MLB Fantasy Baseball Trade Impact: Manny Ramirez to the Dodgers

If you're like the folks that sit at the Roundtable, 4pm came today and you were beyond disappointed. All day and we get Arthur Rhodes being sent to Florida and Ken Griffey being sent to the White Sox for a bag of parts. Pretty sad really. 

Then, 4:30 came. Word started trickling out that Manny Ramirez had actually been dealt. No one knew to where immediately, but soon it was found out that the Dodgers were the "lucky" team to land the tempermental outfielder. Every Red Sox fan then sat and said, "Great! That means we got either Matt Kemp or Andre Ethier out of this! Can it get better?"

In a way, it did, but not really. They didn't get an outfielder under their control for several years, but they did get a proven commodity from a third team, Pittsburgh. Jason Bay was an immediate upgrade over the other options because of his current production. Then we find out that the Sox gave up a reliever (from an already weak bullpen) and an outfield prospect (who has been important this season in his own right). Oh, and $7 million. 

From a baseball perspective, I felt they beyond overpaid. However, we aren't here to debate those merits. Which is good, because Carlin's seven dirty words aren't enough to get the point across. 

So let's hit the fantasy side to things. 

Manny Ramirez is going to be fine. He'll be much more content in L.A. and gets to play in a weak division against weak pitching. This should be a solid fit for a guy that has bowed out against every single young power pitcher. Ramirez shouldn't have to worry about that in the N.L. west. Arizona has strong pitching, but no one with overpowering fastballs like he saw in the American League. 

Expect solid numbers the rest of the way. He'll hit .300 and likely add 15 more home runs to his totals. 

Jason Bay will not be hitting fourth in Boston, at least initially. They will likely move Mike Lowell into that role in the short term to see if Bay can adapt to the Boston spotlight. Playing in Pittsburgh, Bay hasn't seen anything like the atmosphere he'll see the rest of the way. He'll be expected to produce and do so immediately. 

His numbers are better than Ramirez from a power perspective, sporting 22 home runs and 67 RBI. He could see some benefit from the confines of Fenway Park. Bay will be fine in Boston. Let's say he stays right around the .280 mark with 18 home runs. No reason to see him losing value in the American League. 

The interesting pieces to the deal involve the prospects. Brandon Moss is likely to see immediate playing time in Pittsburgh. He's a young power hitter with plenty of upside. Don't look to see him as an immediate impact player, but if you're in a keeper league, you could do worse than grabbing Moss now. Certainly, watch out for him next season. 

Craig Hansen could be a dark horse for saves the rest of the way. He was a closer in college, but was never going to step into that role in Boston with Papelbon filling in the ninth inning slot. Hansen has the stuff. When he steps to the mound, he's borderline cocky and has a tremendous out pitch in his slider. If you're looking for saves to finish out the season, Hansen is one to add.

Andy LaRoche became expendable with the emergence of Blake DeWitt and the acquisition of Casey Blake out in Los Angeles. LaRoche was having problems swinging, and the change of scene will give him a good chance at regular playing time. LaRoche will have minimal impact this season but is another piece to watch heading in to next year, as he could grab the Pirates starting job and hold on to it for a decade. 

That's the only trade of note. Back as the need arises. Check out the full Roundtable blog.