Five Fantasy Baseball Losers from This Offseason

One of the trendiest things to do around this time of year is to create lists. Top-five this and top-10 that.

I feel I am a pretty trendy person. I mean, anyone who plays team trivia every Tuesday night, which is all the rage in New York City nowadays, has to be pretty trendy, right?

So sticking with the list trend, I thought I would take a look at the top-five fantasy losers from this free agency period. These are the players who have had their fantasy value hurt by their new situation.

Here are the top-five fantasy losers from this offseason. Rankings are in no particular order.

1. Jason Bay, New York Mets

Bay left the Boston Red Sox and signed a four-year, $66 million contract with the Mets. Along with leaving the city of Boston, Bay left behind a hitter friendly ballpark and a potent lineup.

Bay hit .267 with 36 home runs, 119 RBI, and a .384 OBP last year with the Red Sox. His production was helped by playing his home games at Fenway Park and being surrounded by some serious talent.

Now Bay is going to an extreme pitcher’s park in Citi Field and doesn’t nearly have the talent surrounding him in Flushing that he did in Boston. Bay’s average and OBP might still be there in 2010, but I fully expect his RBI, runs, and HR numbers to drop in 2010. Bay's value will decrease on the Mets.

2. Fernando Rodney, Los Angeles Angles of Anaheim

Whatever you think of Rodney’s skill level, the fact remains that Rodney did finish sixth in saves (37) in the American League in 2009. He was a good source of cheap saves for fantasy owners.

Rodney goes from closer in Detroit to set-up man in Anaheim. Rodney might end up splitting saves with current closer Brian Fuentes, but Rodney has lost 90 percent of his fantasy value in 2010.

The only way I would draft Rodney is if I already had Fuentes on my roster and I wanted an insurance policy.

3. Johnny Damon, TBD

It doesn’t matter where Damon signs at this point. His fantasy value took a dive when the New York Yankees decided not to re-sign the 36-year-old.

Damon had a resurgence in 2009 thanks to a new ballpark that really played to Damon’s strengths. Damon hit 17 of his 24 home runs and had an OPS 120 points higher at the new Yankee Stadium than on the road.

Damon will also be hurt by the fact that he won’t have the best lineup in baseball protecting him wherever he goes.

4. Javier Vazquez, New York Yankees

Vazquez’s value is actually hurt by joining the Yankees.

Vazquez had a tremendous year for the Atlanta Braves last season, going 15-10 with a 2.87 ERA and totaling 238 K’s in 219.1 innings. I don’t expect those numbers with the move to the American League.

He has historically struggled while in the AL, so I expect Vazquez’s ERA and WHIP to increase, his K/9 to decrease, and his win total to be about the same in 2010.

5. Rich Harden, Texas Rangers

Like Vazquez, I am not a fan of pitchers going from the National League to the American League. I am also not a fan of a pitcher going from a hitter’s ballpark to an extreme hitter’s ballpark.

Harden is no longer the groundball pitcher he once was back in the day and I wonder how he is going to fare when it’s 100 degrees in Texas and the balls are flying out of Arlington Stadium.

I also wonder how long Harden is going to last now that Nolan Ryan’s philosophy of stretching out the starting pitcher is taking shape.

There is my list of the top-five fantasy losers for this offseason. Later in the week I will take a look at the top-five fantasy winners from the offseason.

You can follow The Ghost of Moonlight Graham on Twitter @ theghostofmlg