Fantasy Baseball 2019: Yasiel Puig, Matt Kemp Traded to Reds

In a surprising move, the Dodgers trade Yasiel Puig, Matt Kemp and Alex Wood to the Reds. What is the fantasy baseball impact for the players involved?

The MLB Hot Stove is heating up. While Bryce Harper and Manny Machado are still on the market, there have been a few big names on the move, impacting fantasy baseball greatly. The Los Angeles Dodgers made a surprising move by trading outfielders Yasiel Puig and Matt Kemp and pitcher Alex Wood to the Cincinnati Reds for Homer Bailey, Jeter Downs and Josiah Gray.

Wood pitched to a 3.68 ERA, 1.207 WHIP, 8.0 K/9 and 2.4 BB/9 in 27 starts. Wood’s had a hard time staying healthy over the last few seasons. He hasn’t made more than 30 starts since 2015. Wood will pitch in the back of the Reds rotation. For fantasy baseball purposes, he’s a good SP3 in NL-only leagues and an SP5 in mixed leagues.

Great American Ballpark is known as a hitter’s ballpark, so avoid using Wood in home starts. He also may struggle against in the National League Central opponents Milwaukee Brewers, Chicago Cubs and St. Louis Cardinals.

Kemp had a great first half of the 2018 season, hitting 15 home runs with a .310 batting average in 90 games. Then, things fell apart and he hit just six home runs with a .255 average in 54 games.

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Looking at the Reds outfield depth chart, Kemp is listed as the team’s fourth outfielder. I think he’ll start in left field until his performance declines. He could hit close to 20 home runs in the first half while hitting in Cincinnati. He’s a late-round draft pick in mixed leagues.

Puig is the biggest benefactor from this trade. Moving to Great American Ballpark gives Puig a chance to break 30 home runs for the first time in his career. He hasn’t hit over .270 in the last four seasons but that could change as well. As the Reds starting right fielder, Puig is a top-30 outfielder.

This trade also boosts the value of Scooter Gennett (as long as he’s not traded), Eugenio Suarez, Joey Votto and Scott Schebler. The Reds could be a spoiler team for the top teams with this offense.

As far as the Dodgers, this move was to clear up space and salary for Harper. Many believe the Dodgers are the favorite to land the top outfielder. The loss of Puig and Kemp hurts their former teammates but adding Harper could make up for that. The Dodgers still have Corey Seager, Justin Turner, Cody Bellinger and Max Muncy.

Bailey is expected to be released by the Dodgers, so there is nothing to analyze here. If he were to stay, I would have liked him as a back-end piece. The NL West isn’t the scariest division for a pitcher.

Downs was selected with the 32nd pick in the 2017 draft. He posted a .257/.351/.402 line with 13 home runs and 37 steals over 524 plate appearances in Single-A last year. He’s still a couple of years away from the majors but could slot in at second base when he’s called up.

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Puig gets the biggest boost in fantasy baseball value because of this trade. If Kemp remains a starter, his value is raised as well. Wood may struggle in some starts so don’t try to have many shares of him. The Dodgers were clearing space to Harper. I’ll talk about that move and its impact if, and when, it happens.

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