Fantasy Baseball 2018: Diamondbacks Trade for Eduardo Escobar

The Diamondbacks have bolstered their lineup by getting Eduardo Escobar from the Twins. Will he help the Diamondbacks dethrone the Dodgers in the NL West, and how will his Fantasy Baseball impact change?

For the second straight season, the Diamondbacks have made a big trade deadline acquisition. After renting J.D. Martinez last season, Arizona has traded three minor leaguers to the Minnesota Twins for infielder Eduardo Escobar. Rumors of this trade were first reported by Ken Rosenthal and Dan Hayes, both of the Athletic:

In return for Escobar, the Diamondbacks send back RHP Jhoan Duran, OF Ernie La Trinidad, and OF Gabriel Maciel. Escobar will be a rental for Arizona, as he will become a free agent at the end of 2018.

Escobar has had the best season of this career in 2018. He is hitting .274 with 15 homers and 63 RBIs, is slugging .514, and has an OPS+ of 129. He also leads the league in doubles with 37. With Jake Lamb battling a shoulder issue, Escobar will be a perfect fit at third base for Arizona. Escobar’s fantasy value should increase a bit, considering he will be hitting in a lineup with the stars like Paul Goldschmidt and A.J. Pollock. However, the Arizona offense has not been that much better than the Minnesota offense, so time will tell as to whether or not Escobar’s numbers will dramatically change.

In regards to the division race, the Diamondbacks currently sit 1.5 back of the Dodgers in the NL West. After the Dodgers acquired superstar Manny Machado from the Orioles, the Diamondbacks had to respond, and while Escobar is not on the same level as Machado, he is a solid piece that can help the D-Backs keep pace with the Dodgers.

The Twins got a good haul back for Escobar. All three prospects are under the age of 23, so the Twins don’t have to rush their development. Gabriel Maciel and Jhoan Duran were the 11th and 19th ranked prospects in Arizona’s farm system respectively, according to MLB Pipeline. Maciel becomes the No. 15 prospect for the Twins, and Duran misses the top-30 cut. For a two-month rental in Escobar, the Twins did a great job in getting two top-30 prospects from the D-Backs’ system, in addition to another nice minor league bat in La Trinidad, who is hitting .311 with 56 RBIs in 91 games in Class A ball.

This trade works out for both clubs. The D-Backs get a solid bat that should help their offense, and the Twins get a solid group of prospects who can help the Twins in the future.