A non-stop flurry of nothing came out of Las Vegas as the Winter Meetings came to a close, as the gold nuggets ended up being turd nuggets. Not that this deal was a real whopper, but Melky and Mike Cameron wasn’t finalized so I’m not going to go into that yet. Felipe Lopez, Matt Joyce and Edwin Jackson found new homes, so I’ll cover them. Yay, we get to hear about three schmohawks! Oh shut up, random italicized voice. Yes, these three guys aren’t quite as riveting as Teixeira landing somewhere, but that will have to wait for another day. Anyway, here’s some smaller deals that went down on the final day of the Winter Meetings and how they’ll effect fantasy baseball:
Felipe Lopez – Not even a blip on the radar when the Diamondbacks signed Felipe Lopez to a deal, but this could be a huge addition to some 2009 NL-Only and deeper mixed leagues. Felipe Lopez went 35/4/24/.360/4 in only 189 at-bats after the All-Star break last year. Sure, multiplying stats by three is about as indicative as a cute girl with a twitch winking at you, but Lopez is capable of those stats. He’s only going to be 29 for the 2009 season and could go 20/20/.260 in a full season. Can any of youse say 2009 fantasy sleeper? I knew you could.
Matt Joyce – Matt Joyce went to the Rays for Edwin Jackson. At worst, Matt Joyce figures to be the strong side of the right field platoon for the Rays. In AL-Only leagues, he could be a great endgame bargain being able to hit 15-20 home runs and chuck in some steals, though he will be a liability on average. In most mixed leagues, I’d let him pass, unless he’s showing some serious signs in spring training.
Edwin Jackson – Edwin Jackson went to the Tigers so he could try to finally fulfill that top prospect label he picked up seventeen eons ago in Los Angeles. I haven’t given up on Jackson yet, but it would be nice if he started striking out some hitters again while keeping his walks down. In AL-Only leagues, Edwin’s a good late round flier who you shouldn’t mind dropping fairly quickly. The biggest ancillary (<–Word of the Day and I’m not sure I’m using it correctly, but whatever helps you people sorta learn) effect of this trade is David Price has a rotation spot. Lates, Edwin.
