Jul 20, 2015; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia Phillies relief pitcher
Jonathan Papelbon(58) runs onto the field to pitch the ninth inning against the Tampa Bay Rays at Citizens Bank Park. The Phillies won 5-3. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports
The baseball trade deadline is one of the more entertaining and interesting events every year. With the deadline being on Friday, we have already seen some teams make huge and surprising moves already. Some of the more fantasy relevant moves however, are the ones that shake up bullpens.
Cards get Steve Cishek
The first real relief domino to fall so to speak, was Steve Cishek being shipped to the Cardinals. Cishek’s year has been a disaster as he has went from under the radar closer option, to a must drop this season. While he has shown some signs of life and improvement lately, over his last 18 appearances he has only given up 2 ER, I do not think he holds much value outside of fantasy leagues that reward holds.
I am a believer that the Cards did their due diligence and can fix what has plagued Cishek going forward. I would advise fantasy owners who may be in search of a holds guy to wait and see when or if the Cards use Cishek in higher leverage situations. If they do not put him in that role I think we can continue to ignore him going forward.
Tyler Clippard to the Mets
In what appears to be one of the better moves so far, the Mets fortified their bullpen by acquiring Tyler Clippard from the A’s. Outside of their lineup, the Metropolitans desperately needed help for their bullpen and they did just that by acquiring one of the premier relievers in baseball.
From a fantasy perspective Clippard takes a hit value wise since he will not get the regular save chances that he would have in Oakland. However, with the current struggles of Jeurys Familia and the 162 game suspension of Jenrry Mejia, Clippard could very well find himself vulturing some saves.
Those in holds leagues, keeping Clippard should be a no brainer, the Mets have premier starting pitching which should offer plenty of late game opportunities. For those in non holds leagues, I still think that Clippard holds value. His splits on the year are very fantasy friendly, 2.79 ERA and 8.8 SO/9.
Jonathan Papelbon shipped to the Nationals
Adding bullpen arms is always a heady move at the deadline, and the Nats decided to do just that by making a move for Papelbon. What is perplexing about this deal, is that Papelbon will come in and take uproot the very effective Drew Storen. Storen clearly takes the biggest fantasy hit value wise, as he will delegated to set-up duties. Once again he should definitely be kept in holds leagues as he has plenty of value ERA and K wise.
Papelbon has been clamoring for a trade forever now, and I think most Phillies fans would agree he has overstayed his welcome. But, he has been shut down this season and that should not change. By being on a better team, his save opportunities are of course going to be more abundant.
His splits on the season are pretty dominating for his age 34 season, 1.59 ERA and his 9.1 SO/9 in the highest it has been in the last two years. For those owners, who have still kept Papelbon, he should certainly be one of the better fantasy closer options down the stretch.
Additional Fantasy Impacts
While there is a lot of time left between now and the deadline, more relievers will certainly be on the move. The fallout from these current moves also has an impact on the guys that stayed pat and may have to fill the holes left by the departing players.
Ken Giles has looked the part of the Phillies next closer since he was called up last season. Now that Papelbon is out of the picture, Giles should slide right in and take over the closer role. For those that have been stashing Giles over the course of the season, this is the reason why. He has high-end talent and stuff that should offer value even if the save opportunities are hard to come by.
With Clippard leaving the A’s have named Edward Mujica their new closer. I for one will not be touching him on the waiver wire but for those who are desperate for saves, you probably take a look. Mujica does have a 3.68 ERA on the year, but his ugly 4.50 FIP and pretty low reliever wise 7.4 SO/9, just does not appeal to me, not warrant me to recommend owners to make him a waiver wire priority.