like this?
As the real GMs of Major League Baseball go about their routine business, trading players like so many stocks on the market, fantasy baseball GMs are scrambling around, trying to recover from the fallout, and are looking to keep their squads running like fine-tuned machines. The problem is, for some, that there’s really only so much you can do to recover. Mixed-league owners have it relatively easy this time of year as they have no need to worry about cross-over deals between the AL and the NL, but if you’re an owner in an AL or NL-only league, you’ve got your work cut out for you. There’s been plenty of trading action since last we left off on the trade analysis articles, so let’s get right to it. The first few have been more or less covered, but don’t worry…the good stuff comes at the end.
Pittsburgh Pirates trade 1B Adam LaRoche to the Boston Red Sox for SS Argenis Diaz and P Hunter Strickland
This one’s pretty much old news now and if you were affected, hopefully you’ve made the necessary adjustments. The Sox give up a couple of mediocre prospects and get themselves some infield insurance as now both Kevin Youkilis and Mike Lowell can get their fair share of rest throughout the second half. A bit of a bummer for LaRoche owners as NL-only leaguers lose a decent second half guy for the rest of the year while mixed leaguers have to deal with the fact that he’s no longer a full-time player. If you own LaRoche, you’re hoping for Lowell to go down…again.
Boston Red Sox trade SS Julio Lugo and cash to the St. Louis Cardinals for 1B/OF Chris Duncan and P Jess Todd
Lugo was just excess baggage for the Sox as they had already designated him for assignment. He does, however, pick up some real nice value going to the Cardinals as he now becomes the regular second baseman and leadoff hitter. He’s already 10-25 since coming over and seems to be taking very well to his new surroundings. Skip Schumaker owners, though, are reeling. For Duncan owners, ah well, what can you do? He goes from part-time in St. Louis to no time in Boston as he was immediately sent to Triple-A with a very slim chance to come back this season. Todd? Fuhghettaboutit!
Cleveland Indians trade RP Rafael Betancourt to the Colorado Rockies for P Connor Graham
Not a major move here, but the Rockies pick up another decent bullpen guy for the stretch run. Betancourt will work as a set-up man and doesn’t really have too much in value unless of course your league counts holds. Even so, the value is minimal. Graham is a non-factor.
Oakland A’s trade OF Matt Holliday to the St. Louis Cardinals for 3B Brett Wallace, P Clay Mortensen, and OF Shane Peterson
This was a big one, crushing the dreams of AL-only leaguers while NL-only GMs were falling all over each other to get their waiver claim in. The Cards get a huge bat and some much needed protection for Albert Pujols in Holliday and the deal is already paying major dividends. The Cardinals are 4-2 since the acquisition and Holliday is 11-22 with 4 runs scored, 4 RBI and a stolen base. He was already starting to heat up in Oakland, so expect a big second half for him now. As for the A’s, they get their coveted third base prospect in Wallace, but the other two guys are nothing special. Keep Wallace on your radar for next year, but I wouldn’t expect much considering who he plays for and where he now plays.
Cleveland Indians trade 1B Ryan Garko to the San Francisco Giants for P Scott Barnes
The Giants were looking for a big bat and instead settled for a mediocre one in Garko. Not a big deal as they only gave up a Single-A prospect for him anyway. While AT&T Park is a tough place for anyone to hit for power, the right handed Garko gets a nice bump in value here. He goes from being shuffled around in Cleveland to pretty much full time duty in San Francisco. Travis Ishikawa owners are reeling, but it’s not like he was doing much to begin with. Garko is routinely a second half guy, so hopefully he’ll start to put up some decent numbers for the Giants’ and your stretch run.
Chicago White Sox trade OF Brian Anderson to the Boston Red Sox for OF Mark Kotsay and cash
An AL swap of mediocre, fourth outfielders here as Anderson, who was recently designated for assignment goes to Boston for the little-used Kotsay. On a fantasy scale it’s pretty much a lateral move for both. I don’t see either doing much in the second half and are strictly there for depth. The only way for either to gain any value is if a mad rash of injuries hits either team.
