Immediate Reaction: Trevor Bauer to the Reds, Franmil Reyes and Yasiel Puig to Indians

I just blogged the Chris Martin deal, and after finishing I said to myself, “tomorrow should be more fun with more impactful trades.” And then the biggest deal in a long time happens. There’s a lot of moving parts in this, so let’s start trying to dissect everything.

Trevor Bauer is still an ace no matter where he goes, he’s one of the top 15-ish pitchers in baseball. A move to the Reds means he’ll be pitching for a worse team and faces a slightly tougher division, with a worse home ballpark, but overall he’s still an ace and shouldn’t be affected a ton by the move.

Logan Allen will take Bauer’s immediate spot in the rotation, Allen is an interesting piece with a solid fastball that sits at 90-93 and peaks at 95 with a great changeup, and he has average control. Allen’s ceiling is likely more of a No. 2 starter for a good team, but right now he’s more of just a streamer in redraft leagues.

Yasiel Puig moving from Cincinnati to Cleveland doesn’t hurt him a ton, but it does mean that he will be playing in a tougher home park. Puig’s .823 home OPS is a bit better than his road mark of .745, but Puig’s power-speed combination won’t be hurt too badly by the move. A player that does get an increase in value from this move is the red-hot Josh VanMeter, as with Puig gone it opens up an everyday spot for VanMeter. He’s an add everywhere if you have room for a hitter, as his Triple-A numbers were insanely good and he’s started to find his footing with the big league club.

Franmil Reyes moving to Cleveland is a win for everybody. It creates full-time opportunities for both himself and Hunter Renfroe, both of which are huge sources of power whose only major flaws this season have been their lack of everyday playing time. Jordan Luplow had been somebody who had put up nice numbers in slim playing time, but he likely moves into a full-time bench role.

Top prospect Taylor Trammell goes to San Diego to add to their loaded farm system. Trammell is one of the fastest players in the minors and combines that with above average raw power and great fielding ability. He’s one of the top 25-ish prospects in all of baseball and his dynasty value stays the same from this move.

The main takeaways from this deal for me so far (there could be more to come) is that Franmil Reyes and Hunter Renfroe get the greatest boosts in value, with Josh VanMeter also increasing in value. Puig and Bauer go down, but not significantly down. Lastly, Logan Allen and Taylor Trammell remain good dynasty pieces.