Dodgers: Fantasy impact of adding Tony Watson, Tony Cingrani

The Dodgers were step-in-step with the Nationals as they bolstered their bullpen, too. Tony Watson and Tony Cingrani will now pitch in Los Angeles.

The Los Angeles Dodgers were very busy at the trade deadline. After trading for one of the game’s top pitchers in Yu Darvish, they filled another hole on their roster by adding two solid bullpen arms in Tony Watson and Tony Cingrani.

The Dodgers bullpen is anchored by the elite closer Kenley Jansen but they needed help in front of him. While Pedro Baez and Josh Fields are doing well, 1.41 and 2.89 ERA respectively, the benefit of adding two lefties to the bullpen is undeniable.

Watson spent three years at the Pittsburgh Pirates set-up man behind Mark Melancon. In those years, he posted a 1.97 ERA, 2.91 WHIP, 7.9 K/9 and 1.8 BB/9. In the last two seasons, however, most of which he spent as the team’s closer, Watson didn’t look so good.

More from Fantasy Baseball

In 114.1 combined innings, he posted a 3.31 ERA, 1.251 WHIP, 7.3 K/9 and 2.7 BB/9. He was eventually removed from the closer role in favor of Felipe Rivero, who has a 0.67 ERA this season.

The Reds haven’t been able to find a consistent closer since trading Aroldis Chapman. Cingrani spent some time as the closer in 2016. He had a 4.14 ERA, 1.444 WHIP, 7.0 K/9, 5.3 BB/9 and 17 saves. This year got worse in some areas but better in others.

Cingrani was no longer recording saves and his ERA went up over a run to 5.40. Though, his WHIP and walk rate has gone down while his strikeout rate is up over 9.0 K/9. He did miss some time earlier in the season as he only has 23.1 innings under his belt.

I think both pitchers are in better environments for the final two months of this season than they were at the start. Granted, Watson was the closer but he didn’t pitch well in that role. Backing up Jansen with a better offense to support them could lead to a bounce back to end the year.

Staying in the National League also helps as both pitchers have been prone to give up the long ball. Seven of the top 11 stadiums that favor home runs are in the American League. Dodger Stadium is No. 12 though.

Next: Nationals add Brandon Kintzler

Both Watson and Cingrani will be used more frequently. Having a special lefty in the bullpen is nice. Having two good lefty options is even better. They won’t have much value outside of NL-only or holds leagues. This is a more impactful real baseball than fantasy move but there will be someone looking for an extra hold or two down the stretch.

Home/Fantasy Baseball