Pittsburgh Pirates trade 2B Freddy Sanchez to the San Francisco Giants for P Tim Alderson
A big coup fo rthe Giants here and a definite bump in value for the two time batting champion, Sanchez. He goes from the doldrums in Pittsburgh to being the new second baseman for a legitimate contender. Sanchez should bat second in the lineup and with Pablo Sandoval hitting third, Sanchez’ runs scored should see a nice increase. Power has never been something Sanchez has been needed for, so expect much of the same .300+ hitting you’ve seen in the past. The Giants give up a rock solid prospect in Alderson, but if they never wanted to get burned by him in th efuture, they sent him to the right place. Pittsburgh is most certainly the place where developing pitchers go to die. I’d keep an eye on him for the future, but there’s little chance he’ll find success with the garbage club he just went to.
Pittsburgh Pirates trade SS Jack Wilson and P Ian Snell to the Seattle Mariners for SS Ronny Cedeno, 1B/C Jeff Clement, and pitchers Aaron Pribanic, Brett Lorin and Nathan Adcock
The fire sale continues as the Pirates deal their longtime shortstop to the Mariners. Wilson heads to the Pacific Northwest where he’ll likely assume full time duties at short. Fantasy-wise he’s always been about average, so don’t expect any kind of increase in value. He’ll be just as mediocre in Seattle as he was in the Steel City. Snell, however, gets a bump in value and AL-only leaguers might want to take a look at him. He struggled early on and was shipped to the minors to work on his mechanics. He seemed to make the proper adjustments and could/should slot into the rotation almost immediately (or when Jarrod Washburn gets dealt). For the Pirates end, Cedeno will likely split time with Ramon Vasquez at short, cutting his value down in the NL. The pitchers are all prospects and we all know what will eventually become of them. Clement also gets a bum deal here. With no DH in the NL, Clement’s value drops even more as indicated by his immediate demotion to the minors. He’s got Ryan Doumit and Jason Jaramillo ahead of him behind the dish and he’s got Steve Pearce ahead of him at first. Something tells me we either never hear from him again or he gets dealt to some other AL club soon.
Cleveland Indians trade P Cliff Lee and OF Ben Francisco to the Philadelphia Phillies for pitchers Carlos Carrasco, Jason Knapp, IF Jason Donald, and C Lou Marson
Well here’s a big one shaking things up as the Tribe sends Cy Young winner Lee to the contending Phillies. I can still hear the groans of AL-only GMs. While it probably won’t bear the same fruits as the CC Sabathia trade to the Brewers last year, Lee gets a huge bump in value by not only moving to the National League but to an offensive juggernaut like the Phils. I see his K rate increasing while his ratios go down along with a nice boost in wins. Francisco takes a little hit in value as he is now on bench duty. He’ll fill in here and there, but unless there’s a major injury, I don’t see him getting too much PT. I really have nothing to say about the prospects coming to Cleveland. None of them were on the Blue Jays list of desired players in the Roy Halladay talks and that should pretty much say it all.
Detroit Tigers trade OF Josh Anderson to the Kansas City Royals for cash
Um. OK. Move along now. Nothing to see here. Anderson should be a back-up outfielder with a little speed for a continuously disastrous Royals squad. I’d rather have the cash.
Cruising Rumorsville
Forget the Roy Halladay rumors. I just don’t see it happening to anywhere. I think J.P. Ricciardi was using this year to guage interest and will likely move the ace pitcher in the offseason or next year when he’s actually in the last year of his contract. If you own Halladay, I wouldn’t sweat it. There’s still a chance he moves to the Dodgers, but that’s going to take some added wheeling and dealing as the Dodgers would likely have to include Jonathan Broxton while the Jays try to move Scott Downs (to Colorado, I’m hearing). If that did actually happen, then consider the rumor that the Dodgers are also interested in George Sherrill who would either close full time or split the job with Ramon Troncoso.
With all this reliever talk you also have to acknowledge that the Dodgers and Marlins have looked into the availability of Arizona closer Chad Qualls. A move to either team would likely bump his value up a bit.
The Marlins are also said to have interest in Padres closer Heath Bell. A lateral move for Bell I think, but he’d likely get a few more save opps.
Speaking of the Padres…another rumor I also wouldn’t sweat the Adrian Gonzalez to Boston deal that we keep hearing about. I think the Sox are just poking around now and with the glut of corner infielders they now have, I don’t see them making a move like this. Still, you should keep an eye on what the Padres do with their coveted slugger.
There’s plenty more, so stay tuned. A lot of talks are going on and there are a few minor moves that coul dbe happening as well. As always, stay on your toes!!
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