2019 American League All-Acquired Roster

UPDATE #1, as of 12/16/18

We'll see how long these weekly updates continue, but as of now, this project is still fresh in my mind, and there are some new developments, especially on the AL side, so I want to go over the new developments. As always, you can return to the All-Acquired Rosters Hub page for a visual representation of both lineups (with new additions highlighted in yellow in the "Movement" column at the far left), but here's the analysis:

First things first, the rotation is starting to come into focus after the previously reported deals for Ivan Nova (traded from the Pirates to the White Sox) and Tyson Ross (signed as a free agent with the Tigers) have been officially announced. While these two pitchers had similar fantasy point production last season, they have decidedly different outlooks for 2019: Nova (who checked in at 1,113 points and 38.3 points per game) profiles as a solid innings-eater type, while Ross (who finished with 1,056 and 34.1, split between the rotation and the bullpen of San Diego and St. Louis, respectively) has considerably more upside if he can harness his electric stuff and stay on the field.

Speaking of the Tigers, on the offensive side, Jordy Mercer (894 / 7.6) solidifies the middle infield, allowing Aledmys Diaz to shift over to third base. But the real story here is at DH, where Edwin Encarnacion (1,800 / 13.1) will essentially swap places with Carlos Santana in Seattle, as Mariners GM Jerry Dipoto continues his crazy dealing. Luckily, since Santana was dealt within the league, he can remain on the same All-Acquired team in a 1B/DH rotation with his former teammate. The other player heading to Cleveland in this three-team trade, Jake Bauers (930 / 9.7) is a first baseman by trade, but given the presence of two outstanding defenders in the outfield in Mallex Smith and Billy Hamilton (1,251 / 8.2, whose contract with the Royals was also reported last week), it's OK to sacrifice some defense at one spot in favor of a little more pop... at least until some bigger moves come along.

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As of the first week of December (my somewhat arbitrary cutoff point), AL teams have been significantly more active in the transactional space than their NL counterparts, by a score of 63 to 43. Although, as we'll see, that doesn't necessarily correlate to the amount of high impact players acquired. I thought about going chronologically, so we could watch these lineups unfold in real time, but if you want to follow along with the calendar, you can check out MLB.com's Transactions page. With that in mind, here's a position by position look at the AL All-Acquired Team!

STARTING PITCHER

Image from The Ringer

The biggest pitching acquisition for the AL came when the Mariners traded lefty starter James Paxton (1,719 fantasy points / 61.4 points per game) to the Yankees for a package centered on twice-traded prospect Justus Sheffield (-25 / -8.3 in his limited debut season), who would also likely make this early-December rotation given the lack of options. In fact, the only other starting option with more than 200 fantasy points was Jefry Rodriguez (212 / 15.4), who started eight of his first 14 MLB games in 2018 with the Nationals, before being sent to the Indians as one of two players in exchange for catcher Yan Gomes.

Digging deeper, just to get to a full starting five, the Tigers signed Matt Moore (143 / 3.7) after his abysmal season with the Rangers led to a move to the bullpen and a subsequent declining of his contract option for 2019. Parker Bridwell (-71 / -14.2) had a decent season for the Angels in 2017, but was (effectively) non-tendered last month and picked up by the Yankees on a minor league deal. And Dillon Peters (31 / 4.4) looked to have a shot in the Marlins rotation last year, but ended the season in the minors and was shipped to the Angels in a minor trade. It's also worth noting that Drew Smyly, who will miss the start of 2019 recovering from the Tommy John surgery that took his entire 2018 season, went from the Cubs to the Rangers in a cost-saving move, and he could be a factor by mid-season.

However, this will be the last time we hear about many of the pitchers in the above paragraph, since some fairly notable rotation moves have come to light after my cutoff point for this post, which happened to be the start of the Winter Meetings (12/10). Suffice it to say, names like Tyson Ross, Ivan Nova, and maybe even Charlie Morton and Lance Lynn will be showing up in my next update.


RELIEF PITCHER

Remember when Jesse Chavez (1,201 / 19.4) hinted that he would retire if the Cubs didn't want him back in 2019 after he pitched like a lights-out relief ace there following a trade from the Rangers? Well, they didn't end up re-signing him, but he did return to the club that made his opportunity in Chicago possible, agreeing to a two-year deal to go back to Texas. While Chavez had a heck of a season, if you'd rather headline your bullpen with someone who has more closing experience, look no further than Alex Colome (1,101 / 15.7), who spent most of 2018 as a setup-pitcher in Seattle, after coming over from Tampa Bay midseason, but now finds himself on the White Sox thanks to Mariners GM Jerry Dipoto's wheeling and dealing.

Speaking of Dipoto, veteran middle reliever Anthony Swarzak (188 / 6.5) came TO Seattle as a means of offsetting some salary in a different blockbuster deal (see the upcoming NL section for more info on that one). In a head-scratcher of a move, the Angels acquired hard-throwing-but-struggling righty Luis Garcia (303 / 5.1) from the Phillies in exchange for a quality lefty (Jose Alvarez). And Oliver Drake (258 / 5.9), who set a major league record by pitching for five (5!) different teams in 2018, has already been claimed twice off waivers during the offseason: once by the Rays (from the Twins) and then again by the Blue Jays. If I were a gambler, I'd say the odds are infinitesimal that he remains in Toronto to start the 2019 season.


