Trade deadline wrapup: What it all means

A quick scan of the major moves made leading up to MLB's trade deadline, and their fantasy impact:

LANCE BERKMAN TO YANKEES: Berkman's value jumps up considerably after being plucked from one of the league's most punchless offenses in Houston and plopped down into the middle of one of its most potent in New York. Though clearly on the decline - just a .245 average and 13 HRs for the former All-Star so far - you have to wonder how much of that was a function of playing for the Astros. Here's hoping he'll show a little life as a full-time DH and provide some more power down the stretch.

KERRY WOOD TO YANKEES: Unfortunately a relocation to the Big Apple does little for this veteran's value. Wood loses what little fantasy appeal he had since there's absolutely no save chances coming his way as long as Mariano Rivera is in good health. Chris Perez is now the man in Cleveland.

OCTAVIO DOTEL TO DODGERS: Ditto for Dotel, who won't sniff a save opportunity with Jonathan Broxton at 100 percent. Joel Hanrahan and Evan Meek will get the call in the ninth now for Pittsburgh.

TED LILLY TO DODGERS: Lilly's lack of strikeouts (89 in 117 innings) doesn't help his fantasy value, and neither does his 3-8 record with the Cubs. But there should be a few more Ws coming his way with contending L.A., and he won't hurt your ERA (3.69) all that much either.

RYAN THERIOT TO DODGERS: The second baseman certainly isn't known for his power (1 HR), so a move from Wrigley Field to spacious Dodger Stadium won't have a negative impact in that department. He'll take over the starting 2B spot in L.A. with Blake DeWitt going over to Chicago in the deal, but aside from his speed (16 steals) he doesn't offer a ton of value to begin with.

JAKE WESTBROOK TO CARDINALS: The veteran right-hander has put up middling numbers this year (6-7, 4.65 ERA, 1.39 WHIP), but he's certainly a good NL-only option and could be worth a look in mixed leagues now that he's under the tutelage of pitching guru Dave Duncan.

MATT CAPPS TO TWINS: The Nationals closer and All-Star gets an automatic upgrade as he moves to a contender where he'll see more save chances. And in Washington, up-and-comer Drew Storen gets a shot to prove he's a ninth-inning star.

You need to know this

For those of you who haven't drafted yet (and even those who have):

Chris Perez has been sent to the minors, meaning Jason Motte is now the frontrunner to earn the bulk of the saves in St. Louis. Ryan Franklin is still lurking, and I think Perez will ultimately end up handling ninth-inning duties, but for now Motte's the man, and a must-add.

Lance Berkman has a sore shoulder and has been diagnosed with biceps tendinitis. Doesn't seem to be a huge deal though, as he hopes to return to the Astros' lineup this week. I wouldn't panic.

B.J. Ryan hasn't looked too hot this spring, Blue Jays manager Cito Gaston is concerned, and there's some discussion about Scott Downs and Ryan sharing closer duties. Handcuff alert! Drop Ryan down a peg in your closer rankings.


Brett Gardner has won the Yankees' starting CF job over Melky Cabrera. Why should you care? Because Gardner swiped 37 bags last year in 94 games in Triple-A and 13 more in 42 games in the bigs. Are you familiar with the term "cheap steals?"

The Cubs' closer (for now): Kevin Gregg. He's officially beaten out Carlos Marmol for the job entering the season. Gregg may not be the greatest, but he's coming off seasons of 29 and 32 saves - nothing to sniff at, and the Cubbies should win a bunch of ballgames. Marmol's got some value as a setup guy and might eventually win the job, but for now it's Gregg's to lose.

The great keeper debate

So I'm in a keeper league where I can protect up to five players entering this year's draft. I pretty much hate my team, mostly because it finished in the middle of the pack next last season and because I unfortunately don't really have a no-brainer, elite, can't-give-up-under-any-circumstance guy on my roster. It's not terrible though, and I do have some talent I'd like to hold onto.

Here's the roster I finished the season with last year:

C A.J. Pierzynski
1B Ryan Howard
2B Dan Uggla
SS Miguel Tejada
3B Jorge Cantu
OF Jacoby Ellsbury
OF Delmon Young
OF Lance Berkman
UTIL Jason Bay
UTIL Joey Votto
BENCH Jason Giambi
BENCH Pablo Sandoval
BENCH Cameron Maybin
DL Travis Hafner

P Josh Beckett
P Aaron Harang
P Daisuke Matsuzaka
P Francisco Liriano
P Bobby Jenks
P Mike Gonzalez
P J.P. Howell
P Fernando Rodney
P Javier Vazquez
P Chad Qualls
P Ben Sheets
DL Billy Wagner

So right off the bat: I want no part of Hafner or Wagner whatsoever. No thanks. You killed me last year. Get lost.

