Let’s rock & ‘role’
IT IS tough to remember the last time we saw so many marquee players change uniforms at the MLB trade deadline, which is why 2018 will long be remembered for its flurry of deals.
The Dodgers added major components in Manny Machado and Brian Dozier, the Pirates picked up a huge pitching asset in Chris Archer, Cole Hamels went to the Cubs, Jonathan Schoop and Mike Moustakas landed in Milwaukee and a slew of relievers headed to the post office to fill out their change-of-address forms.
But while most of these players have a home in your fantasy baseball leagues, there are still plenty of waiver assets to be had as the roster dust settles from this season’s sellers.
When the Reds shipped Adam Duvall to the Braves and lost both Scott Schebler and Jesse Winker to injury (Winker for the rest of the season), the waiver wire saw a nice influx of outfield help.
Mason Williams and Phillip Ervin were primed to see regular at-bats while the team decided what to do with Preston Tucker, part of the package coming back from Atlanta, but ultimately, it should be Tucker who sees the largest uptick in regular playing time moving forward. However, with Schebler slow to recover and a candidate to be shut down, Williams looks like a solid addition for help in batting average, runs scored and RBIs.
In Balt i more, t he absence of Machado opens the door for Tim Beckham to see regular at-bats at shortstop while Danny Valencia locks down third base. Both are capable of supplying fantasy teams with a boost in power. But coming back from Milwaukee in the Schoop deal, Jonathan Villar gets a full-time opportunity at second.
Few people focus on the teams out of playoff contention, but for fa nt a sy pur poses , t hose te a ms could be a gold mine.
Superstars are superstars, but role players with increased opportunities could be your key to winning a championship.
Howard Bender is the VP of operations and head of content at FantasyAlarm.com. Follow him on Twitter @rotobuzzguy and catch him on the award-winning “Fantasy Alarm Radio Show” on the SiriusXM fantasy sports channel weekdays from 4-6 p.m.