Top Offseason Fantasy Impact Moves

This offseason provided plenty of player movement throughout Major League Baseball. In turn, all of these blockbuster trades and free agent signings have directly affected some of the top players in the fantasy realm. At times, a change of scenery can lead to better fantasy production for a player ... yet, other times, player movement could actually turn out to be a big blow to a premier player (both directly and indirectly). Let`s take a look at some of the biggest moves from this offseason which impacted the fantasy baseball world.

Santana Heads to the Big Apple
"Who`s in? Who`s out?" That seemed to be the questions on everyone`s mind this offseason concerning which teams were in the running for the services of one of the league`s premier pitchers -- SP Johan Santana. As we drew closer to the new year, the race narrowed down to three stud horses: both clubs from big-market New York and the defending World Series Champs from Boston. When it was all said and done, the Mets put together the right package at the right time and sent a handful of young talent to a rebuilding Twins organization in return for the 2004/2006 AL Cy Young Award Winner.

Acquiring Santana was a huge boost for the Mets, both on the field and mentally. After suffering one of the worst meltdowns in sports history last season, the Mets needed that one spark to get their collective mind back on track. In addition, the team was lacking a legit No. 1 starter -- sure, John Maine has shown tons of promise and Pedro Martinez is set to return, however, along with the general public, GM Omar Minaya knew that neither was that surefire ace at this point in their careers.

Insert Santana. Coming off of a "down" year in `07 by his standards, posting the second lowest win total (15) and highest ERA (3.33) of his career since entering the league full-time in `03, Santana`s move to Queens is an instant upgrade to his fantasy value. Playing in pitcher-friendly Shea Stadium (at least until next season) works to Santana`s favor. And the fact that he will see a pitcher instead of a DH in opposing lineups could potentially equate to 50 or so extra strikeouts. Though the Mets battle it out in the tough NL East against such quality lineups as Philadelphia and Atlanta, the offense in the National League fails in comparison to that of what Santana has faced over the past five seasons. There are lots of big-time expectations for Santana in New York, and there should be no reason for him not to follow through and come out on top.

Detroit Becomes the New England Patriots of Major League Baseball
The Tigers must have taken some notes from the New England Patriots because Detroit went out and made some solid moves this offseason to assure themselves a healthy chance at the postseason in 2008. Just like the Patriots, the Tigers had a solid core of talent to build around prior to the offseason and searched to add the right pieces to complete the puzzle.

The most prominent move for the Tigers over the winter was their acquisition of 3B Miguel Cabrera and SP Dontrelle Willis from the Florida Marlins. There is much speculation about whether or not Willis can be effective in `08 -- he is coming off of a sub-par season, has been on the decline over the last few years, and will be facing much more potent offenses in the American League. Fantasy owners will be weary of obtaining Willis` services this year, yet, if he can bear down and return to his form from two years ago, Detroit`s strong offense will surely produce and back him.

Which leads into the next point concerning Cabrera -- in Florida, other than SS Hanley Ramirez and perhaps 2B Dan Uggla, Cabrera was the entire offense for the Marlins. Now in Detroit, there is no way opposing teams can pitch around any player in the Tigers lineup because one player is better than the next. So, not only does Cabrera`s fantasy value increase slightly, so does that of players like OF Curtis Granderson, OF Magglio Ordonez and DH Gary Sheffield. Let`s not forget to mention that newly-acquired SS Edgar Renteria fits into this picture perfectly, as does OF Jacques Jones, who now becomes a serviceable option off of any fantasy bench.

Boston Holds on to its Young Talent
The Red Sox were asked to give up a lot in their quest to obtain the services of SP Johan Santana. Many believe that the New York Mets got away scotch-free when their deal went through, since it does not seem like they gave away the type of young talent to Minnesota that they were asking of from Boston. Nevertheless, not dealing away players such as OF Jacoby Ellsbury, SP Jon Lester and SP Clay Buchholz could have been the smartest thing that GM Theo Epstein did.

All three of the aforementioned youngsters have huge upsides, and both Ellsbury and Lester have had some success with Boston in the past -- Ellsbury had a great fall in `07 and performed above expectations in the postseason, while Lester is 11-2 in 26 starts over two seasons. Rather than being buried on a depth chart or thrown into a rebuilding situation, these three will have a chance to shine on a powerhouse in the AL East. Ellsbury is slotted to start the season in centerfield over veteran OF Coco Crisp, and with question marks surrounding SP Curt Schilling, Lester and Buchholz both have the opportunity to make the starting rotation to open the season. There is no doubt that the hype, as well as fantasy value, of these players would have gone down if they were shipped off to Minnesota. Instead, they remain hot late-round commodities with huge potential to put up solid fantasy numbers.

Florida Makes Way for Fresh Faces
In return for 3B Miguel Cabrera and SP Dontrelle Willis, the Marlins acquired the services of two young players with huge upsides -- OF Cameron Maybin and SP Andrew Miller. Maybin is a highly-touted outfielder who posted back-to-back seasons of a .300+ batting average and 20+ stolen bases in the minors. He has a lot of promise and could be a great late-round pick to take a chance on in fantasy drafts this season.

Miller was very up and down in the spot starts that he saw while with the Tigers last season, however, when he is on, the youngster has great stuff. He went 5-5 in 13 starts last year, but in his five wins, Miller allowed only 6 runs (twice he allowed none over 6.0 IP).

Shipping off Cabrera also opened the door for 3B Dallas McPherson. McPherson saw limited playing time from 2004-2006 with the Los Angeles Angels, but never truly lived up to expectations. He spent all of 2007 on the DL after opting to have back surgery to fuse two vertebrate in his back. Subsequently, he was released by the Angeles and signed a one-year deal with the Marlins early this year. Nevertheless, early in his career, McPherson shot up the ranks in the minors very quickly and showed a lot of potential. This spring, he will compete with Jose Castillo and Jorge Cantu for the starting job at third -- a definite upgrade defensively for the Marlins.

Bedard Switches Coasts
SP Erik Bedard has made many people believers of his top-notch production after back-to-back stellar seasons with the sub-par Baltimore Orioles. Though his move to Seattle will not necessarily provide an upgrade in run support, Bedard will no longer be battling the "beasts in the east" (New York and Boston) on a regular basis.

Bedard should keep doing what he has been doing for the past two seasons, but the true fantasy implication in this move relates to RP J.J. Putz. In 2007, Putz was by far one of the most dominant closers in the game, successfully converting his first 29 save opportunities and finishing with 40 on the year (with only 2 blown saves). Putz also posted 36 saves in 2006, showing that last year was not simply a fluke. Now that the starting rotation has tightened up even further heading into 2008 with the acquisition of Bedard, it could, in turn, result in even more opportunities to close out games for Putz. Due to his consistent performance, coupled with the Mariners new ace, Putz should be one of the first closers taken off of fantasy draft boards this season.