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Fantasy Baseball Fixes: How to replace Trea Turner

By Jason Cole

WASHINGTON, DC - JULY 07: Washington Nationals shortstop Trea Turner (7) fields an eighth inning ground ball during the game between the Miami Marlins and the Washington Nationals on July 7, 2018, at Nationals Park, in Washington D.C. The Washington Nationals defeated the Miami Marlins, 18-4, (Photo by Mark Goldman/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
WASHINGTON, DC - JULY 07: Washington Nationals shortstop Trea Turner (7) fields an eighth inning ground ball during the game between the Miami Marlins and the Washington Nationals on July 7, 2018, at Nationals Park, in Washington D.C. The Washington Nationals defeated the Miami Marlins, 18-4, (Photo by Mark Goldman/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /
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WASHINGTON, DC – APRIL 10: Dansby Swanson
WASHINGTON, DC – APRIL 10: Dansby Swanson /

Dansby Swanson (.250, 0 SB, 1 HR, 3 RBI)

After back-to-back seasons of hitting in the .230s, much of the luster has faded from Swanson’s once-luminous status. There are plenty of people who think Swanson simply can’t hit adequately. Then again, these are desperate times for you and suddenly you think, “How could a guy that handsome not be great?” Swanson is a good-looking dude and there’s a chance his stats might actually catch up now that he just turned 25. Swanson had a great spring and actually had 14 HRs and 10 SBs last season. No, he’s not Turner. But stop pretending anybody else is.

Daniel Robertson (.167, 0 SB, 0 HR, 1 RBI)

Like Swanson, Robertson just turned 25 and there was once promise of so much more (Robertson was a first-round pick and topped some prospect lists after a strong 2014 season at high-A). He even had a somewhat interesting 2018 season with 9 HR and two SBs in just over half a season. Don’t be fooled. Robertson is a fantasy-sucking device sent from an alternate universe run by evil people who hate fantasy sports. He’s the guy you take and wait for something to happen, only to realize at the end that you were wasting your life.

Wilmer Difo (.333, 0 SB, 0 HR, 0 RBI)

If you’re into doing some deep research at places like Baseball-Reference.com, you probably happened upon Difo’s 2014 minor league campaign where he hit .315 with 14 HR and 49 SBs. Ignore that. Wash it from your memory. Remember that in some cases, minor league numbers are an illusion. Difo is not that player. But he is a perfectly reasonable backup middle infielder who won’t completely embarrass himself at the plate (.230, 7 HR, 10 SB in 456 plate appearances last season). The best part is this: He’s the backup to Turner, so he’s going to play unless the Nationals do something really wild like call up Carter Kieboom.

Next: All-Time 25-Man MLB Roster

Kevin Newman (.000, 0 SB, 0 HR, 0 RBI)

OK, this is one of those serious hunch plays for those who play in seriously deep leagues. Newman has yet to get an at-bat this season as he plays behind Erik Gonzalez in Pittsburgh. You probably don’t know who either of those guys are, but both have interesting backgrounds. Newman is a former first-round pick and Gonzalez was stuck in Cleveland trying to get playing time as this dude name Francisco Lindor was taking over baseball like some marauding character from Game of Thrones (I’m assuming that works as a reference because I’ve never watched the show). Anyway, Gonzalez is probably the better play right now. But again, we’re talking about seriously deep leagues where Gonzalez is already gone. In that case, look at Newman, who has serious wheels and is a good bet to get a look if Gonzalez continues to struggle.

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