We have already seen a number of deals this month involving teams playing for the future vs. teams looking to solidify their run for the pennant this year. With a few days left before Wednesday's trading deadline, there still are lots of rumors running rampant.
There are two ways to look at deadline deals and how they affect your fantasy squad. The most obvious is if your player is the one directly involved in the deal. How does that player's new found team affect his playing time, statistics, etc.?
For example, if you had recently dealt Matt Garza, you would be looking at how his trade to Texas affected his value. Do you feel he went up or down or perhaps stayed pretty much the same? In a case like Garza, I think his stock in wins may have jumped a little whereas he might take a small hit in ERA and WHIP since he is joining the American League. From there you can assess what he means to your ball club. If you were one of those teams playing for the future yourself, perhaps this solidifies his standing more and you are now able to deal him to a contender in your league. If you are one of the lucky ones eyeing a fantasy league pennant, he becomes a more entrenched member of your rotation.
These are the easy ones to digest. However, pennants are won and lost on seeing a little deeper into trades to get a sense of where some of the other players affected in the deal may end up on the roster. When I say "affected", I mean both other guys involved in the deal as well as guys left on the respective rosters.
There is a ripple affect with any deal. Closers and set-up guys is where you see some of the most immediate impacts. Kevin Gregg is being rumored to be another one of the guys Theo Epstein and Jed Hoyer discard in this month of rebuilding that has happened on the north side of Chicago. Not only do you want to look at Gregg's worth with his new team, but also what happens to guys that are setting up for him? Strop, Parker and Jeff Russell would all be in the mix possibly for saves at that point. Especially if you are playing for next year, you may want to take a flyer on one of those guys anticipating a possible deal.
I have been able to grab some of the guys that suddenly have new found roles and more playing time as a result of deals. Not the guys directly involved but the guys left behind. Many times these are the guys that go unnoticed (or not as highlighted) that you can grab that can be a solid guy in your lineup for the next year and beyond.
If your league allows for in season minor league pickups, this process can get even more intriguing. Taking a chance on a minor leaguer who's new team has an upgraded future role, can have a have impact in how you look at some of these deals, as well.
Do look at these trades on the surface to see how the main players get affected based on their new environments, but pay special attention to the guys left behind. Those are the spots where you can find some gems left behind that can help your team, not only the rest of the year but into next, as well.
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