The Arizona Diamondbacks traded veteran utilityman Martin Prado to the New York Yankees for catcher Peter O’Brien. O’Brien is listed as the Yankees’ number 9 prospect, and has slugged 33 home runs between high A and AA this year.
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The Yankees will likely use Prado in right field in place of Ichiro Suzuki on most days, or could use him as plan B at second base if Stephen Drew continues to struggle.
Fantasy wise, this is very bad for Ichiro owners. The 40 year old former All Star has just one homer and six steals this year. For a team like the Yankees, that won’t cut it. Those of you that were hanging on to Ichiro hoping for him to recapture some of his past glory (I admit, I am one of the guilty parties), you can drop him now.
Prado is hitting .270 with five homers and two steals this year. His output likely will not change much, but if he plays every day, he could see a slight boost moving into the hitters haven that is Yankee Stadium. That said, Prado’s position eligibility is far more valuable than his actual output has been this year.
Due to this, Prado is most useful in leagues with shallow benches, or deep leagues. Standard league owner can probably do better, but monitor the situation closely to see if Prado gets more or less at bats in the Bronx.
As for O’Brien, if he stays at catcher, he could be a hot commodity in the coming seasons. That kind of power behind the plate is hard to come by. That said, there are several scouts that don’t think he will stay there, especially now that he is in the Diamondbacks’ system. Miguel Montero is still young, and still hitting.
His lack of a solid position could keep him in the minors longer for a National League team, and especially for the Diamondbacks who are set at catcher and first base for many years to come. They also seem set in the outfield. That could stunt O’Brien’s progress, and ultimately make him trade bait. With such an uncertain future for him, I can’t advise adding him in any dynasty leagues at this point.
Stay tuned to FantasyCPR all day long for analysis of all of the deadline deals and their fantasy impacts!