Fantasy Baseball Tonight 7/31; Trade Deadline Overview

The non-waiver trade deadline has come and past, let's take a look at the deals over the past couple of days and see how they will effect the players involved and others on each team.

Padres trade Jake Peavy to the White Sox for Clayton Richard, Aaron Poreda, Dexter Carter, and Adam Russell

In attempt number two the White Sox get their man. Peavy will still be out for at least another month, but what will his value be next year? He goes to a smaller home ball park, and goes to the tougher American League, but Peavy should be among the top 20 pitchers in baseball.

Richard definitely will go into the Padres rotation, and Poreda probably isn't far behind. Richard had been pitching better lately, but is still somewhat of a wild card. He has a 4.85 ERA this season, but has been great his last two times out. Aaron Poreda was the second best prospect for the White Sox coming into the season, and was great at AA, but didn't fare so well after he was promoted. The White Sox had been using him out of the bullpen, but he sill start for San Diego. For those of you in keeper leagues, Poreda is the guy to monitor out of this deal. Carter is a hard throwing prospect in the lower levels of the Sox minor league system.

Indians trade Cliff Lee and Ben Francisco to the Phillies for Carlos Carrasco, Lou Marson, Jason Donald, and Jason Knapp

Cliff Lee should get a slight bump in fantasy value with this trade with a move to the lighter hitting National League and the fact that he goes to a team that actually will give him run support. His strikeouts might go up a little, and his ERA down a little, but the big bump will come with the wins. Lee's record is under .500 at the moment, but that should change over the last two months. Ben Francisco will now likely see very little playing time anymore and what little fantasy value he had is now gone.

Jason Knapp is in Single-A and is not a fantasy factor in 2009. Donald is a long shot to find his way to Cleveland this season. With the Indians also trading Victor Martinez there is an outside chance that Marson might see a cup of coffee at the end of the year or if Kelly Shoppach were to go down, but he isn't someone to target. Carrasco was once one of the Phillies untouchables but has struggled the past two seasons in the minors. He could slide into the Cleveland rotation, but he is 6-9 with an ERA over 5.00 at AAA this season, but he does have just over a strikeout an inning. In the right situation he might be worth taking a chance on, but I wouldn't expect much.

Indians trade Victor Martinez to the Red Sox for Justin Masterson, Nick Hagadone, and Bryan Price

Hagadone is a fairly high ranking prospect for the Sox, but he was a long way from the big leagues for them. He has just nine starts at AA, so he is likely in the minors for the year, but could be worth remembering for next year. Price is a decent prospect, but is also a ways away from the majors, so don't worry about him. Masterson has been both a starter and a reliever for the Red Sox, but I would expect him to slide right into the Indians rotation unless they send him to the minors to stretch him out since he has been in the bullpen for so long. He made six starts for the Sox and was 2-2. He allowed six runs in his two losses, but no more than two runs in the other four starts. Masterson could definitely be worth adding if you need pitching. Unfortunately, he likely won't get too many wins.

Victor Martinez will do some catching, play some first base, and likely also do some DHing. He gains some value because he goes to a team with a great lineup and he should get ample chances to drive in more runs. Kelly Shoppach is the main beneficiary of this trade. With Martinez gone, Shoppach should get enough starts behind the plate to make him fantasy worth again. He hit over 20 homers in only 352 at bats in 2008. If your catcher is really doing bad, I would probably give Shoppach a try.

Mariners trade Jarrod Washburn to the Tigers for Luke French and Mauricio Robles

French had been pitching fairly well for the Tigers and likely goes right into the Mariners' rotation. He doesn't get a lot of strikeouts, and now loses the run support that he could have gotten in Detroit. I wouldn't drop him though, because Seattle is still doing pretty good even though they don't have a high powered offense. If French can continue to pitch like he has been, he still should carry some value. Robles throws hard, but he is in Single-A and has no value in fantasy for this season.

Any of you who have read my articles all year long know that I am not a fan of Washburn. So, while I still don't think he will keep pitching well, his value does take an uptick going from Seattle to Detroit. The Tigers have some good bats, and could offer Washburn some run support to help him win a few more games.

Orioles trade George Sherrill to the Dodgers for Josh Bell and Stephen Johnson

I was on WTMM ESPN Radio in Albany, NY on Wednesday and predicted that Sherrill would not be traded. Not even 24 hours later he was on his way to Los Angeles. And of course, the host of the show Brian Sinkoff called me out on it the next day. I'm a big boy, I can take it. Sherrill's fantasy value goes in the toilet unless you are in a league that rewards holds.

Bell will be the third baseman of the future for the O's, but he is just in AA right now and won't have value in 2009. Johnson appears to have somewhat of a future but he is still also at least a year away from the majors. With the load of starting pitching that Baltimore has, he could be a long way off. The man who benefits the most from this trade should be Jim Johnson who should take over as closer for Baltimore. As far as how successful he will be, that is still up for discussion. Danys Baez could also be in the mix, but I think Johnson gets first dibs.

Finally, a note to Sinkoff. Hey buddy, I thought Huff and Baez were going to be traded too! We'll have to talk about that next time I am on! And for all of you out there go to wtmm.com to hear the Sound Off With Sinkoff program every weekday from 3-7 pm EST, especially on Wednesday at 5pm when they have the weekly Fantasy Freakout segment.

Blue Jays trade Scott Rolen to the Reds for Edwin Encarnacion, Josh Roenicke, and Zach Stewart

Do the Reds think they are in this race? They are 9.5 games out of first place and they trade their 3B and two prospects for Scott Rolen? I know Rolen has enjoyed a resurgence this season, but he is getting up there in age and has had a history of injury problems. Rolen might get a slight bump in value going back to the National League, and to a smaller ballpark in Cincinnati.

I guess the Reds had lost faith in Edwin to deal him away for Rolen, but he is only a couple years removed from a pretty good offensive season. He had been battling some injuries this year, but I am surprised by this move. He may lose a bit of value going to a much bigger ballpart, but he will be the everyday third sacker for the Jays. Roenicke is a pretty good relief prospect who has seen some time in the majors. Stewart appears to be a high rising prospect who has been in three levels of the Reds minor league system already this year.

Red Sox trade Adam LaRoche to the Braves for Casey Kotchman

This one has me scratching my head to a certain extent. I understand the Braves getting an upgrade at first base, as LaRoche is a better hitter than Kotchman, but what the Sox are going to do with Kotchman I'm not sure. Since LaRoche would have been relegated to the bench in Boston, he gets a big boost, but his value is still similar to what it was when the season started.

Athletics trade Orlando Cabrera to the Twins for Tyler Ladendorf

This trade doesn't have a lot of flair as far as fantasy baseball is concerned. Cabrera might steal a few more bases as he goes to a team that likes to run more than they do in Oakland, but I don't see the trade having a big impact on his average or his power. Ladendorf is a former second round pick who is still in the low levels of the minors.

Dodgers trade Claudio Vargas to the Brewers for Vinny Rottino

YAWN! Even if Vargas does start for the Brewers, you don't want him on your team. Rottino is a decent bench player at best, but is no one that has any fantasy value.

Nationals trade Nick Johnson to the Marlins for Aaron Thompson

This won't effect Johnson too much, but likely will keep both Gaby Sanchez and Emilio Bonifacio out of the Florida lineup. Jorge Cantu will push over to third base. Thompson is an ok pitcher that likely won't even crack the Nats' rotation. If he does, he still has no fantasy value.