Betts, Price traded to Dodgers: Fantasy Baseball fallout

What’s the fantasy baseball impact of the Red Sox trading Mookie Betts and David Price to the Dodgers?

It felt like all offseason baseball experts were telling us that a Mookie Betts trade was going to happen and it was between the Padres and Dodgers. Baseball Twitter exploded on Tuesday night when the news was finally announced and fantasy baseball was turned upside down.

The Boston Red Sox announced that they are trading their star outfielder and veteran pitcher David Price to the Los Angeles Dodgers in a three-team trade that sends outfielder Alex Verdugo and Twins pitching prospect Brusdar Graterol back to Boston and Kenta Maeda to Minnesota.

The big piece of the trade is obviously Betts. He goes from the hitter-friendly confines of the AL East to the pitching-friendly NL West. Yes, there are some favorable parks for hitters, like Dodger Stadium and Coors Field. However, Petco Park, Oracle Park and Chase Field limited power last season.

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Betts is projected to be the Dodgers leadoff hitter. He will still be accumulating hits, runs and home runs but the RBIs may be stagnant. Betts had 80 RBIs in each of his last two seasons.

With the move across the country and to a different leagues Betts does fall a couple of spots in my outfielder rankings.

The lineup is projected to be Betts, Max Muncy, Justin Turner Cody Bellinger, A.J. Pollock, Corey Seager, Will Smith and Gavin Lux.

That may be the best lineup in the National League and the rest of the offense gets a boost with Betts’ addition.

As for Price, he will get some reprieve by not having to pitch in the AL East. He’ll get to face the struggling Giants and Rockies (who may be without Nolan Arenado by Opening Day). The Padres and Diamondbacks have solid pieces but don’t have a complete lineup.

Price was my 45th-ranked starting pitcher when I first started by rankings but he will move up a few spots as a result of the trade.

Maeda, on the other hand, will see his ranking drop from 52nd to about 62nd. It’s not much of a drop but he goes from an SP6 to SP7 in 10-team leagues. The AL Central improved and will be tougher to pitch in. The White Sox improved, the Indians have a solid lineup and the Royals will put up runs.

Three of the five AL Central ballparks ranked in the top half of home runs last season, according to ESPN Park Factors. Target Field ranked 24th.

Verdugo hitting leadoff for the Red Sox will help his fantasy baseball value. After splitting time in the Dodgers outfield for three seasons, he will be the starting right fielder. Verdugo hit 12 home runs, 44 RBI and .294 in 106 games last season.

As I mentioned, the ballparks favor hitters more in the AL East. But, he’ll have some tougher pitchers to face. Gerrit Cole, Luis Severino, former teammate Hyun-jin Ryu, Charlie Morton and Blake Snell to name a few.

This was a trade weeks in the making. To see how it played out and what pieces were involved may have surprised a few people. Betts will still be a top-eight outfielder. Price’s value goes up, Maeda’s goes down and Verdugo’s goes up a lot.

This may not be the last big trade we see before Opening Day. Fantasy baseball is back and I hope you’re ready.