Pierzynski, Tejada, Cantu, Giambi, Harang, Gonzalez, Howell, Rodney, Vazquez, Qualls, Sheets ... no. Some worthwhile players there, but not keeper material.

I think Young will have the kind of year he should have had last year (which is why I drafted him in the first place) ... but not a keeper.

I don't belive in keeping a closer, so Jenks is out.

Votto's a nice player, but I've got at least two better first basemen already on the roster. Next.

Sandoval and Maybin are intriguing, up-and-coming players, which is why I picked them up at the end of last season when my team had already tanked ... but I can probably redraft them.

So that leaves me with eight legit choices: Howard, Uggla, Ellsbury, Berkman, Bay, Beckett, Matsuzaka, Liriano.

It's a 10-team league, and if everyone protects five guys, I should be keeping top-50-caliber players, which I believe all those guys are capable of being in 2009. It's just a matter of who I want to build a team around, and if I lean toward offense or pitching.

If I want to tackle it by positional scarcity, Uggla is the only guy who fits the bill as a second baseman. His power potential places him in the upper tier at 2B, but he doesn't run a lick, which hurts. He's probably somewhere around sixth in the 2B rankings - doesn't sound like keeper material to me.

Howard, on the other hand ... we know about his faults (no average, no speed), but he's a potential HR champ. He's in.

Berkman's probably the other safe bet. He's getting up there in age, last year seemed like a career year, and another 18 steals seems like a longshot ... but he's been a consistent producer across the board, and he's still got Carlos Lee batting behind him. Plug him into the utility spot.

So now I've got two big mashers, but what about speed? Ellsbury fits the bill. How many players are capable of 50 steals in 2009? Not that many. He won't give me a ton of power, but he won't embarrass himself at the plate like some other speed-only guys. Let's do it.

Now we come to Bay ... do I keep him too, which leaves me room for only one pitcher? The guy fills the stat sheet, seems to be built to play in Fenway, should be in his prime ... OK, I'm sold.

So now we come to the pitchers, Beckett, Dice-K, Liriano. Dice is nice, but the walks really drive me nuts sometimes. Becks, even with the injury concerns and coming off a "down" year, can strike out just as many without the drama. But the guy that really gets my blood pumping is Liriano, who who showed me that Tommy John surgery is a distant memory with his stellar post-All Star break performance (6-1, 2.47 ERA, 60 to 19 K:BB). Would he go in the top 50 in a regular start-from-scratch draft? Is he a bona fide No. 1 fantasy starter? Probably not. But he offers the most upside of any of the guys I've got, so why not take a chance?

There you have it: Howard, Berkman, Ellsbury, Bay, Liriano. My five keepers - unless I change my mind. Thoughts?

Berkman's a beast

A few thoughts on the monster season Lance Berkman is having ...

The Astros slugger ranks first in the league in homers (13), runs scored (42), doubles (16), total bases (112), slugging (.800) and OPS (1.207) and second in batting (.393), RBIs (38), OBP (.470) and hits (55).

In other words, he's been awesome.

Berkman's always been a bit of an underrated player, beginning with his days as an apprentice member of Houston's famed Killer B's, where he played the baseball equivalent of Shemp to the Moe-Larry-Curly trio of Jeff Bagwell, Craig Biggio and Derek Bell.

But Berkman's been a steady producer for almost a decade: career .303 hitter in 10 seasons, averaging 35 homers and 116 RBIs a year. Last year's numbers took a bit of a dip (.278 average, his lowest in a full season, and 34 homers after 45 the year before), but you can chalk a lot of that up to a very cold April. That obviously hasn't been the case this year, and it's helped having a rejuvenated (but steroid-free, I'm sure) Miguel Tejada added to the heart of the Houston lineup.

Here's the best part about Berkman's career year, at least for me. I own him in my main league, and he's kept me in contention all season long. The funny thing is he went unprotected in our 10-team keeper league (we could keep five players), and then lasted until the sixth pick in the redraft, which essentially meant he was the 56th player taken. Not bad value for a guy who I expect to finish the season among the top five offensive fantasy players.

You could consider dealing Berkman now while he's red-hot, but like I said, I'm not expecting a huge fall-off in production for such a proven hitter. The only way a trade makes sense is if you swap him for an elite player or two at a position more scarce than 1B/OF (I'm talking Hanley Ramirez/Chase Utley territory here). Otherwise, keep enjoying the ride.

I know I will.