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Sorting out all the new roles, lineup spots after the MLB trade deadline
- Updated: August 2, 2016
8:23 AM ET
A whopping 18 trades were completed on Monday, more than half of which happened within the final hour leading up to the 4 p.m. ET deadline. With that night’s slate beginning only hours later — not to mention 14 teams off on Monday — that means it’s a Tuesday of many player debuts for their new teams.
More importantly, it means a Tuesday of first hints as to those players’ roles for their new teams. We got a few of them Monday night, including Texas Rangers general manager Jon Daniels stating that Sam Dyson would remain the team’s closer despite the acquisition of Jeremy Jeffress, and that Carlos Beltran would bat behind Adrian Beltre. We also learned of the New York Mets’ plans to play Yoenis Cespedes (left field) and Jay Bruce (right field) at the outfield corners, with Curtis Granderson and Michael Conforto sharing center field, but many plans have yet to be made.
Perhaps the most attention will be paid to the Rangers’ lineup release, after the team acquired catcher Jonathan Lucroy and outfielder/DH Carlos Beltran. Though Lucroy seems likely to slot in sixth or seventh, he was a No. 2 hitter on 82 occasions for the 2015 Milwaukee Brewers, and his .359 on-base percentage in 2016 exceeds that of any qualified Rangers hitter, and therefore he could sneak into a higher spot.
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Such a decision might signal a future reduction in playing time for Jurickson Profar, even after the demotion of Joey Gallo to Triple-A Round Rock Monday night. Profar loses the DH spot as a safety net now that Beltran is in town, and he’ll also be blocked in the corner outfield once Shin-Soo Choo returns to action (expected to be Thursday). Profar, whose fantasy stock was on the rise when Prince Fielder was ruled out for the year, is now in danger of returning to his part-time utilityman role; or worse, the right-handed part of a platoon (a role for which he’s poorly suited). That’s why these next two days could provide a hint: If Profar leads off in both games playing positions besides left field or DH, it could signal the Rangers’ desire to find creative places to play him even after Choo’s eventual return.
Still, even that might not be enough, as Choo has batted first or second in 32 games that he has started this season, and could easily slide back into the leadoff role on Thursday. Lucroy’s spot on Tuesday, however, could be telling, and …
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