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Fantasy Baseball 2017: 3 Replacements for Cesar Hernandez, Devon Travis

By Bill Pivetz

May 25, 2017; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia Phillies second baseman Cesar Hernandez (16) bats against the Colorado Rockies at Citizens Bank Park. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports
May 25, 2017; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia Phillies second baseman Cesar Hernandez (16) bats against the Colorado Rockies at Citizens Bank Park. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports /
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Fantasy baseball owners will be without second basemen Cesar Hernandez and Devon Travis for a while. Here are three players to replace them with.

The injuries just keep coming. Let’s just end the fantasy baseball season. The second base pool just lost two good options in Cesar Hernandez and Devon Travis. With the number of injured pitchers and other position players, the DL can field two all-star teams. If you own either second baseman, here are three viable replacements.

Chris Taylor of the Los Angeles Dodgers continues to hit and will have plenty of at-bats ahead. He has a .294 average with seven home runs, 24 RBI and 29 runs. With Adrian Gonzalez back on the DL until about the All-Star break, Cody Bellinger will take over there while Taylor plays in left field.

Taylor also has third base and outfield eligibility, giving him a lot of flexibility for fantasy owners. I don’t care where a hitter plays as long as he is getting consistent at-bats. He is owned in 43.6 percent of ESPN leagues, so add him before it’s too late.

Why not just pick up the player taking over for the injured? Howie Kendrick will be the Phillies second baseman until further notice. In his limited playing time so far (85 at-bats), he is hitting .353 with two homers, 10 RBI and 11 runs scored.

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Kendrick is also eligible for the outfield. He isn’t a good source for power but if you need help with batting average or on-base percentage, Kendrick is someone to target. He is owned in just 11.2 percent of leagues, likely all Hernandez owners.

The third player to add is Jose Pirela.

Who? Exactly.

Pirela is the new left fielder for the San Diego Padres. He, like the others listed, has multi-position eligibility in second base and outfield. He has a small sample size in the majors, just 30 plate appearances, but he’s putting up good numbers.

Pirela has a .500 average with two home runs, six RBI and seven runs scored. He also has four doubles, showing that there is some power in that bat.

The Padres sent Ryan Schimpf down to the minors, meaning Cory Spangenberg takes over at third base, opening left field for Pirela. Again, consistent at-bats are what you are looking for. Pirela now has that and is widely available, owned in just 6.7 percent of leagues.

Hernandez will be out for about six weeks with an oblique strain, according to Meghan Montemurro of the News Journal. He will be back sometime in late July. If you own him, I would definitely drop him.

Travis underwent knee surgery and has no real timetable for his return. Mike Wilner of Sportsnet tweeted that the surgery was a success, but it will “be a while” before we see him again. Darwin Barney and Ryan Goins will platoon at second, but neither are worth picking up.

Next: Lance McCullers on 10-day DL

I think Travis’ scoring and ability to drive in runs makes him worth holding onto in deeper leagues. Both are droppable in standard 10-team leagues.

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