REDS, TRIBE, D'BACKS COMPLETE BLOCKBUSTER
In a three-team trade, the Cincinnati Reds acquired outfielder Shin-Soo Choo, infielder Jason Donald and cash from the Cleveland Indians; the Indians acquired outfielder Drew Stubbs from Cincinnati and pitchers Trevor Bauer, Matt Albers and Bryan Shaw from the Arizona Diamondbacks; the Diamondbacks acquired shortstop Didi Gregorius from Cincinnati, and pitcher Tony Sipp and first baseman Lars Anderson from Cleveland.
What does it give the Cincinnati Reds
For the Reds, landing Choo is key here. While he doesn't have a lot of experience playing center field, Cincinnati will play him between {P Ryan Ludwick} (LF) and {P Jay Bruce} with the hope he can solve their leadoff batter issues. Donald will provide backup help all over the field, specifically acting as insurance for shortstop {P Zack Cozart}. Choo appears to be a boom-or-bust acquisition for Cincy, who were desperate for a patient batter to hit first. Speedy prospect {P Billy Hamilton} could be the center-fielder of the future for the Reds, but Choo's acquisition will provide him more time to make the conversion from shortstop to center field.
What does it give the Cleveland Guardians
The Indians did very well here to land a starting center-fielder in Stubbs, which should allow {P Michael Brantley} to play left field on a regular basis...giving Cleveland very sound defense at both positions. Stubbs is a feast-or-famine hitter, but his power and speed are very intriguing. He could blossom in the American League. Also landing Bauer in this deal is huge for the Tribe, since they had been seeking a quality pitching prospect since the beginning of the off-season. Bauer could land a spot in the rotation right away. Lastly, Albers and Shaw give Cleveland more depth for the bullpen. Overall, the Tribe won this trade by quite a lot.
What does it give the
Desperate for a shortstop since the off-season began, the D'backs paid a very steep price to land Gregorius, a slick fielder with questions about his bat. Earlier in trade talks, it was thought Arizona coveted Cleveland starting shortstop {P Asdrubal Cabrera}, with right-fielder {P Justin Upton} rumored to be heading out of town, but those two big names weren't involved here. As a result, 'Zona got a decent lefty reliever in Sipp and a marginal first-base prospect in Anderson, whose path appears to be blocked by {P Paul Goldschmidt}. While Arizona fills a big need at short with this move, they overpaid considerably by including Bauer in the mix.
Fantasy impact
The big winner from a fantasy point of view could be Bauer, a very talented pitcher who may become Cleveland's ace in the not-too-distant future. He stands a very good chance of breaking camp as the No. 5 starter immediately. Stubbs may be a fantasy stud in the American League with the Indians, where he isn't likely to be asked to bat first anymore. He may break out offensively in 2013. Choo needs to prove he can play center field, which may affect his offensive impact with the Reds. Therefore, he now comes with some risk, but also some fantasy intrigue. Gregorius gets a fantasy boost as Arizona's new projected starting shortstop, but he may not have enough of a bat to do much from a fantasy perspective. Lastly, keep an eye on Shaw, a good arm out of the bullpen for a Cleveland team in need of more of those.
