No one ever said winning a fantasy baseball title would be easy. In fact, you were warned it is a grind. Draft prep is extensive, the player pool is vast and the season is a six-month battle filled with more hurdles and obstacles than a Tough Mudder race.
In recent weeks, you’ve dealt with the momentum shifts caused by the All-Star break and the tumultuous nature of the MLB trade deadline. It probably wasn’t easy, but you’ve survived and now are ready for the home stretch. Or so you thought. Only up ahead, there is another big obstacle in your path — the almighty dollar — and believe it or not, it can turn your whole league upside down.
Though the public only hears about it for the big, marquee names, hundreds of players were placed on revocable waivers at the beginning of August. If a player is claimed, his team can either let him go for nothing, pull him back and work out a trade with the claiming team or pull him back and keep him. Many of these players have enormous contracts, which rebuilding teams are looking to dump, and they will shed that financial commitment for a song if they can. Just look at the Mets’ trade of Jay Bruce.
In return for a perennial 30-homer guy, the Mets received a prospect name Ryder Ryan, who really isn’t much of a prospect. In fact, few scouts think he ever will make it to the show. But the Indians were willing to pick up the rest of Bruce’s contract, so the Mets weren’t concerned with which player they received in return. The deal strictly was about money, and left reeling in the wake of the trade were fantasy baseball owners.
Owners of Bruce in NL-only leagues lose him for nothing. AL-only league owners suddenly have a major power-hitter join the player pool. Mixed league owners of Indians outfielders now have to adjust for lost playing time. And why? Because a major-market team is trying to shed a few million off an already obscene payroll.
The deadline for these deals is Aug. 31, so fantasy owners have two more weeks of potential money shuffling to monitor. Big-money contracts are your next obstacle, and you probably didn’t even know it. It isn’t commonplace, but it will happen, so be prepared. Get through this and you’re in the clear. At least until the September call-ups.
Howard Bender is the VP of operations and head of content at FantasyAlarm.com. Follow him on Twitter @rotobuzzguy and catch him on the “Fantasy Alarm Radio Show” on the SiriusXM fantasy sports channel weekdays from 4-6 p.m.