After a lot of action prior to this week’s Winter Meetings, the actual fantasy baseball news coming from Orlando had been quiet up until Tuesday afternoon. That’s when news broke that a three-team deal involving Mark Trumbo had been completed.
The slugging first baseman has been shipped from the Los Angeles Angels to the Arizona Diamondbacks. The D-Backs will send outfielder Adam Eaton to the Chicago White Sox and pitcher Tyler Skaggs to the Halos. The White Sox send pitcher Hector Santiago to Los Angeles as well. The Diamondbacks also will get a pair of Rule 5 Draft-eligible prospects.
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There are plenty of fantasy angles to look at here. We’ll start with Trumbo. His fantasy value gets a boost as he trades Anaheim’s home ballpark, which is rough on all power hitters according to Statcorner.com, for Arizona’s, which was friendly for sluggers in 2013. That’s good, because power is pretty much all Trumbo offers. With a strikeout rate higher than 25 percent the last two years, he’s not going to hit for average. But 40 homers isn’t out of the realm of possibility in a friendlier park and easier league. Don’t go overboard, though; last year’s 34 homers were a career high for the soon-to-be 28-year-old. Six home runs would still be a big jump.
The Diamondbacks have Paul Goldschmidt at first base, so Trumbo is headed to left field. Having played 27 games in the outfield last year, he won’t gain any eligibility. But he will almost certainly lose 1B eligibility, barring a Goldschmidt injury, in 2015.
As for the other players in the trade, Eaton may have landed in a nice spot. As good as Arizona is for hitters, U.S. Cellular in Chicago is better. The White Sox do have a lot of outfielders, however, with Dayan Viciedo, Alejandro De Aza and Avisail Garcia. Provided Eaton, who turned 25 last week, gets the chance to start, he’ll once again be a good steals sleeper with some power upside. Keep an eye on the situation in spring training.
The pitchers involved shouldn’t see too much change in their values. Hector Santiago had a nice 3.56 ERA in 2013, and moves to a betetr pitcher’s park in Angel Stadium after surviving in the Cell. His control (4.35 BB/9) remains an issue, however, so he still should be considered a question mark, even if he now has a slightly greater margin for error.
Skaggs’ peripherals (8.38 K/9, 3.49 BB/9) were a lot better than his 5.12 ERA. He was a victim of a high homer rate, so it’s possible the move to Anaheim could really benefit him. However, he’ll have to deal with the DH and harder league, so Skaggs remains a late-round flier.
One other player affected by this deal wasn’t involved in it. Diamondbacks 3B prospect Matt Davidson performed well at Triple-A in ’13, hitting 17 home runs with a .280 average in 115 games before his call-up. But he played sparingly down the stretch and batted just .237 with three homers.
Playing time was already going to be a battle with Martin Prado penciled in at third base, but Prado could have been moved to the outfield if Davidson forced his way into the lineup. With Trumbo in left, there's little hope for Davidson. Unless he's traded, he looks blocked in Arizona. For now, that keeps the 23-year-old off the fantasy radar in re-draft leagues.
A's reportedly trade Anderson to Colorado: FOX Sports' Ken Rosenthal is reporting that the Rockies have acquired Brett Anderson from the A's for left-hander Drew Pomeranz and right-hander Chris Jensen. The move out of Oakland and into the thin air of Colorado takes most of the fantasy appeal away from Anderson, who has also struggled to stay healthy in his young career. He's unlikely to be a reliable fantasy starter, at least at home, in 2014.
Meanwhile, Pomeranz, the No. 5-overall pick in 2010, picks up some fantasy appeal with the move to Oakland. The big lefty has struggled with homers and walks since debuting in 2011 and O.co Coliseum could cure one of those problems. The problem is that Oakland's rotation is full, so Pomeranz will likely have to wait his turn.