Trades Affect Fantasy Baseball

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By Jonathan Wachs
Inspin.com Contributing Writer

Now that the smoke has cleared with the trading deadline having passed, let’s take a look at how the landscape may have changed for fantasy baseball.

SAVE ME
If you have Francisco Cordero on your fantasy team, you are very happy. After a terrible April in which he lost his closer job to Akinori Otsuka, Cordero has been very effective. His ERA is under 3.00 since the end of April, and he is back closing now that he has been traded to the Brewers. Assuming he keeps it up, Cordero will be gobbling up saves and Derrick Turnbow will have limited value.

With the trade of Mike MacDougal to the White Sox, Ambiorix Burgos gets the closer role back for the Royals. While he has a high ERA, the fact of the matter is that Burgos has saved 16 of the Royals’ 37 victories.

Fausto Carmona took over the Indians closer job after they traded Bob Wickman, but he has had two bad outings in a row, including a recent heartbreaking loss to the Red Sox on David Ortiz’s walkoff homer. While the Indians love his stuff, keep an eye out here for an opportunity. It is possible Rafael Betancourt could steal a few saves while Carmona gets his bearings back.

CHANGE OF SCENE
While Greg Maddux is clearly on the tail end of his career, the trade to the Dodgers will boost his fantasy value a bit. He is now pitching in a pitcher’s park, has much better infield defense behind him and is playing for a team that has some playoff hopes.

Carlos Lee, who tailed off considerably the second half of last year, can now enjoy a less strenuous job as DH of the Rangers, which should ensure he holds up better in 2006. Add to that joining a better lineup, a great hitter’s park and a lineup with Michael Young and Gary Matthews Jr. batting in front of him, and Lee owners should benefit greatly.

Bobby Abreu has been beaten up a bit in the press for his lack of desire and loss of power, but look for him to try and prove his doubters wrong now that he joins the Yankees' powerful lineup. He figures to have more RBI numbers as he joins the .OBP factory the Yankees put out every night, and Yankee Stadium's short right-field porch might help him rediscover some of his power.

OPPORTUNITY KNOCKS
Ryan Shealy, who had been blocked by Todd Helton in Colorado, will get his shot with Kansas City. Shealy hit 14 homers in Triple-A with a .559 slugging percentage and showed patience, meaning he projects to make an immediate impact.

David Dellucci, who has complained about his playing time in Philadelphia, will benefit from the Abreu trade. This is a guy who hit 29 homers last year with Texas and has a .949 OPS in limited duty this year. Playing in a hitter’s ballpark and motivated to finally get a chance, expect Dellucci to put up big numbers in the final two months.

If you are in an NL-only league, you need to look at Mets prospect Lastings Milledge. Although he has some maturity issues, Milledge should get the majority of playing time in right now that the Mets have traded Xavier Nady. Milledge has power and speed and will most likely show flashes more than consistency, but he’s worth a flyer.

STILL COULD GO
Even though the deadline has passed, a few players who clear waivers could still be traded. Livan Hernandez, Rodrigo Lopez, Ramon Ortiz, Tony Armas Jr., Jeromy Burnitz, Joe Randa and Jon Lieber are among those who still could be traded.