By Dan O’Shea
What if Major League Baseball set a July 31 trade deadline and nobody cared?
If you’ve been reading or watching or listening to or clicking through a lot of baseball coverage the last few days, the actual 2013 MLB trade deadline may seem a bit like an anti-climactic event.
If you are a Cubs fan, two of the biggest names on the team – Matt Garza and Alfonso Soriano – have already been traded.
And for White Sox fans, it already seems a given that Jake Peavy and/or Alex Rios will be dealt before 3 p.m. Wednesday. And if not, oh well.
Maybe it’s just not nearly as much fun selling pieces as getting them.
Even from a league-wide perspective, things are kind of boring this year – though this isn’t unexpected. This was supposed to be the rare year when no truly big names would change hands – and it’s turning out exactly that way. (Indeed, Garza may end up being the biggest name traded, and he’s not even viewed as a No. 1 starter.)
So there’s not much to assess – yet, at least; we can still hope – in terms of fantasy impact. But here’s my quick fantasy take of the few deals we have had:
Matt Garza to the Rangers: Garza heads back to the American League, where he has already proven he can win. Texas is home to a hitters’ park, but with the Cubs, Garza was winning even without the guaranteed offensive support the Rangers can give him to offset that disadvantage. This one is a win for Garza’s fantasy owners.
Alfonso Soriano to the Yankees: There are not a lot of places where I think Soriano could have gone and retained his fantasy value, but the home run palace the Yankees now play in is one of them. If the rest of the lineup remains healthy, he could make a push for 100 RBI.
Jose Veras to Detroit: A deal worth mentioning mostly because Veras had 19 saves for an Astros team that only had 35 wins coming into this week. He was a decent third closer on fantasy rosters, but for now the save opportunities will be few, as Joaquin Benoit still has the closer job in Detroit. Even if Veras gets a shot at closer, the Tigers are beating other teams by such wide margins that they don’t end up in that many save situations.
Expert Wire
* SI.com looks at the surging Jose Fernandez.
* ESPN notes what might be the final indignity for Albert Pujols owners this season.
* Yahoo!’s Roto Arcade sheds a light on Ivan Nova.
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Dan O’Shea is our man in fantasyland. He welcomes your comments.
Posted on July 30, 2013