Although the phone lines were extremely busy Tuesday night and Wednesday afternoon in the offices of MLB general managers across the league, very few trades were actually completed prior to the non-waiver trade deadline at 4 p.m. on Wednesday.
Although there was a low volume of trades, pitchers were heavily involved in discussions, and several are on the move to new teams, which could affect fantasy owners and the remainder of their seasons.
Boston Red Sox/Chicago White Sox/Detroit Tigers trade
Perhaps the most sought-after pitcher at the deadline, Jake Peavy found himself on the move from Chicago to the Boston Red Sox in change for Brayan Villarreal and Jose Iglesias. Peavy is obviously the biggest piece here, and the 12-year veteran is looking to regain the form he once had with the San Diego Padres.
Peavy, the Cy Young winner from 2007, has a decent win/loss record of 8-4, but is carrying an ERA of 4.28 and a 1.138 WHIP. According to ESPN’s Buster Olney, Peavy will likely make his debut with the Red Sox on Saturday against the Arizona Diamondbacks. The 32-year-old is owned in 91 percent of teams in ESPN leagues, but is worth a pickup if he’s available down the stretch. In his previous three seasons with the White Sox, Peavy and an average ERA of 4.31 (not great) but he has been striking out over eight-and-a-half batters per nine innings this season, so he’ll be worth a play if your team is in need of strikeouts.
Villarreal isn’t worth anything this year, since he’s spent most of it in Triple-A, and when he was called up to the majors he struggled mightily, giving up 10 runs in seven appearances for the Tigers.
Houston Astros/Baltimore Orioles trade
After talk circulated all day Wednesday about Bud Norris, the Orioles were eventually able to land him in exchange for minor leaguers LJ Hoes and Josh Hader. Noris has had a losing record in each of his last four seasons, but he has been in Houston so his supporting cast hasn’t done much to help him. After averaging over eight-and-a-half strikeouts per nine innings in his first four years in the majors, Norris is only fanning a little over six batters per nine in 2013. He has managed to get his ERA down to 3.93, but his WHIP is very high at 1.413, which would explain why he’s only owned in 4 percent of ESPN leagues.
Don’t expect much if you are quick to grab Norris off of the waiver wire.
It’s also worth noting that Hader is worth a watch for dynasty leagues. He has never played in a major league game, but he could be called up in September by a rebuilding Astros squad. With single-A Demarva, Hader is 3-6 with a 2.65 ERA and a 1.282 WHIP. For now, sit tight on all players involved in this trade, and wait to see if Norris can catch on in the Orioles lineup.
San Diego Padres/Arizona Diamondbacks trade
With only two hours left before the trade deadline, the Padres pulled the trigger on a deal that sent Joe Thatcher to the Diamondbacks in exchange for Ian Kennedy. Thatcher is a solid relief pitcher, but doesn’t offer much in terms of fantasy value. He has only completed 30 innings this season, posting a 2.10 ERA in 50 appearances. In seven years in the majors, Thatcher has only notched one career save, so he’s not worth much notice in the fantasy sphere.
However, it will be interesting to see if Kennedy can return to his 2011 form when he went 21-4 and finished fourth in the Cy Young voting. After finishing that season with a 2.88 ERA, Kennedy followed that up with a 4.02 ERA in 2012, and has a 5.23 ERA along with a 3-8 record this season. Kennedy could blame his poor record on his team, but the Padres certainly aren’t any better than Arizona. Kennedy is only owned in 31.8 percent of ESPN leagues, but Kennedy owners should consider dropping him or trading him, because he’s not going to be getting any better on a 50-58 Padres team.
Brian Wilson signing
It’s not exactly a trade, but it did occur near the trade deadline and is certainly worth noting. The quirky Wilson had been out of baseball entirely after undergoing the second Tommy John surgery of his career, but now looks to become the setup man for the Los Angeles Dodgers after they signed him on Tuesday. Wilson is worth keeping an eye on, considering he led the league in saves in 2010, and followed that up with a 36-save performance in 2011 before being injured.
Wilson won’t be racking up any saves in 2013, but keep a close eye on him to see if he could be a player in the Dodgers’ bullpen next year.