64/60 Sports Fantasy Spin On The Hot Stove

As expected the Winter Meetings certainly turned up the heat in what has been a very exciting Hot Stove season. A look back at the week that was.

- Twins sign Matt Capps. Capps doesn't excite me from a skill standpoint but he appears to be the closer and should be a lock for 25+ given a full season in the role. Capps will likely be near the bottom of the second tier of closers.

- Dodgers sign Jerry Hairston Jr. No fantasy value here but I cannot recall a offseason where one team cornered the market on marginal MI/Utility type players this early.

- Dodgers sign Aaron Harang. Harang was a very nice late round or FA pickup last season for fantasy owners posting 14 W's and a ERA under 4. Harang did have some favorable underlying numbers last season and his declining K/9 is concerning. A departure from Petco should also be a concern however Dodger Stadium is a nice consolation prize. Harang will not be ignored on draft day this season however don't expect anyone to greatly overpay for him.

- Kevin Slowey traded to Rockies for PTBNL. Slowey will be slotted somewhere in the middle of the Rockies rotation and will get himself a new start. Welcome to the thin air of Coors Field, Mr Slowey your 48% FB rate could be problematic. Even though his FB tendency should make you worried his excellent control should limit the damage and the move to the NL has a track record of improving AL pitchers. Slowey is a nice upside target after round 20 who could easily find some success with a improved K/9 rate and some underlying numbers going in his favor.

- Blue Jays acquire Sergio Santos for Nestor Molina. Somewhat surprising move as the Sox are now in need of a closer and Santos was rather affordable. Santos is a big K guy who will likely have a handful of blowups throughout the season. Not a top tier option but is near the top of the second tier options. Molina, not related to the Catching Molina's, is a 22 year old SP who has had very solid numbers during his minor league career however his skill set seems to translate more to a back end of the rotation option according to most scouting services.

- Red Sox re-sign Andrew Miller. Managed to notch 6 W's in 12 starts despite a ERA north of 5. Should Miller win a rotation spot he will no doubt draw interest being a pitcher for the Red Sox. Until he is capable of posting a BB/9 around 3 don't waste your time waiting for that one QS for every three times he pitches.

- Rays sign Juan Miranda to Minor League Deal. Likely not worth noting but several years ago Carlos Pena arrived under similar circumstances and went on to be a productive fantasy option. Miranda can work a walk and has a minor league track record of a respectable AVG with 15-20 HR pop. Given the current state of Rays 1B Miranda could find himself a roster spot with a solid spring.

- Mets trade Angel Pagan to Giants for Andres Torres and Ramon Ramirez. Then proceed to sign Jon Rauch as well as Frank Francisco. In a matter of 45 minutes or so the Mets rebuilt the back end of their bullpen and one of these three will likely be given the ball in the 9th. If I had to place a wager at this point Frank Francisco would be winner. Torres moves from a 4th OF for the Giants to a everyday play in New York. Pagan on the other hand will likely lose playing time in the deal as the Giants OF figures to have four regular options to mix and match.

- Pirates sign Nate McLouth. Sure it's not a exciting name but it's the Pirates and a Free Agent and the Calender has yet to hit 2012. Typically the Pirates are left picking among the leftovers just before Camp is about to open. Now it's very likely that McLouth would have been just that but at least the Buccos are being proactive. McLouth will likely battle Alex Presley for playing time in camp and shouldn't figure into your fantasy evaluations heading into 2012.

- Padres get Huston Street for PTBNL. The Rockies have been shopping Street for years it would seem so I was rather surprised by the PTBNL in return. Street at one point was a top tier option but injuries last season will push him back to one of the top options among the second tier. At this point Rafael Betancourt figures to be first in line to close for the Rockies.

- Pirates sign Erik Bedard. Those Buccos are at it again this time nabbing a potential front line guy with Buyer Beware tag applied. It has been 4 season since Bedard logged more than 150IP and during his 9 year career has bested 30 Starts only once. When healthy Bedards solid K/9 makes him a very attractive option and the move to the NL only increases his value. Should likely be selected at some point in the 20's however someone will likely nab him in the late teens.

- Marlins sign Mark Buehrle. From a real life standpoint Buehrle will give you 200 IP with 80% of them being very effective. From a fantasy standpoint Buehrle needs to post W's to return any type of investment for his owners. Given his Free Agent staus look for Buehrle to be targeted at some point in the late teens or early 20's. Truth be told given his lack of K value and dependency on W's Buehrle is a better matchup option in your standard 25 man, 12 team league.

