Blue Jays Trade For Yangervis Solarte: Fantasy Fallout

The 2018 Blue Jays infield is going to look a little different as the team traded for Yangervis Solarte. What can he do back in the American League East?

The Toronto Blue Jays already made one upgrade to their infield by acquiring Aledmys Diaz last month. But, they weren’t done. The team announced on Saturday that they traded for infielder Yangervis Solarte in exchange for two prospects. As someone who is familiar with the AL East, can he continue the success he had last season?

Solarte has been around for just four seasons but has made some improvements in that short amount of time. He’s had an increase in power each season, reaching 18 home runs last year. Solarte’s batting average also went up, except for last season.

In 128 games, he hit 18 homers, 64 RBI and .255 with a 61:37 K:BB ratio and .314 on-base percentage. Fantasy owners were hoping for more of the .286 average he hit in 2016 with some power sprinkled in. He was drafted in the 22nd round in standard leagues.

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Unfortunately, the owners who drafted or added him were left with another hitter sacrificing contact for power. This makes those .300 hitters more valuable this season but that’s another topic. Solarte finished as the 183rd hitter on the Player Rater. With some power and a low average, there wasn’t much fantasy value to be had.

Solarte finished with a 41.6 ground ball rate (almost the same as his 2016 rate), a 42.1 fly ball rate, 16.4 line drive rate (a five percent decline) and a 10.5 HR/FB rate. He made eight percent softer contact with a six percent drop in his medium hit rate.

That contributed to his low batting average and 18 home runs. If he can increase his medium hit and line drive rate, Solarte should see his average get closer to .270, especially in Toronto.

Going back to the East Coast should help Solarte. Yankee Stadium and Camden Yards were second and third in home runs, according to ESPN Park Factors. The other three AL East parks were in the bottom third but Fenway Park and Rogers Centre favor gap power.

The Blue Jays infield will now feature Justin Smoak (1B), Solarte (2B), Josh Donaldson (3B) and Diaz (SS). Roster Resource has Troy Tulowitzki as the starting shortstop but with his recent struggles and frequent injuries, I don’t think the team will benefit from him being the starter.

Those four along with Kendrys Morales, Russell Martin and Steve Pearce makes for an underrated but formidable offense.

Next: Did Chase Anderson finally figure it out?

Solarte enters this season with second base, shortstop and third base eligibility. I like players with multi-position eligibility. It gives you more flexibility throughout the season to fill in for off days or injuries. I think he will hit another 18 home runs with 68 RBI and a .268 average. He’ll be worth drafting for bench depth.

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