Fantasy Baseball: Analysis of Podsednik, Oswalt Trades

I may have cursed Scott Podsednik. The underrated and incredibly valuable outfielder has had his stock hurt—and then some—by the trade yesterday that sent him to Los Angeles. Podsednik will still have the opportunity to run in Los Angeles, and should be the same player until Manny Ramirez returns, but he just won’t get enough at bats to help you the way he has been everyday. So if you are a Scott Podsednik owner, you’re not happy.

But I wouldn’t give up hope. Don’t drop Podsednik yet—certainly not until Manny returns—and if you can afford the bench spot hold onto him. Needless to say but Ramirez isn’t most injury-free player, and Ethier has had problems this year as well. If one of the Dodger outfielders gets hurt, Podsednik would probably be in a slightly more valuable place than he was in in Kansas City. Moral of the story: you’re not happy, but don’t panic—yet.

As far as Roy Oswalt is concerned, this deal should change little. He’s pitched in four starts in Citizen’s Bank Park—and pitched well—but that’s not nearly a large enough sample-size to draw anything from. Obviously it’s a hitter’s ballpark, but he’s getting an improved offense behind him as well. Oswalt owners  probably are reasonably happy this happened, but the fantasy impact this will have on his season should be fairly minimal.