In Some Depth: Trade Reactions

Even though Arizona pitching prospect Jarrod Parkerdoesn't know much about it, the non-waiver trade deadline has come and gone.

Here's a question you probably have: "Hey, how do all these trades and junk affect the league's various depth charts?"

To which I reply: "I thought you'd never ask."

Voila:

Catcher

None

First Base

Brandon Allen is free! Sort of. The slugging first baseman went to Oakland as part of the deal that sent Brad Ziegler the other way. It's likely, however, that Allen will be assigned to Triple-A Sacramento. Expect Paul Goldschmidt, currently doing horrible things to minor-league pitching, to take over something like a full-time role in Arizona... Derrek Lee was traded to Pittsburgh, meaning that Lyle Overbay's days as a major-league starter are likely behind him. PNC Park is less friendly for hitters than Camden Yards... Replacing Lee will likely be Chris Davis, who went to Baltimore, along with pitcher Tommy Hunter, in exchange for strike machine Koji Uehara. With the Orioles out of contention, Davis will be given time to establish himself at first.

Second Base

Felipe Lopez, who manned second base for Milwaukee during their most recent run at the playoffs, finds himself back in Beer City, having arrived there from Tampa Bay, where he was utilized as an infielding everyman. Lopez will have something close to full-time duties, likely, for the duration of Rickie Weeks' (ankle) three-to-six week DL stint.

Third Base

None

Shortstop

Oft-injured Rafael Furcal was traded to a Cardinal team that's been playing Daniel Descalso and Ryan Theriot at shortstop. Furcal appears likely to get the majority of time at the six, with Descalso, Theriot, and Skip Schumaker sharing second-base duties and spotting at short. Furcal's departure from Los Angeles means Dee Gordon becomes the Dodger starter at short. He was recalled and started there on Sunday. Gordon will steal bases, but that's his only standout fantasy tool at the moment... The trade of Orlando Cabrera to San Francisco was the rare instance of a contending team (the Indians) shedding talent/payroll. The recent promotion of now-starting Cleveland second baseman Jason Kipnis made the move possible. Cabrera represents another attempt by San Francisco GM Brian Sabean to address the team's Shortstop Vacuum. One assumes that Cabrera will get the majority of starts at short while Miguel Tejada serves as infield depth. Rookie Brandon Crawford was optioned to Triple-A in a corresponding move... Mike Aviles is now a Red Sock. His role with his new team will be very similar to the one he had (and maybe didn't care for) in Kansas City: infield utilityman. Maybe playing for a playoff contender will change his perspective... Yamaico Navarro was the player going the other in the Aviles deal. As with Aviles, shortstop might be a stretch defensively for Navarro, but he's batted .258/.362/.469 (.286 BABIP) in 149 Triple-A plate appearances and is only 23 years old, suggesting that there's some offensive upside... Jerry Hairston Jr. has played just one game at shortstop this year, but qualifies there in some formats assuredly after starting 53 games last season for the Padres. Really, it likely wouldn't hurt the Brewers were he to replace Yuniesky Betancourt, but that's improbable.

Outfield

Trayvon Robinson, who was batting .293/.375/.563 (.373 BABIP) at hitter-friendly Triple-A Albuquerque, was sent first to Boston and then to Seattle in a deal that eventually netted Erik Bedard for the Red Sox. Robinson's name was thrown around as a potential call-up for Los Angeles, and the same could very well be true in Seattle, although he'll initially report to Triple-A Tacoma... Ryan Ludwick is now a Pirate. Leaving Petco is sure to have a tonic effect on his numbers, but don't expect magic. He's likely to play left field with Jose Tabata (and Alex Presley) still on the DL, and could do some platooning with Garrett Jones, too. If and when Tabata returns -- that remains to be seen... Michael Bourn is both a good fantasy player and (for different reasons) a good real-life player. He's now the starting center fielder for the Braves after Atlanta GM Frank Wren sent Jordan Schafer and others to Houston. Schafer is will likely become the starting center fielder in Houston after returning from the DL for the fractured middle finger injury he sustained last week... Casper Wells started his first game for the Mariners on Sunday after coming over in the trade that sent Doug Fister and David Pauley the other way. Wells has a .286/.339/.486 (.340 BABIP) line in 228 major-league plate appearances, although contact is a problem for him... Hunter Pence's arrival in Philadelphia would have made more sense if it were Raul Ibanez he were replacing. Instead, the Phils demoted Domonic Brown to Triple-A Lehigh Valley. Brown will likely return in September, so monitor the whole left-field situation in Philadelphia, as Ibanez is playing pretty poorly. Back in Houston, a combination of J.D. Martinez and Jason Bourgeois will play right field for the time being... Carlos Beltran was acquired from the Mets to solidify an outfield that has had quite a few moving parts. His arrival means that Cody Ross and Nate Schierholtz get squeezed into a left-field platoon-ish thing. It also means that Lucas Duda is a full-time right-field starter for the Mets for now... Since Kosuke Fukudome was shipped to playoff-contending Cleveland, Tyler Colvin has started in right field once, with Tony Campana and Reed Johnson getting a start each. Against all odds, Colvin posted worse plate-discipline numbers at Triple-A (5:55 BB:K) than in the majors. So far as Fukudome is concerned, he'll get close to regular playing time until Shin-Soo Choo returns (i.e. the middle of August, at the earliest)... Colby Rasmus, sent to Toronto from St. Louis, is the starting center fielder for the Blue Jays, meaning that the Travis Snider Experiment in center is over, with Snider shifting over to left field. Rasmus' departure was made possible by the sustained production of Jon Jay, who'll be the primary center fielder for the Cards now... Corey Patterson, who went the other way in the Rasmus trade, will have almost identical playing time in St. Louis as he did in Toronto, with a few more PAs by way of pinch-hitting... Juan Rivera ended up back in Los Angeles -- this time for the Dodgers and not the Angels, though. He's been playing some first base and left field against left-handed pitchers. In his wake, Edwin Encarnacion has taken over something like full-time DH duties... The Nationals traded for Jonny Gomes because -- uh, it's hard to say, actually. "For the Type B free-agent compensation," is the most likely answer. Anyway, he's started three of four games in left since arriving -- although two of those games were against left-handed starters.

Starters

We don't typically look at starting pitchers here at In Some Depth (as that's typically Mound Musings territory), but it should be noted that the trade that sent Jason Marquis to Arizona opens up a spot in the Nats rotation either for Tom Milone or Brad Peacock, either of whom -- and especially Peacock -- might be worth your time.