Will Marcel Ozuna match his 2017 production in St. Louis?
There have been several baseball trades this winter that could impact fantasy line-ups in 2018. Here is a list of the players who has been traded thus far and how these trades could impact their fantasy value in 2018.
Seattle Mariners get 1B/3B Ryon Healy
Oakland A’s get RP Emilio Pagan and SS Alexander Campos
Fantasy Impact: Healy’s value shouldn’t take much of a hit going from the Oakland Coliseum to Petco Park. Healy did most of his damage on the road last season and I expect the same this season. He is still a 25-30 home run player but expect plenty of strikeouts as well.
Seattle Mariners get 2B Dee Gordon and international pool money
Miami Marlins get SPs Robert Dugger and Nick Neidert and SS Christopher Torres
Fantasy Impact: I have concerns as to whether or not Gordon can transition to the outfield but I still think he can swipe 50 plus bags and hit .275-.300. Gordon will set the table for what should be a good Mariners line up.
New York Yankees get OF Giancarlo Stanton
New York Yankees get OF Jabari Blash
Fantasy Impact: Headley may get moved again before the season starts. Petco Park ruins any fantasy value he had. Headley had a nice season for the Yankess in 2017 but he is not longer a power bat. Headley has essentially become a gap, line to line hitter so he will hit for average but not much power. He is a bench piece at best these days.
Los Angeles Angels get 2B Ian Kinsler
Detroit Tigers get OF Troy Montgomery and SP Wilkel Hernandez
Fantasy Impact: Kinsler will have the opportunity to lead off again. That means he can still hit for power but also swipe more bags playing for Mike Scioscia. Scioscia plays a National League brand of baseball which should enhance Kisler’s value.
Oakland Athletics get OF Stephen Piscotty
St. Louis Cardinals get SS Yairo Muñoz and 2B Max Schrock
Fantasy Impact: Piscotty will get more at bats but he will still sit versus righties on most nights. Limited value here. At best, you draft Piscotty late as a reserve outfielder depending on your bench spots.
St. Louis Cardinals get OF Marcell Ozuna
Miami Marlins get RP Sandy Alcantara, OF Magneuris Sierra and SPs Daniel Castano and Zac Gallen
Fantasy Impact: Ozuna hit .312 with 37 home runs and 124 RBI last season in what was a career year. Will he put up those kind of numbers in 2018? Probably not but he is still a safe bet to hit 30 home runs and drive in between 100 to 110 runs. Playing in front of Giancarlo Stanton helped in Miami. It will be interesting to see if he gets more pitches to hit now. Either way, Ozuna is a terrific middle round value and an everyday producer in your line up.
San Diego Padres get SS Freddy Galvis
Philadelphia Phillies get SP Enyel De Los Santos
Fantasy Impact: Galvis is a terrific glove in the field but don’t expect a ton from him offensively in 2018. He hit 12 home runs and drove in 61 runs last season for the Phillies but most of that production was at hitter friendly Citizens Bank Park. Galvis will struggle to replicate those numbers playing 81 games in cavernous Petco Park.
Texas Rangers get SP Matt Moore and future considerations
San Francisco Giants get RPs Sam Wolff and Israel Cruz
Fantasy Impact: Moore went from a pitcher you could draft in the later rounds of your draft to a weekly streaming option at best. He is going from pitcher friendly AT&T Park to hitter friendly Globe Life Park. It is not a good move for a lefty who relies on deception and keeping the ball down in the strike zone in order to be effective.
Los Angeles Dodgers get OF Matt Kemp
Atlanta Braves get 1B Adrian Gonzalez, SPs Scott Kazmir and Brandon McCarthy, SS Charlie Culberson and cash
Fantasy Impact:
San Francisco Giants get 3B Evan Longoria and cash
Tampa Bay Rays get OF Denard Span, 3B Christian Arroyo and SPs Stephen Woods and Matt Krook
Fantasy Impact: Longoria needed a change of scenery. After a good start in 2017, he tailed off big time in August and September. Unfortunately for fantasy owners, I am not sure a trade to the Giants and pitcher friendly AT&T Park is what Longoria needed. Could Longo hit 25 home runs and drive in 90 again? Sure. However it is highly unlikely in San Francisco. Longoria won’t have the protection he had last season and the park will limit his power potential.
Toronto Blue Jays get 2B/SS/3B Yangervis Solarte
San Diego Padres get OF Edward Olivares and RP Jared Carkuff
Fantasy Impact: I love this trade for the Blue Jays and for fantasy owners alike. The versatile Solarte can play multiple positions, he can hit for power and he will play 81 games at hitter friendly Rogers Centre. Factor in that Solarte will have plenty of protection in the Jays line up and Solarte is a worthy late round flyer candidate.
(2017 stat links courtesy of espn.com)