- David Ortiz accepts Red Sox arbitration. Ortiz returns to the Red Sox after the market for a over the hill, out of shape, DH only player dried up. Ortiz likely has some pop left in the bat and should be a solid run producer given the stout lineup he bats near the middle of. But expect long stretches of 0-4 throughout the season while his DH only status burns a roster spot.

- Angels sign Albert Pujols. This acquisition has been broken down and dissected at nausea over the last five days so I'll keep mine brief. Pujols's underlying numbers would suggest his decline has already begun. With that in mind Pujols's is still a top Fantasy option and surefire first round pick likely off the board before the 4th selection come draft time. You should also likely add two rounds of value for those in the Angels lineup who appear before him and directly afterwards. As for those Cardinals such as Holliday and Berkman I would suggest a two round drop in value for both players given the absence.

- Angels sign CJ Wilson. As if the top Hitter on the market wasn't enough the Halos had to nab the top pitching option on the market. Wilson doesn't have the pressure of performing like a number one although he is being paid as such. Wilson needs to eat up innings as he has the last two seasons and continue to improve on his control and strike out totals as he did from year one to year two. Wilson should expect a increase in numbers just getting away from the Ballpark in Arlington where Wilson posted a ERA nearly 1.4 higher at home than on the road. Wilson should be targeted as a number 3 or 4 option when building your rotation next season.

- Francisco Rodriguez accepts arbitration from Brewers. Classic case of the Brewers being greedy as they fully intended on someone nabbing up K Rod to a contract thus giving them a compensation pick. So it appears as though the Brewers will pay a ton of money to watch K Rod attempting to bridge the gap from the 7th to the 9th while you will only target KRod in Hold leagues or very deep leagues to tally up some K's.

- Brewers sign Alex Gonzalez. Sure it's not Jose Reyes but at least it's a upgrade over Yuniesky Betancourt. Gonzalez will hurt your AVG but should produce 15-20 HR power from the MI option and could be a plus source for Run Production counting stats given the Brewers solid lineup upon the return of Braun.

- Tigers sign Octavio Dotel. No value in terms of fantasy as Dotel will likely be the 7th Inning/matchup option late in games.

- Cubs acquire Ian Stewart and Casey Weathers from Rockies for Tyler Colvin and DJ LeMahieu. A classic case of former prospects in need of a new start. The Cubs have a surplus of OF and are in need of a 3B. Colvin heads to the Rockies and will likely be part of a platoon with Seth Smith. Expect Colvin to continue to K at a high rate, refuse to walk, and hit a solid amount of HR in the humidor of Coors. LeMahieu is more of a Utility player type who could earn some AB given the void of established options in the IF. Regardless LeMahieu doesn't figure to have any value outside of a NL only format. Stewart has the most talent of the group and has a longer history of success, albeit in the minors, than Colvin. Stewart will be the starting 3B day one and at the very least should play solid defense and hit 15-20 HR's. Stewart makes for a good sleeper midway through the draft while Colvin should be a final two round flyer.

- DBacks acquire Trevor Cahill and Craig Breslow from A's for Jarrod Parker, Collin Cowgill and Ryan Cook. Cahill isn't an Ace by any means but he has been very effective eating up productive innings the last two seasons. I've been rather skeptical of Cahill's early success given his Low K/9 and less than 2:1 K to BB rate. Yet he will only be 24 to start the season and his K/9 rate has increased the last two season and his minor league track record suggest a K increase could be in his future. The move to the NL should be negated somewhat by the move out of the Colusieum and into the more hitter friendly park of Chase Field. Expect another solid season by Cahill worthy of a 5th or 6th starter for your squad. For the A's Parker seems to be the only viable player in their haul but at this point he doesn't have a rotation spot. Parker may have a higher ceiling then Cahill but it doesn't figure to be this season.

- Cardinals resign Rafael Furcal. Sure you may have failed in bringing Pujols back but a injury prone SS with declining skills is a heck of a consolation prize. Furcal will certainly be worth owning in your standard leagues but Furcal is nothing more than a middle of the road MI or Utility option at this point in his career.

- Ryan Braun fails MLB drug testing. 50 game suspension likely. It will be interesting to see how far Braun falls. For the last two to three years Chase Utley has been the high upside player who was guaranteed to miss time to start the season. Utley was still nabbed somewhat early in most drafts and his skill set isn't that of Braun. Braun will certainly lose his first round status but I wouldn't be surprised to see him nabbed in the second round in some drafts and would be shocked if he slipped past four rounds in any league that offers a Bench.