Fantasy Baseball 2019: Navigating the Trade Deadline Rumors

With just one trade deadline coming at the end of July, fantasy baseball owners need to know which players to buy or sell for the final two months.

MLB made a few rules changes this offseason, one of them was about the trade deadline. In years past, there were two trade deadlines, one on July 31 that everyone paid attention to and the waiver deadline in August. Now, it’s just one deadline. This makes the market all that more interesting for fantasy baseball owners.

In AL/NL-only fantasy leagues, having a player join the league results in a lot of bidding to add that new player. For example, when Manny Machado went from Baltimore to Los Angeles, that’s a type of player fantasy baseball owners couldn’t find on the typical waiver wire.

Many thought we’d be seeing a lot more trades due to the single deadline but with how many teams are in contention for a Wild Card spot, that may not be the case. In the American League, there are six teams within 6.5 games of each other. The National League is a lot closer, 11 teams are within that range.

If a front office believes it has a shot at making the playoffs, why would they sell? And if that’s the case, there are going to be a lot more buyers than sellers this deadline, making the next week very important for the landscape of real and fantasy baseball.

So, let’s breakdown some of the trade rumors and how they’ll affect fantasy baseball going forward.

Yankees Add a Starting Pitcher

This has been a rumor going around since the offseason. With Luis Severino dealing with rotator cuff inflammation, the Yankees had a gap in the rotation. CC Sabathia is retiring and doesn’t pitch deep into games. Masahiro Tanaka needs six days rest to be effective. JA Happ and James Paxton have been up and down all year.

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Domingo German has been more good than bad but none of those pitchers have the ace potential like Severino does. Adding a pitcher will solidify the Yankees rotation and a heavy favorite to win the World Series.

There have been rumors of a few different names joining the Yankees. Madison Bumgarner, Trevor Bauer, Marcus Stroman, Zack Wheeler and most recently Robbie Ray have been linked to the Yankees. MadBum and Wheeler would be half-season rentals while the other three have control for a couple of more seasons.

The half-season rentals would be NL pitchers joining the AL. Both pitchers have struggling this season and joining the AL East, with the addition of the DH, may not bode well for their fantasy value.

The other three pitchers are adjusted to the AL already. The positive for all five is the added potential for wins compared to their current teams.

Relief Pitcher Market

Last year saw a lot of relief pitchers change teams. This year could see the same. With more teams shortening the outings for starting pitchers, having depth in the bullpen is crucial to securing the win. The downside is that some closers, like Zach Britton from Baltimore to New York, become a middle reliever with very little save chances.

Brad Hand, who joined the Indians last year, could be on his way out. The Dodgers are a likely landing spot for the reliever. He’s an addition to the NL-only leagues, but there won’t be many saves to go along with his other stats. The Indians are currently a game up in the first Wild Card spot, so they may not sell but if they fall back in the next week, it’s possible.

Will Smith has been talked about in package deals with Bumgarner. The Braves, Phillies and Nationals are all viable landing spots for Smith. He has a 2.28 ERA, 0.68 WHIP and 12.93 K/9. He’s a free agent this offseason so if those teams are looking to upgrade their bullpen, Smith won’t cost a lot. He will likely become each team’s closer if traded.

Felipe Vazquez is one of the few closers who is getting guaranteed save opporunities. He has a 2.30 ERA, 1.207 WHIP and 14.16 K/9 with up to four more seasons of control. If the Dodgers had him, he loses a lot of fantasy value. If he goes to the Braves, then he’ll continue to get saves. Due to control, the Pirates will likely get a decent haul back for him. Staying in the NL helps his fantasy value.

Other Rumors

Mike Minor is having a career resurgence, 2.86 ERA, 1.163 WHIP and 9.1 K/9 in 20 starts. The Brewers and Phillies have interest. Moving from the AL West to either NL division should help his value for the rest of the season.

The Red Sox are scouting Jose Abreu. Him joining the AL East could help his value due to having a better lineup around him and more hitter-friendly parks to play in. The White Sox are 11.0 games back of the second Wild Card spot so they could unload some pieces.

The Padres could trade away some top pieces including Kirby Yates, Hunter Renfroe and Franmil Reyes. If Yates is trades, look to add Craig Stammen or Andres Munoz as their next closer.

The trade deadline is just 11 days away. We’ve already seen a couple of trades happen but with more teams in Wild Card contention, we may not see that many more. If we do, get ready to add those players, or their replacements, off the waiver wire.