Ryan Ludwick was traded from the Padres to the Pirates on Sunday. Once you get past the surprise that the Buccos were buyers, there are another three levels of analysis to go, at least. The prognosis for the player is not incredibly predictable.

The easy answer is that Ludwick will enjoy moving out of PetCo. Since moving to the Padres at last year’s deadline, Ludwick has enjoyed the worst ISO of his career. The drop, about fifty points, could be attributable to the home park. ESPN’s park factors have San Diego as suppressing home runs by 11.5% over the past two years. On first blush, this easy analysis makes sense.

But there are more than a few problems with this idea.

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Now that the trade deadline dust has settled, let’s look at a pair of players with rising fantasy stock following moves that were made (and not made)…

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It may not seem like it, but even the most minor MLB trade can have an impact on your fantasy season. While your fantasy outlook shouldn’t change on guys like Ubaldo Jimenez, Michael Bourn or Hunter Pence; value can be found in lesser deals — where players are given new opportunities at playing time. Two recently traded players that may fit that description are Brandon Allen and Jerry Hairston Jr. Will they play a significant role in the last few weeks of your fantasy season?
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Today marks the first day of a new feature we will be trying out here at RotoGraphs. In an attempt to keep you, the fantastical reader, informed, we will be looking at some of the stories around baseball that have an effect on your fantasy team. Because this piece is ultimately being read by you, your opinion is requested. Please chime in using the comments and let us know what you would like to see from this piece.

After a wild trade deadline, the Rangers now have Neftali Feliz, Mike Adams, and Koji Uehara in the back of their bullpen. This trade has a few fantasy storylines, so let’s make it more digestible:

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