Same Face, New Place: Fantasy Fallout For Potential Trade Scenarios

It’s speculation season, and even though we’re not playing real baseball here, what happens in actual baseball affects us fantasy folk too. So which potential trade scenarios might alter your fantasy baseball roster?

How does the old saying go? If she doesn’t remember Joe Carter’s walk-off home run in Game 6 of the 1993 World Series, she’s too young for you bro?

The reason I pulled that old highlight from the woodwork is this: it’s the earliest World Series memory my little brain has to offer. I’m too young to remember some of the most atrocious trades in baseball history, but after some research, I can confidently say, if fantasy baseball was a thing back in the 1960s, I’d be pretty mad if I was an Ernie Broglio owner.

One of the worst trades in history went down between the St. Louis Cardinals and the Chicago Cubs (I know, shocking right?) back in the flower power era. Broglio was on the back of a lazy 18 win, 145 strikeout season with the Cards before he was shipped to the North side of Chicago. At the time he was considered the elite of the elite, but from there on his career crashed and burned, as he won only three games with the Cubbies while his shoulder completely turned to toast.

The Cubs got ripped off, and the other casualty of the trade, Lou Brock, went on to win the World Series that year with St. Louis while also setting the career stolen base record (later broken by Rickey Henderson). It was by far the most lopsided thing ever, and it made me realize how lucky we are that stupid trades rarely go down like that these days.

Anyway, here are some trade scenarios from this day and age that are currently worth thinking about, at least as far as fantasy fallout goes. Most of them probably won’t even happen, but it makes for a great hypothetical time killer.

Andrew McCutchen in Texas

The reason I say Texas, is because McCutchen could wind up with either the Rangers or the Astros. I think every other team in the AL would prefer the former, because an Astros outfield with George Springer, Josh Reddick and McCutchen is pretty mental.

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If McCutchen did wind up with the Rangers, he would certainly fill a couple of big needs. It most likely moves Carlos Gomez and his 32.1% strikeout rate to the bench more often, as well as Joey Gallo to Pittsburgh, but it would also help the Rangers out in an area that they continue to fail at: left-handed hitting.

The Rangers are hitting a lousy .221 AVG vs. southpaws this season (good for second-worst in the league) and also hold the highest strikeout rate against lefties at 27.7%. McCutchen, on the other hand, has hit 5 HRs against them and holds a .351 AVG – good for 10th among hitters this season.

If McCutchen was to move to Houston, though, he could take on a whole new life of value. The Astros are obviously one of the best offenses in the league this season, but McCutchen also owns a career .315 OBP at Minute Maid Park and 30 hits, favorable stats for a “pitcher’s” park.

June has looked like this for McCutchen: 6 HRs, 23 RBIs and a .411 AVG. It’s hard to see the Pirates giving that up now, but if they’re serious about the future, it’s still a possibility.

Jim Johnson to the Washington Nationals

Don’t even try to predict who the Nationals’ closer will be in the next two months. Koda Glover’s shoulder is now a shoe-string, so the duties are left up to Matt Albers and Enny Romero (scary, right?).

We’ve been told all year that the Nats will trade for a closer. I’m still skeptical about how much they are willing to give up, so to me, Jim Johnson from the Braves makes sense. At 34-years old, he’s not the long-term option that the Nats are probably looking for, but despite Johnson’s rough June of 6 ERs and 11 hits in 12 innings work this month, there’s still a little something there.

Johnson has successfully lowered his hard hit rate to 19.1% – the lowest it’s been since 2011. He also owns a pretty nice 54% groundball rate on the season, even though he allowed a .256 AVG in high leverage situations.

On Friday night Johnson earned his 17th save on the heels of Mike Foltynewicz’s near no-no. He allowed a hit, which is something he’ll certainly do more of if he winds up in the NL East, but his .185 AVG against lefties would still make him a valuable bullpen arm even if he was shipped elsewhere.

Giancarlo Stanton to the Los Angeles Dodgers

Guess how I spent my Friday night? Bingo, researching Giancarlo Stanton’s contract and remembering once again that this guy is only 27-years old, even though his body resembles that of a crippled 52-year old bricklayer.

Since we’re playing guessing games, guess how much Stanton is set to make over the next 10 years with the Marlins? Correct again, $295 million.

There’s really only a handful of teams available to absorb that kind of contract, and one of them is the Dodgers. It feels like we’re building an NBA team here, but with Yasiel Puig again being Yasiel Puig, there might actually be a need out West for a slugger.

I know, yes, Cody Bellinger is doing the work of three men right now, but his future is at first base. Puig’s hot and cold .792 OPS is still a concern, and there’s still nothing to say that Trayce Thompson will remain in the big leagues this time around, either.

I’m sure there’s a lot of fancy reasons as to why Stanton fits with the Dodgers. The number one reason to me, though, is this: he’s hit 52 HRs against division rivals the Diamondbacks, Padres, Rockies, and Giants in his career.

Gleyber Torres to the San Diego Padres

The Yankees and the Padres had a chat earlier this week. Seems the Yankees like what Yangervis Solarte is all about, and the Padres, in turn, have their eye on New York’s number one injured shortstop.

The fantasy fallout for this one is in the future, but for the 3.1% of people who actually have Torres stashed, listen up. These trade talks seem to have stalled, and although I don’t know exactly what was said, I could imagine Yankees GM Brian Cashman laughing at the Padres’ audacity as he drinks his morning coffee and scrapbooks strands of Aaron Judge’s hair.

If this were to happen, though, Torres to the Padres would certainly alter his value in my eyes, only because so much of his future production may depend on how loaded the Yankees’ lineup is. If this trade were to go down, there are the obvious ballpark factors to consider, but most importantly, do the Padres have the hitting coaches available to quick fix Torres’ 27.1% strikeout rate?

I guess that’s a problem even the Yankees need to solve.

Next: Is Denard Span Worth a Waiver Wire Add?

There you have it, some wacky trade scenarios that are about 85% likely to be unlikely. The Counting Crows once said, “you don’t know what you’ve got till’ it’s gone”. When the big deals do go down, hopefully, your fantasy season doesn’t go with it.