Rocky Mtn Oysters sends: SP Hyun-Jin Ryu ($9)
Preseason Double Stuffs send: 1B Tommy Joseph ($5)
Andrew’s thoughts: At first glance, I thought I’d rather have Ryu on my team (particularly if I can get him for someone I’m going to cut), see if he’s healthy come February, and then if not, oh well, cut him. But I looked at some stuff and changed my mind.
Joseph posted a .342 wOBA last year in almost 350 plate appearances. Steamer projects him for a .334 next year. Fantrax projects him as a useful piece. I usually defer to the pitcher, but in this case, I’d rather roll the dice on Joseph. He’s a few bucks cheaper, hasn’t suffered through a million injuries, has a clear path to playing time, and is only 25-years-old. And Dusty’s offense looks very weak, so he could immediately be a contributor at UT and seems like a reasonable back-up at 1B for Hanley Ramirez.
I think I prefer this move from Dusty’s end. I imagine Ferns was going to cut Joseph, but I probably would’ve just kept him.