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Join SI.com's James Quintong in a discussion of some of the latest news in football, baseball and other sports and how it relates to fantasy teams and leagues.
8/13/2007 01:43:00 PM

Trade deadline aftermath

Tad Iguchi
Tad Iguchi has revived his game after moving to the Phillies just before the trade deadline.
AP
While Eric Gagne's fantasy value took a big hit at the trade deadline because he wasn't going to get many saves in Boston, I'm not sure many people expected the league to be hitting .455 against him since joining the Red Sox. Sometimes you throw closers into a non-closer mix and they'll struggle, so maybe Gagne's recent meltdown wasn't as surprising as you might think.

On the other side of the deal, Kason Gabbard left Sunday's start with an injured forearm, although he was 1-1 in his previous two starts with the Rangers after the trade deadline. So while the deadline didn't produce a ton high-profile moves, a number of the trades that did go down have been helped out fantasy owners (Gagne aside).

The most notable performer since the trade deadline is Mark Teixeira, who's given the Braves yet another jolt of power in the middle of the lineup. He's hit four homers for Atlanta, including three in his first three games for the club. Quietly, the other part of the trade, Ron Mahay, has allowed just one earned run and picked up a win in 7 1/3 innings in the Braves pen. However, rookie Jarrod Saltalamacchia is just 8-for-44 since going to Texas in that deal. It also isn't good news for Octavio Dotel, the Braves' other big pickup at the deadline, who headed to the DL with a shoulder injury but expects to be back in a couple of weeks.

Tad Iguchi could be one of the more pleasant surprises at the trade deadline. While many expected Teixeira to produce, Iguchi was struggling with the White Sox when he was shipped to Philadelphia to replace Chase Utley. Since joining the Phillies, Iguchi is hitting .339 with a homer and a couple of steals. Luis Castillo is hitting .326 since joining the Mets as the NL second base pool got a nice boost after the deadline.

While the Pirates' acquisition of Matt Morris was a bit of a head-scratcher (he's allowed 10 runs in two starts since the trade), the Giants have already cleaned up with speedy outfielder Rajai Davis, who already has six steals for San Francisco. Davis is probably still best suited as a backup outfielder, but when he gets on the bases, look out.

Scott Linebrink has allowed just one run and struck out eight in seven innings of work in the Brewers bullpen, which is better than incumbents Derrick Turnbow and Francisco Cordero have done in that span, although Linebrink still isn't the running for saves yet. But don't look for Dan Wheeler to be in the saves mix in Tampa Bay, as he's 0-1 with 9.64 ERA since he was dealt for Ty Wigginton, who's doing just fine with a .325 average and a homer since joining the Astros.

Scott Proctor has jumped into a similar setup role with the Dodgers, getting a win and allowing just three runs in 9 1/3 innings (including two on Sunday). Meanwhile, the Yankees have already put Wilson Betemit to good use at third and first, and he's already hit a homer with a surprisingly decent .316 average in limited action. Betemit can at least provide a little more pop in a utility role, at least compared to Miguel Cairo.

Other notes for Monday:
-- While we all marvel over the Rick Ankiel story, a bigger question is what happened to Brian Giles over the weekend? I guess playing in Cincinnati against the Reds staff can do wonders for one's power. Giles hit five homers in three games, including two each in the last two games of the series. That brought his number for the season to seven. It's been a down season for Giles because of injuries, but he's still hitting in the .300 range and walking more than striking out, but the decreasing power numbers will bring down his fantasy value. But maybe this trip to Cincinnati will get his game going. Or else, it's a hint to look at other players heading to Cincinnati for the week.

-- Welcome back, A.J. Burnett. The Blue Jays righty had been out since late May but came back to shut down the Royals for just one run and three hits over 7 1/3 innings. If he can stay healthy, he can still be a good help to fantasy pitching staffs down the stretch.

-- It was also a nice welcome back for Jason Giambi, who hit two homers over the weekend against the Indians. But it will still be tough for Giambi to find regular at-bats with so many good hitters itching for playing time at first base, DH and all the outfield spots.

-- As if it weren't a great season already for Magglio Ordonez, he hits two homers in one inning in the wild game against the A's.

-- It seems hard to believe that Jeff Weaver is tied with Brandon Webb for the major league lead in shutouts with two, but that's what happened after he shut down the White Sox with a five-hitter plus eight strikeouts. Maybe Weaver is one of his "hot" streaks to get his numbers back to something respectable. He was miserable in April and May, going 0-6 with a 14.32 ERA. He bounced back in June with two wins and cutting the ERA in half. Then he went 0-4 in July with a couple of awful outings in the mix, but now he's won his August starts. If you're feeling really frisky, you could pick up Weaver, especially since he'll draw the White Sox again for his next start.
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