Cody Bellinger was traded to the Yankees. That’s right, Belly in New York…ooh, I want deli. Can I get pastrami? Wait, not my Belly, but Belly Belly. Cody Bellinger! In the Big Apple! Speaking of which, anyone know how to make an apple bong?
Googling the marijuana laws of New York
— Razzball (@razzball.bsky.social) December 17, 2024 at 2:21 PM
You’re good, Cody, they’re pretty liberal! Oh, Cody, more good news, the short porch! [Cody Bellinger imagining a porch with a low ceiling] “Whoa, is that to keep out Altuve?” That’s Cody Bellinger talking to himself. Cody Bellinger is endlessly fascinating, and not always in a good way. I nearly wrote a sleeper about him, but I just didn’t think anyone had the patience for me saying Cody Bellinger, former MVP and very famous player, was a sleeper. Seems kinda silly. He is being drafted a bit too low though, but that might change with his trade. There is an element of “What the eff are we going to get from him” though. If you look at his last two years, almost identical ABs and nowhere near the same stats. His HardHit% was 27.3 last year and that is hideous. I’d blame his shoulder injury from a few years ago in the playoffs with the Dodgers, but that reminds me of Shohei Ohtani, so I prefer not to do that. The shoulder injury does make it hard to not worry at all and pretend the move to New York fixes everything, but it could fix a lot. Up until this move, Christian Yelich and Cody Bellinger were forever linked in fantasy. Why? I honestly don’t know. They really have nothing in common besides always being next to each other in rankings and ADP. Like always. Don’t look it up, it might not have been always. But it feels like always. Now they are sadly linked by “one has a recurring shoulder issue” and “one has an issue with his back.” Not sure which is worse, but they’re both equally less than ideal. Back feels more recurring. Recurringier? Yeah, that’s a word. With this trade, Bellinger gets the short porch and better lineup, so he moved up pretty significantly away from Yelich and up in my rankings that are already on Patreon. My new Cody Bellinger 2025 Projections are 104/26/81/.267/12 in 522 ABs. Anyway, here’s what else I saw this offseason in 2025 fantasy baseball:
Enmanuel Valdez – Traded to the Pirates, because the Red Sox have 17 (now 16) middle infielders, and the Pirates were like, “We took our best, and kinda only infielder and made him an outfielder, so thank you.”
Bryan De La Cruz – Signed with the Braves. This is actually a solid move, but of course. The Braves only make solid moves. Not even being sarcastic. When was the last bad move by the Braves? