Danny Valencia & Chris Parmelee: Deep League Wire

It’s another truly deep dive in this week’s waiver wire adventure. Since I’ve been asked several times, the deep league edition of the weekly waiver wire is typically meant for Mono league owners. Or perhaps if you play in a 20-team mixed league, you could use these recommendations as well.

Danny Valencia | 3B KC | CBS 1 % Owned

Making a move for Valencia is essentially betting on the Royals demoting the struggling Mike Moustakas. Just a couple of days ago, it was reported that the team was considering taking such action…

The Royals are debating multiple scenarios for adding a reliever. One involves sending Mike Moustakas to Omaha. A decision comes Tuesday.

— Andy McCullough (@McCulloughStar) May 11, 2014

It’s late Tuesday as I type this and no such move has been made. The team did make a roster move placing Omar Infante on the DL, but instead of calling up a reliever, they purchased the contract of infielder Pedro Ciriaco. It would seem that this still doesn’t rule out the team demoting Moustakas. Although he’s shown some signs of progress, he’s sporting a sub-.300 wOBA for the second straight season and you can’t blame the Royals for running out of patience.

Valencia has already turned Moustakas into a platoon player so at the very least, he’ll get at bats versus left-handers and probably produce. He could even get some additional looks at second base while Infante is on the shelf. Valencia is already 29 though, so he’s no prospect and is far from a high upside bat. But he’s made decent enough contact throughout his career and has a bit of pop. You’re not picking him up because you think he’ll be awesome, you’re picking him up because you think there’s a very real chance that at this time next week, he’s a full-time player. And if you play in a Mono league, you know how rare it is to find a full-time treasure available on free agency. It just doesn’t happen. At-bats are king and Valencia therefore represents an excellent speculation and deserves a preemptive bid before everyone knows what is happening.

Chris Parmelee | 1B/OF MIN | 1% Owned

The Twins outfielders have spent more time in the doctor’s office than on the field this season. While that has left me a frustrated Oswaldo Arcia owner, it has also given Chris Parmelee an opportunity to get the call back to the big club for yet another chance. Parmelee was at one time a pretty good prospect. But he’s already 26, owns a sub-.300 wOBA versus southpaws and has posted rather pedestrian numbers in what has amounted to a full season of work. Of course, that’s why he’s just a deep league option at this point.

At the moment, the Twins don’t have a lot of solid options to trot out while their starters are still healing. There is still no timetable on the returns of both Arcia and Josh Willingham, so it’s possible that if Parmelee hits, he could enjoy an extended stay. He displayed excellent power during his time at Triple-A before his call-up, while making above average contact and walking at a good clip. With an opportunity for playing time and some pop in his bat, he could deliver some value to those bitten by the injury bug…like me.