TRADE ALERT: Mark Teixeira The Holy One

For the second year in a row, Teixeira has been traded right before the deadline, but this season he actually has a chance to get some bling on his ring finger.

The Anaheim Angels traded first baseman Casey Kotchman (solid contract that doesn’t come due until 2011) and prospect pitcher Stephen Marek (mediocre right-hander) to the Atlanta Braves in return for this powerful switch-hitter. This move establishes the already first place Halos as the most likely candidate to win the World Series, and is a white flag for the struggling Braves. Although the trade will certainly help the Angels’ mediocre offense, how does it affect Tex’s fantasy value?

Keep reading to find out…

Essentially, Teixeira is replacing his supporting crew of Chipper Jones and Brian McCann with Vladimir Guerrero and Torii Hunter. Nowadays, Chipper is seeing more time on the DL, McCann just suffered a minor concussion, and Jeff Francoeur still can’t seem to get into a groove. On the other hand, Howie Kendrick and Chone Figgins are finally both 100% healthy and rolling right along, and Vladimir Guerrero has bounced back from his early season struggles.

The National League Braves (17th-most runs in the MLB) have scored a minuscule two more runs than the American League Angels this season. This trade will augment the Halos’ (19th-most runs in the MLB) offense, and ultimately increases the fantasy value of Tex, Vlad, Chone, Howie, Torii, etc.

We can’t forget about Casey Kotchman though, can we?  Kotchman is a solid ballplayer. He won’t hit for power like Teixeira, but he will put up a solid average (.290+) and will be a moderate contributor in all categories except steals. Since Tex’s value goes up, that can only mean Kotchman’s value drops. Casey K is already owned in around 90% of leagues, partly because you know exactly what to expect from him. If you need a decent first baseman and he is still available, scoop him up, since he is currently on a mini-tear (three homers in the past four games).

Remember, Tex always performs better in the second half of the season, and he put up monster numbers after he was traded last year. A Vlad/Tex combo may prove to be even more deadly than we expect. Sit back and enjoy!

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