Breaking It Down – Cantu Traded To Texas

07/29/2010 8:34 PM -  Fred Zinkie

The Rangers are loading up to take a run at the AL superpowers in October.  After bolstering their pitching staff earlier in the month they completed their batting lineup by adding Jorge Cantu today.  This is a deal that affects a lot of players in Texas and Florida.  Let’s take a look:

Jorge Cantu – The Rangers are bankrupt.  The were able to work out the money with Florida so that the team doesn’t cost them much but make no mistake, bankrupt teams don’t make trades unless they plan on using the new player often.  Cantu appeals to the Rangers because he can play multiple positions.  In the long run, we expect him to settle in at 1B for them.  While Ian Kinsler is out, Cantu could get at-bats at 3B or 2B as the Rangers try to field the best possible lineup.  But, overall we see him as their starting 1B.  He is moving to a much better offense and a much more friendly home park.  He isn’t going to hit in the middle of the lineup anymore – that is the only downside.  Overall, this is probably a neutral trade for his value.  He could put a few more balls in the seats in Texas but if he loses some at-bats and hits 7^th in the order then his other numbers could suffer.

Chris Davis – He is the big loser in the trade but we can’t feel sorry for him since he has had multiple opportunities to succeed and couldn’t take advantage of them.  He just can’t hit for average in the majors at some point and the rest of this season is too important to Texas to wait for him to improve.  He is now a bench player in Texas.  Bench players don’t get a lot of at-bats in the AL so Davis is now strictly and AL-Only roster filler.  Mixed league owners can go ahead and drop him.

Joaquin Arias – He was expected to get the bulk of 2B at-bats while Ian Kinsler is on the DL but the Rangers could choose to take some of them away and work Cantu, Davis and Michael Young into the lineup at the same time.  This kills any buzz that AL-Only owners had about getting some production from Arias in the next two weeks.

Wes Helms – Someone needs to play 3B for the Marlins for the rest of the year and we envision Helms and Bonifacio splitting the job.  Helms could get more 3B starts than Bonifacio because Bonifacio can play OF too.  Helms has shown us over the years that he can’t hit well enough to help mixed league owners so he shouldn’t be added in those leagues.  He can be helpful for NL-Only teams that need a few more home runs.

Emilio Bonifacio – His speed tantalizes fantasy owners and between the OF injuries and the trade of Cantu there is suddenly room for him to play often.  The Marlins still seem interested in finding out what they have in him so we expect him to play often, even if he won’t be an everyday player.  Four or starts per week is definitely possible.  Mixed league owners should stay away – he can’t hit well enough to justify the stolen bases he will get you.  NL-Only leagues probably already had him rostered.  His value is up in those formats since it is hard to find steals.