Ottoneu Position Eligibility Changes – The Losers

Calling them the losers is kind of mean, isn’t it? These players are not losers. But they did lose position eligibility and so the word is pretty apt. I hope they don’t mind.

Yesterday we covered everyone who gained positional eligibility in Ottoneu this year and today we’ll look at the opposite: players who had eligibility from the 2023 season that carried over into 2024 but won’t be kept for 2025.

The example we looked at yesterday, works well here, too:

As an example of how this can play out, look at Michael Busch. He came into 2024 with 2B/3B eligibility, thanks to his time with the Dodgers in 2023. Having moved to the Midwest, Busch became the Cubs regular 1B, making 130 starts (and 12 more appearances) at that spot. He also made three starts at 2B and one appearance each at 3B and OF, but 1B was his spot. As a result, by April 3, he had added 1B eligibility and could be used at 1B, 2B or 3B. But because he didn’t re-up those other infield spots, he is now only eligible at 1B.

Again, at the bottom of the article will be tables with every player rostered in at least 5% of leagues who lost eligibility. There is one table each for lost MI, CI, OF, and C eligibility, which means a player can appear on multiple tables. Busch, for example, will appear on both the CI and MI tables.

Some notable changes:

• Might as well start with Busch. Busch had a breakout season with a 119 wRC+. Only 15 players are 2B-eligible, got 200+ PA, and posted a P/G better than Busch’s 4.51. Only seven had a better wRC+ than he did. If he were still 2B eligible, he would be a solid MI play and maybe more if his PA/G increased. At 1B, he is 27th in P/G among players with 200+ PA. I don’t see him having much value as a 1B-only next year.
• Justin Turner lost both 2B and 3B, as well. His production was even worse than Busch’s.
• Isaac Paredes felt like a lock to be high-value even as a 3B, but his new park doesn’t suit his swing and it showed. Having lost 2B eligibility, his floor is a bit lower.
• Jackson Merrill lost SS and while that feels like a big deal, he’ll play just fine in the OF.
• Spencer Steer is going to be a tough one for me this off-season. He hits enough to have value in the OF, but his value was so high with 2B/3B in the mix, and it will be a bit lower now. OF is shallow enough that the drop from 2B to OF isn’t giant, but it isn’t zero either.
• Matt McLain, Jordan Lawlar, Ronny Mauricio and Endy Rodriguez all lost eligibility due to missed time, but all four should earn eligibility back next year. You might be stuck with them as util only for five games (Mauricio could be longer if he is moving around the diamond, which seems likely), but you should value them based on what eligibility you expect them to get.
• Masataka Yoshida, Joc Pederson, Giancarlo Stanton, Andrew McCutchen and Eloy Jimenez, however, lost eligibility to not being in the field at all and you probably need to assume these guys are all designated hitters and therefore util-only moving forward. If we get news in the offseason that one or more of them is destined for an OF job, you can change that assumption.
• You shouldn’t really miss 3B eligibility for Gunnar Henderson, but you want to be aware of it. Henderson is more valuable at SS, but if you had a stacked MI, entered in Ottoneu Prestige League, or found yourself needing to fill games at 3B, his flexibility had value. It is gone now.
• Juan Yepez had a really nice season and has been on my radar (and some rosters) as a solid bench bat to plug into the OF. He became a must-start vs. LHP and a guy I would happily start vs. RHP. As a 1B-only, I am not sure I see a ton of value any more.