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A familiar face – 3B Manny Machado – in his new uni for the Los Angeles Dodgers. Many players traded places leading up to the MLB Trade Deadline. Rick gives us the fantasy impact of the key deals.

Holy that was a busy MLB trade deadline!

There were too many names traded to even try to cover them all. With every player going to a contender, a vacancy is created for a new player on a non-contending team and sometimes a player is blocked on the contending team with their new addition.

I do not intend to bother with trades like Zach Duke for Chase De Jong and Ryan Costello because the deal is too insignificant compared to the many bigger deals that went down. As the dust is settling, let’s see how the fantasy baseball landscape has changed as a result of the MLB trade deadline.

MLB Trade Deadline Deals

Manny Machado to the Dodgers

The biggest trade of all went down two weeks ago when Los Angeles Dodgers traded for Manny Machado. This guy will help any team’s offense, but his overall production could take a little bit of a dip going from the Baltimore Orioles bandbox to the pitcher’s haven at Chavez Ravine. But this guy is a stud and he will still put up good numbers anywhere.

Roberto Osuna to the Astros

Houston and Toronto traded closers with a bit of a tarnish. Houston grabbed Roberto Osuna right before he comes off suspension. The Astros are taking a bit of a public relations hit by adding a guy who was suspended for domestic abuse, but that won’t have any effect on your fantasy team. He is a relief ace and well worth adding if you can get him.

In return, Toronto acquired Ken Giles who was a darling closer before a mental meltdown lead him to a demotion to triple-A. The Blue Jays say he is going to be their closer as soon as he is promoted but unless your fantasy league collects points from minor league players, you are left to wait until Giles is promoted to Toronto to capitalize on that promise.

Asdrubal Cabrera to Phillies

In moving to Philadelphia, Asdrubal Cabrera’s value will remain stable, with maybe a few more runs scored. The most important value for Cabrera is that he is likely to pick up shortstop eligibility with the Phillies.

J.A. Happ and Lance Lynn to the Yankees

The Yanks added two starters to their starting rotation in different deals. Pitchers either thrive or wither when they end up in New York and I would bet on Happ to thrive. Count on wins and K’s as this veteran has pitched in the Big Apple many times as a visitor and should fit in quite nicely.

As for Lynn, there is no telling how he will do. He has had an off year and the unforgiving Bleacher Creatures might not take too well to him if he struggles out of the gate.

Zach Britton to New York Yankees, Jeurys Familia to Oakland, Brad Hand to Cleveland, Brad Brach to Atlanta, Keone Kela to Pittsburgh and Joakim Soria to Milwaukee

All six are out of their closer roles and into setup roles with their new teams. Their stats should remain steady except they will be trading their saves for holds.

Francisco Mejia to Padres

Mejia is a top-10 prospect and is the real deal. He’s an excellent contact hitter, developing power and will be an impact player. The San Diego Padres did very well here and have their catcher of the future for a couple of relievers that wouldn’t help a losing team win.

Mike Moustakas to Brewers

This was looking like a very solid move as the Milwaukee Brewers were adding a power bat to their lineup, but the move displaced Travis Shaw off of 3B to 2B, adding to his position flexibility. But then the Brewers made another deal…

Jonathan Schoop to Brewers

If Schoop plays his usual 2B, then a big logjam has blocked the Milwaukee River since the outfield and 1B are stacked up already. But Schoop could play shortstop, which is an offensive upgrade for the Brewers. I’m a big fan of Luis Ortiz, who was the most intriguing player going to Baltimore in the deal.

Chris Archer to Pirates

Archer is in desperate need of new scenery. I think a better team will inspire him to find his true self. The Pittsburgh Pirates had to send Austin Meadows to Tampa in the deal. The Pirates didn’t have room in their outfield for Meadows right now, but he will be a real asset for the Rays over time. A fair deal for both teams that should lead to an acceleration in production for both big names in the deal.

Wilson Ramos to Phillies

Ramos was having a good season for the Rays. Philadelphia couldn’t get consistency from their catchers so they had to spend on a backstop that will hopefully help them win a division crown. Ramos might see a slight uptick in RBI, but the other stats should remain steady.

Tommy Pham to Rays

I don’t get the Rays motivation here. Pham played well above his abilities in 2017 and this season was saw him come back down to earth. With the trade of Ramos, Archer and several other pitchers, the acquisition of a 30-year old who is not as good as his previous season makes me scratch my head. At any rate, don’t look for Pham to channel his 2017 season ever again.

Ian Kinsler to Red Sox

Kinsler is showing his age. Going to Boston won’t do a lot for his stats, since most of his good stuff is all used up. I would expect him to continue to struggle through this season even in a different uniform on a top team.

Cole Hamels to Cubs

Hamels is always a gamer. He’ll give you his best stuff, even if his best days are behind him… which they are. He’s still serviceable, but not spectacular any longer. He ought to give you slightly better ratios playing in the NL and more wins with a better offense, but this is not vintage Cole Hamels.

Eduardo Escobar to Diamondbacks

Escobar was hitting well for Minnesota Twins and gets the chance to do the same in Arizona because Jake Lamb couldn’t. I think the humidor will have minimum effects on Escobar’s value. Expect similar or slightly better numbers for Escobar in the desert.

