WHITE SOX ADD SLUGGER
Reds Receive: IF Jose Peraza, OF Scott Schebler and INF Brandon Dixon
Dodgers Receive: 2B Micah Johnson, RHP Frankie Montas, OF Trayce Thompson
White Sox Receive: 3B Todd Frazier
Here we go.
REDS: Peraza was a top-55 prospect heading into last season according to Baseball America and MLB.com. The 21 year old had a decent season in 2015 hitting .293 though with a mere .316 OBP at Triple-A. He did steal 33 bases in 40 attempts though his .694 OPS leaves a lot to be desired. He was never able to make his mark though by doing enough to convince the Braves, then the Dodgers, to give him serious work in the bigs. As of now he’s just a guy, but if the Reds do indeed deal Brandon Phillips as is rumored, Peraza would become an interesting addition in NL-only leagues at second base.
Schebler has 36 at-bats in the big leagues and the 25 year old has some pop and speed. During a 635 minor league game sample size he’s hit .273 with a .338 OBP and .492 SLG. He’s had two seasons of 27 or more homers, and two seasons with more than 15 steals in the minors, though all but 121 of those games were below Triple-A. The Reds current outfield would seem to be Jay Bruce, Billy Hamilton and then… looks like Schebler will be batting the likes of Adam Duval for a starting gig in left field. Possible it happens for Scott in 2016.
Dixon will be 24 in January and has poor plate discipline (312 punchouts in 282 games). He’s also appeared in just 83 games above Single-A ball. Per 140 games in the minors he’s averaged 15 homers and 20 steals a season though, but that slash line doesn’t impress at all (.255/.289/.420), ala Drew Stubbs.
DODGERS: Johnson is 24 years old and has always had tons of success in the minors (.315/.375/.466 last season). Johnson has the speed to steal 20+ bases at the big league level though he has been unable to break out in the majors (he had a .576 OPS last season over 36 games). He has a built in partner to share time with at second base in the recently resigned Chase Utley.
Montas has a plus fastball, it was an average of 96.6 mph last season over 15 innings with the Sox last season, as he struck out 20 while walking nine. Though his arm is electric, he really only throws the heater and a slider, so he might be ticketed for the bullpen though the Dodgers GM, Andrew Friedman, said the team is hopeful he can stick as a starter.
Thompson is 24 years old and the brother of Klay Thompson of the Warriors. He had a great finish to the year with a .295/.363/.533 slash line over 44 games with the White Sox. Perhaps a trade of Andre Ethier or Carl Crawford is on the horizon, but for now the Dodgers outfield looks like this: Yasiel Puig, Joc Pederson and then Ethier/Crawford in left leaving no current path to significant playing time for Thompson.
WHITE SOX: Frazier was one of just four hitters to slug 35 homers while driving 40 doubles into the gaps in 2015 (the others: Nolan Arenado, Josh Donaldson and Yoenis Cespedes). Frazier has also been mighty effective across the board the last two years displaying plenty of pop as well as displaying some base stealing prowess. In each of the last two seasons Frazier has hit at least 20 homers with 80 RBIs, 82 runs scored and 13 steals each season. Prepare to fall off your chair (you might want to seatbelt up). Do you know how many players in baseball have gone 29-80-82-13 in each of the last two seasons? The answer is one. Frazier is the only man in that exclusive group (Mike Trout stole a mere 11 bases last season). Moving to Chicago shouldn’t hurt the power stroke, and as the below chart shows only two of his homers last season would have been on the edge of being out of the park in Chicago.
He has holes, he’s a career .257 batter with another league average mark in the OBP category (.321), but he’s a nice power hitter who will turn 30 in February.
COLON STAYING IN NEW YORK
Bartolo Colon will be returning to the Mets on a 1-year, $7.25 million deal. Colon will be 43 years old in May though he was still solid last season with a 4.16 ERA, 1.23 WHIP and 194.2 innings over 31 starts. He’s just short of 590 innings pitched the last three seasons proving even at his advanced age that he can throw quality innings. His walk total of 106 is the lowest in baseball since 2012. An NL-only option as it would seem likely that he will be given first shot to be the 5th starter for the Mets.
NAPOLI TO INDIANS
Mike Napoli has signed a 1-year deal to play first base for the Indians in 2016 (he will essentially be replacing last year’s first base add, who was traded away, Brandon Moss). Napoli hit 18 homers last season in just 407 at-bats. His slash line was way down, his .734 OPS was a career worst (career .837), and there are concerns that the 34 year old will be able to play every day. Still, he crushed it in the second half (.283/.381/.522) and he hammered lefties all year (.278/.391/.563). Sounds like the plan is for him to play first daily with Carlos Santana likely serving as the DH, but it remains to be seen how productive Napoli will be against righties.
Ray Flowers can be heard Monday through Thursday at 8 PM EDT and Friday at 10 PM EDT on SiriusXM Fantasy Sports Radio (Sirius 210, XM 87). You can also hear Ray Sunday nights at 7 PM on the channel talking fantasy sports. Follow Ray’s work at Fantasy Alarm and on Twitter (@baseballguys).
Finally, how to improve your work environment…