Trade Deadline Fantasy Omnibus

So many trades did happen, and yet it seems so little was accomplished. We’ll have more in-depth analysis as the days go forward, but I thought I’d do a quick touch on all the trades that have been confirmed so far. There were fantasy implications.

Rangers get Jonathan Lucroy, Jeremy Jeffress
The catcher goes from a great park and a meh lineup to a great park and a good lineup, so his fortunes are up a bit. He’ll have to adjust to a new pitching staff and facing a new league, though, so it may hurt him a bit. Jeffress has great velocity, but he hasn’t actually turned it into a ton of Ks and incumbent closer Sam Dyson has a really high floor with that awesome sinker. Jeffress is a decent guy to keep around in case things change, but I’m guessing Dyson stays in charge. Tyler Thornburg is an instant pickup, he should close in Milwaukee.

Blue Jays get Francisco Liriano for Drew Hutchison
Ouch for Liriano, who was nigh unusable anyway. Hutchison may not slot right in, since the Pirates have Ivan Nova to pitch, too, but that team has been trying to get Hutch for a couple years now. I’d be excited for his future, and would try to reserve him in AL-onlies if that is possible.

Mets get Jay Bruce for Dilson Herrera and more
Dilson Herrera slots ahead of Alex Blandino as the second baseman of the future for the Reds, so that’s good news for his long-term value. Bruce can hit anywhere, I wouldn’t take much from his value. There’s now a Curtis Granderson / Michael Conforto center field situation, which is weird, but maybe Conforto can do it. I still love that kid.

Giants get Matt Moore for Matt Duffy and more
Moore’s biggest problem has been the home run, so I do think this was a good move for him. Read more about how I think Moore’s stuff is back. He’s an immediate pickup in K/9 leagues of any size, and a decent pickup in traditional leagues if you’re looking for strikeouts from your starter. Duffy loses some positional value, as he probably goes to first base, unless Logan Forsythe moves to the outfield. Otherwise, mostly a lateral move for him.

Cubs get Joe Smith
Cam Bedrosian becomes more interesting as Huston Street implodes.

Twins get Hector Santiago for Ricky Nolasco and Alex Meyer
Eh for the starters, but Meyer may get a chance to start again, and has interesting stuff.

Pirates get Ivan Nova for two PTBNL
Makes Nova a better AL-Only asset in those leagues where you can still get his stats. Obvious NL-Only pickup is still a pitch away from mixed league relevance, but at least he’s got the right pitching coach working with him now.

Rangers get Carlos Beltran for Dillon Tate and others
Watch for more on Tate from Eric Longenhagen, who said in the chat today that teams were considering him for first overall in the draft his year, but has also regressed since. Beltran’s value a bit up.

Indians get Brandon Guyer
He ain’t Lucroy, but he kills lefties and should slide into a platoon with either Lonnie Chisenhall in the outfield or Carlos Santana at DH or both. The team dropped Juan Uribe in the midst of making the deal, so Jose Ramirez is now a full time third baseman with eligibilities all over the diamond. He’s a mixed leaguer at short, probably.

Tyler Clippard goes to the Yankees
Mark Melancon goes to the Nationals
Andrew Miller goes to the Indians
So Jake Barrett is a new closer there in Arizona. Watch his walk rate. If I had to rank the pickups in the pen, I might go with: Tony Watson (announced in the wake of the Mark Melancon deal), Barrett, Tyler Thornburg, and Kelvin Herrera. Obviously Herrera is first or second based on talent, but we still don’t know how long Wade Davis will be out. I think Cody Allen keeps his job because the Indians don’t have another lefty.