AL- and NL-only fantasy owners can breathe easy now that studs like Manny Ramirez, Alfonso Soriano and AJ Burnett have stayed put on baseball’s deadline day. But while there was very little movement today, there were a couple of deals that have fantasy implications.
The most notable move on the fantasy front was the Braves dealing for Detroit closer Kyle Farnsworth. Farnsworth owners who were enjoying all the saves they were seeing following Troy Percival’s season-ending injury are now left to wonder if their pitcher will fall into a set-up role behind Atlanta closer Chris Reitsma. Reitsma owners, meanwhile, are wondering if Farnsworth is going to come in and steal their saves. How will it pan out? Well, as a Reitsma owner myself, I’m hoping the Braves slide Farnsworth into the set-up role, replacing demoted closer Dan Kolb, and leave Reitsma alone. After all, Reitsma has been solid as the Atlanta stopper, registering 14 saves in 18 opportunities, with two of those blown saves coming while he was still a set-up man. Plus, Reitsma’s been fantastic of late, allowing two earned runs in his last 15 appearances while notching eight saves and two wins during that stretch. Unfortunately, Farnsworth may be better suited for the closer’s role. He’s got one of the best power arms in the game and he’s been a monster for the Tigers all year, racking up 55 strikeouts in 43 innings and successfully converting all five save opportunities he’s been handed following Percival’s injury. Plus, he’s got a nifty 2.32 ERA and opposing batters have hit just .192 off him. Reitsma, meanwhile, has been nearly as effective, with a 3.16 ERA and .246 average against, but while he may not have done anything to lose his job, Farnsworth may very well have done enough to take Reitsma’s job.
Of course, the good news is there are saves up for grabs in Detroit now. It looks like the best candidate to take over for Farnsworth as the Tigers closer would be Fernando Rodney, who’s got a 2.21 ERA and 25 Ks in 20 innings of work. If you’ve got the room, go ahead and give Rodney a chance, particularly if you’re dealing with the uncertainty of Farnsworth and/or Reitsma. Rodney could excel as Detroit’s closer and, especially this late in the season, picking some spare saves up off the waiver wire is always a bonus. Go get him.
The only other trade that seems to have any fantasy impact would be the Cubs acquiring Matt Lawton from the Pirates for Jody Gerut. Most of Lawton’s numbers should remain steady as the leadoff man in Chicago now, but he’ll score more runs while hitting ahead of Derrek Lee and Aramis Ramirez. Of course, Lee and Ramirez should see a nice boost in RBI as well with Lawton’s healthy .380 OB% ahead of them in the lineup. The only potential downside for Lawton owners would be the off-chance that he’ll sit against some lefties with the Cubs, but you can expect to see him in the lineup most nights no matter who’s on the mound.
UPDATE: As of now, the Braves are saying Reitsma is still the closer but that could very well change. Stay tuned. As for the Tigers, General Manager Dave Dombrowski announced Rodney will get the first shot to replace Farnsworth.
