The past two days were extremely busy at the winter meetings, highlighted by some shocking developments. Let’s take a look at everything that happened (for my thoughts on Days 1 & 2, click here and here):
The Boston Red Sox Signed OF Carl Crawford
Talk about the rich getting richer. All indications had been that Crawford was headed out to Los Angeles before the Red Sox swooped in with a seven-year, $142 million deal. It is hard to figure exactly where Crawford fits into the lineup, though you have to figure he’ll hit either third or sixth at this point.
The bottom line is that the Red Sox lineup got so much deeper with the addition of Crawford and Adrian Gonzalez. Either way, the top six in the lineup features Crawford, Gonzalez, Jacoby Ellsbury, Dustin Pedroia, Kevin Youkilis and David Ortiz. You will be hard-pressed to find a group with that much talent and that much potential to score runs. All of their stocks went up just a little bit.
However, if Crawford does ultimately hit sixth you have to think that at least a little of his value will be lost. He needs to be hitting in front of Gonzalez, Youkilis and Ortiz, where he will be able to utilize his speed and score a significant number of runs. I have to believe the Red Sox will hit him third, but time will tell.
The Baltimore Orioles Signed P Koji Uehara
When Alfredo Simon and Michael Gonzalez went down with injuries, the Orioles turned to Uehara to close out games and he responded with flying colors. He posted a 2.86 ERA and 0.95 WHIP, showing great strikeout potential (11.25 K/9) and impeccable control (1.02 BB/9). It’s hard to imagine him maintaining those types of numbers, but given the unknown in the Orioles bullpen he will likely get an opportunity to close once again.
The strikeouts will likely fall. The walks will probably rise slightly. Still, he posted his success with a .317 BABIP, so a little more luck and the numbers would still be solid. He’ll be worth owning in all formats, though it’s hard to call him a lock to close for the entire year.
The Padres Acquired SS Jason Bartlett from the Tampa Bay Rays for P Adam Russell and P Cesar Ramos
The Rays get two bullpen arms, something they desperately needed. Both pitchers will likely fill a middle relief role, however, so don’t look for them to have much value.
Bartlett is a nice player, but his fantasy appeal is limited. He offers no power (29 career HR in 2,501 AB despite hitting 14 in ‘09 alone) and moving to San Diego, he’s going to have even less. There’s a little bit of speed there, but you are probably talking about 20 SB with little upside in runs and average. He’s a low-end option, at best, especially in what figures to be a low-powered offense.
The Phillies Signed P Dennys Reyes
The Phillies get their left-handed reliever. That’s good for them, but it is meaningless to fantasy owners.
The Royals Signed OF Melky Cabrera
Now things get interesting in Kansas City. You would have thought that they’d want to give their youngsters an opportunity, like letting Jarrod Dyson be a spark plug at the top of the order and in center field. Instead they bring in an outfielder who brings no power and no speed. Hopefully he’s going to be the fourth outfielder for the Royals and not take at-bats from someone who could be useful.
The Chicago White Sox Signed 1B Paul Konerko
His value would plummet if he left Chicago, though you have to expect a regression anyway. He posted a 19.5 percent HR/FB rate and a .326 BABIP, two numbers that could fall in 2011. He’s going to be usable for sure, but we’ll go into much more detail in the near future.
The Seattle Mariners Signed DH Jack Cust
He’s one of those potential high power, low average guys. Of course, his HR/FB has fallen for four straight years, from 31.7 percent in 2007 to 14.9 percent in 2010. If he’s not going to hit over 30 HR, he’s not going to have any value.
The Kansas City Royals Signed OF Jeff Franceour
I feel like he has been rumored to be going to the Royals for the better part of a year, but he finally landed there. He’s a streaky hitter and really doesn’t bring enough in the power, speed or average department to justify trusting him. However, when he gets hot, he has value. Hitting in the middle of the Royals lineup, he could be worth using in five-outfielder formats at times. Keep an eye on him, but don’t consider him a regular.
The Milwaukee Brewers Signed C Will Nieves
He’ll be a backup for the Brewers and as a career .227 hitter with five HR in 701 AB—you can easily forget him.
The Atlanta Braves Signed P George Sherrill
He was once a closer, but those duties will likely fall to Jonny Venters, Craig Kimbrel or a combination of the two. There’s little chance that he gets opportunities for saves, so he’s not going to have value to fantasy owners. Obviously, if something changes you’ll want to scoop him up off waivers, but for now he can be ignored.
The Cincinnati Reds Signed INF Miguel Cairo
He’s a utility infielder, meaning his value is nil.
The Los Angeles Dodgers Signed C Dioner Navarro
Navarro could share time with Rod Barajas to replace the departed Russell Martin behind the plate. There was a time that people thought Navarro could develop into a must-use option, but he’s never hit more than nine home runs in a season and sports a career .249 average. Maybe he finally puts it together, but even those in two-catcher formats can ignore him for now.
The New York Mets Signed P Boof Bonser
At this point Bonser figures to be organizational depth and nothing else. He’s not worth worrying about.
The Arizona Diamondbacks Signed P Mike Hampton
Remember when he actually was fantasy viable? Not anymore.
The Seattle Mariners Signed C Miguel Olivo
He certainly has power, consistently posting a HR/FB of 12 percent, leading to 12-16 HR a season (outside of his 23 HR breakout in 2009). He’s not going to hit for an extremely high average, though then again most catchers aren’t going to. Considering he figures to get regular at-bats (the only other option they have is Adam Moore right now), who should be worth considering in two-catcher formats. As far as where he sits in the rankings, we’ll address that soon enough.
The Baltimore Orioles Acquired SS J.J. Hardy and INF Brendan Harris from the Minnesota Twins for P Brett Jacobson and P Jim Hoey
Hardy’s one and only season in Minnesota did not go as planned, hitting .268 with six HR and 38 RBI. He still holds significant upside, as it wasn’t long ago that he hit 50 HR over two seasons with the Brewers. As a late-round flier, he’s well worth the risk. It certainly wouldn’t be a surprise to see him hit in the 18-HR range.
It appears that the Twins are prepared to hand everyday at-bats to Alexi Casilla. He has some speed, but no power and likely is only going to hold value in the deepest of formats.
The Houston Astros Signed P Ryan Rowland-Smith
He’ll likely battle for the fifth starters spot, but with a career 5.46 K/9, he’s not going to hold much value.
What are your thoughts on these moves? Who is the biggest winner? Who are you now targeting?
Make sure to check out our early 2011 rankings:
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