CATCHER

The first two AL All-Acquired catching options, chronologically speaking, came courtesy of (you guessed it) Jerry Dipoto. First, he shipped out previous starter Mike Zunino (794 / 7.0) to the Rays in one of his lesser blockbusters, then he picked up Omar Narvaez (736 / 7.6) from Chicago AL in the above-mentioned Alex Colome trade. However, both of those two were eclipsed (offensively speaking) by Robinson Chirinos (1,055 / 9.5) who was picked up by the Astros after surprisingly being non-tendered by their cross-state rival Rangers.


FIRST BASE

Image from MarinersBlog

In yet another Dipoto-centered acquisition, the Mariners picked up Carlos Santana (1,820 / 11.3) from the Phillies, although his inclusion was mostly to offset salary and free up first base for Philadelphia rather than any desire for a switch-hitting power hitter on Seattle's part. In fact, it's rumored that Jerry DEAL-poto might be looking to flip Santana for prospects in a continuation of this epic roster tear-down. "Slamtana" unseats C.J. Cron (1,537 / 11.0), who the Twins claimed off waivers from the Rays, although he will keep a spot in the starting lineup as the DH (his primary "position" in 2018).


SECOND BASE

Sticking with the Twins, they are the unexpected beneficiaries of some poor planning on the part of the Brewers last year. Milwaukee acquired Jonathan Schoop (1,179 / 9.0) at the trade deadline, even after making the decision to shift starting third baseman Travis Shaw to the keystone to make room for Mike Moustakas (another midseason acquisition). But the former Orioles second baseman never panned out for the Brew Crew, and GM David Stearns decided to non-tender Schoop rather than pay him an estimated $10mm+ in arbitration. That's when Minnesota swept in and picked up the Curacao native for $2.5mm less than his projected arb salary, in hopes that Schoop will return to his 2017 form that landed him on the AL East Divisional All-Star squad.


SHORTSTOP

Continuing around the horn (rather than going numerically), the top shortstop acquired by an AL team is Aledmys Diaz (1,211 / 9.3). After breaking out with an All-Star season for the Cardinals in 2016, he lost some of his luster the following year, and was then shipped to Toronto prior to 2018. While north of the border, he filled in for both the injured Troy Tulowitzki and the injured Josh Donaldson, so he's got eligibility in both left-infield spots. Despite having big time talents at both of those positions, the Astros acquired Diaz in a minor swap, where he figures to fill a utility infield role next season.


THIRD BASE

The third base situation is the most volatile for the AL All-Acquired team as it stands right now, with several imperfect options looking at some kind of timeshare. The only one who technically qualified at third base was Tommy La Stella (385 / 3.1), who was recently shipped from the Cubs to the Angels after Chicago NL acquired Ronald Torreyes (183 / 4.5)... who was subsequently non-tendered and picked up by the Twins. While still billed as a shortstop prospect, J.P. Crawford (305 / 6.2) played a handful of games at third base for the Phillies, and it's unclear where he'll play after coming over to Seattle along with Santana. Then further down into straight-up utility territory, we have Chris Owings (569 / 5.4), who was primarily an outfielder last year, but does have experience at 2B and 3B as well.


CENTER FIELD

Image from MarinersBlog

Remember that first Jerry Dipoto blockbuster I mentioned? The one that sent Mike Zunino to Tampa Bay? Well, the return going back to Seattle was headlined by Mallex Smith (1,545 / 11.0), a speed-and-defense center fielder who was once briefly a member of the Mariners, when he stopped through on his way to the Rays in what was essentially a three-team deal. While there's no one who approaches Smith's level of production in the pre-cutoff talent pool, Billy Hamilton's deal with the Royals just went through yesterday, so there is at least some depth, beyond honorable mentions Tim Locastro and Jake Smolinski.


CORNER OUTFIELD

Carlos Santana was not the only veteran bopper to make his way to Seattle for monetary reasons: Jay Bruce (735 / 7.8) came over from the Mets as a way to offset some salary due to the most accomplished player in that particular blockbuster (tune in next post to find out who that is!), but he instantly steps in as the top AL acquired corner outfield option. Playing opposite Bruce is someone who was sent away from Seattle in the Mallex Smith trade, the defensively gifted Guillermo Heredia (561 / 4.5) who figures to fill the same role as Smith did last year in Tampa Bay. The only other outfielder in this pool with more than 100 fantasy points last year is Jordan Luplow (227 / 6.1) who went from the Pirates to the Indians in a swap of low-level, future-minded pieces.


That's it for the AL roster! Return to the 2018-19 All-Acquired Hub page to see the starting lineup/rotation represented in graphical form and to link to the National League roster!