What is the fantasy impact of Darwin Barney's trade to the Dodgers?

The Chicago Cubs have traded Darwin Barney to the Dodgers for a player to be named.

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This comes after Barney was designated for assignment by the Cubs last week.

Barney moving to L.A. likely will have little fantasy impact. Barney’s .230 average with two homers and 16 RBI didn’t have him owned in many leagues to begin with.

He will likely take on the role of a utility player with Dee Gordon blocking any consistent playing time for Barney at second base. He is likely an insurance policy for Juan Uribe at third base. Can Uribe really continue to hit over .300?

No, the more intriguing part of this deal is the Cubs clearing room in the infield. Reading between the lines, this sure looks like they want to give at least one of their top prospects a shot before the season is over.

Emilio Bonifacio came off of the disabled list in the corresponding move, and will likely resume his third base duties.

This does however clear an everyday role for Arismendy Alcantara at second base. Alcantara has fared pretty well in his time in the majors so far, hitting .258 with two homers and four steals.

Since Alcantara was seeing starts nearly every day anyway, I find them giving away Barney an interesting move. This may mean that either Javier Baez or Kris Bryant could be headed for Chicago before too long.

Cubs fans and fantasy owners alike sure hope so. I know I’m not the only one that has been holding Bryant and Baez in hopes that they will see action this year.

Alcantara is a guy that should be picked up in most leagues. In fact, he could even be of use to those of you in standard leagues that need a speed boost.

Barney should be dropped everywhere, even in deep leagues. He simply won’t see enough at bats with the Dodgers to be relevant.

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What is the fantasy impact of Darwin Barney’s trade to the Dodgers?

By Mike Marteny | Jul 30, 2014