Contract dumps cause havoc

IN RECENT weeks, you’ve dealt with the momentum shifts caused by the All-Star break and the tumultuous nature of the MLB trade deadline. Up ahead, there is another big obstacle in your path — the almighty dollar — and believe it or not, it can turn your league upside down.

Though you normally only hear about the big, marquee names, hundreds of players were placed on revocable waivers at the beginning of August. If a player is claimed, his team can either let him go for nothing, pull him back and work out a trade with the claiming team or pull him back and keep them. Many of these players have enormous contracts, which rebuilding teams are looking to dump. Just look at the Mets’ trade of Jay Bruce.

In return for a perennial 30-homer guy, the Mets received a prospect name Ryder Ryan, who really isn’t much of a prospect. But the Indians were willing to pick up the rest of Bruce’s contract, so the Mets weren’t concerned with which player they received in return. The deal strictly was about money, and left reeling in the wake of the trade were fantasy baseball owners.

Owners of Bruce in NL-only leagues lose him for nothing. AL-only league owners suddenly have a major power-hitter join the player pool. Mixed league owners of Indians outfielders now have to adjust for lost playing time. And why? Because a major-market team is trying to shed a few million off an already obscene payroll.

The deadline for these deals is Aug. 31, so fantasy owners have two more weeks of potential money shuffling to monitor. Big-money contracts are your next obstacle, and you probably didn’t even know it. It isn’t commonplace, but it will happen, so be prepared. Get through this and you’re in the clear. At least