Brian Dozier to Dodgers

Dozier is having a down year by his standards. There is no telling what the Dodgers just bought, but they are hoping to surround him with talent and re-ignite his power output. Dozier will get the bulk of the starts but will likely have to do a time-share.

Kevin Gausman to Braves

Atlanta Braves grabbed a lottery ticket for a handful of prospects. Gausman has great potential and frustratingly inconsistent results to show for his MLB time. He could become a stud or he might end up making fantasy owners continue pulling out their hair.

As I said off the top – that was a very active MLB trade deadline! None of this discussion mentions opportunities created by the trade for the vacancies. I hope to address this in the near future to see who was moved in each trade and see which player benefitted due to the newly created opening.

Baltimore Orioles Zach Britton hopes to return from the 60-day DL in late May. Does he need the Orioles to trade him to a contender to make him one of the top fantasy baseball closers again?

The first week of May is in the books and what a May so far. We had a team no-hitter by the Los Angeles Dodgers using four pitchers versus the San Diego Padres in Monterrey, Mexico. That was the first ever MLB no-hitter thrown outside the U.S. or Canada. Albert Pujols recorded the 3,000th hit of his career. Coincidentally, those events both happened on the same day.

Then James Paxton of the Seattle Mariners, a Canadian, threw a no-no on his homeland turf at Rogers Centre against the Toronto Blue Jays. With these non-U.S. no-hitters, maybe the Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees shouldn’t play two games in London, England next season.

Speaking of the team many think will represent the American League in the World Series, the Yankees flexed their muscle to the tune of winning nine of their last ten games and 17 of 18. That is… pretty good.

In fantasy baseball closers news, things are active on that front too. An elite closer could be returning from the DL soon to potentially be a big trade chip at the deadline or sooner.

Baltimore Orioles

Who is it, Brad Brach or Darren O’Day? Brach picked up a save against the Kansas City Royals Wednesday night to push his season total to four. O’Day has two saves on the season. Who is “the guy” for the Orioles?

Two things come to mind when looking at this situation. First, if Brach and O’Day are a team’s closers and they combine for six saves, the team isn’t very good. Thank you Captain Obvious.

Second, it’s a moot point when Zach Britton comes back at the end of May (he’s hopeful), as he should slot right back into his closer role. But will Britton even be around in June? The Orioles are quickly approaching sell-off mode, which was anticipated with their pending free agents and aging roster, if they aren’t competitive.

Holding on to Brach and O’Day could be worth it if Britton gets dealt. If you drafted Britton in the late rounds and stashed him, your patience may be rewarded soon whether he stays with the O’s or (hopefully for Britton owners like yours truly), is traded to a contender.

Milwaukee Brewers

Corey Knebel was activated this week after about a month stay on the DL. During his time on the shelf, Josh Hader really solidified himself as, at the very least, a lock down set up man. Hader has five saves and an unbelievable 46 strikeouts in 22 innings while also sporting an unheard of 0.50 WHIP. Hader is the real deal.

However, Knebel in 2017 had 39 saves and 126 strikeouts in 76 innings of work. According to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, manager Craig Counsel stated that Knebel won’t have a defined role, at least at first, when he comes back.

If I’m Craig Counsel, then I love this, even if Knebel is less than thrilled. No one likes losing their starting spot due to injury but unfortunately it happens. The Brewers have potentially two solid closer types who can not only flip-flop roles, but can get the big strikeout when you need it.

From a fantasy standpoint though, it’s a bear. Hader was on a roll in Knebel’s absence and one of the top pitching prospects in the Brewers organization. Knebel is making over $3 million a year while Hader is a little over $550k. The Brewers may decide that having that money invested in Knebel gives him the upper hand in retaining the closer role.

Bottom line, if you have one of the two, you may want to consider trading for the other one given the current uncertainty about who will be the primary closer (if there is one). Both are valuable, so hold either for the time being.

Toronto Blue Jays

Usually, I try to gear this article towards a little humor while offering fantasy baseball advice. The situation in Toronto with closer Roberto Osuna is not the least bit humorous.

According to CBC, Osuna was arrested Tuesday morning for assaulting his girlfriend and was immediately put on administrative leave by Major League Baseball. Osuna is not allowed to be around the team during his suspension.

Manager John Gibbons stated that he would go with a closer by committee approach. If I had to guess, I would say John Axford would be the main 9th inning guy for the Blue Jays. Although on Wednesday Axford appeared in the 7th of a tie ball game, Ryan Tepera pitched the 8th and Tyler Clippard the 9th, earning the save, striking out two and giving up one hit.

Extra Innings

The Minnesota Twins placed Miguel Sano on the DL, again. This time, the offensive production that they missed in the past isn’t missing this time around. Eduardo Escobar is more than handling his own at third base. If Sano wasn’t so young and had so much potential, I’d really look at trading him for pitching. Maybe even to the Brewers?

Clayton Kershaw is on his annual trip to the DL. This time it’s much earlier in the season. The good news is it isn’t his back. The bad news is the Dodgers are in a tail spin and losing Kershaw for an extended period of time won’t make it any easier for their club, or the highly drafted ace for your fantasy team, to turn things around.

Reminder – Mother’s Day is Sunday. Take her to a ball game! If that isn’t going to fly, then at least buy her a card, give her a call or FaceTime her, and absolutely make sure you tell her you love her. Until next week.

Fantasy Impact from MLB Trade Deadline Deals – Machado, Osuna, Archer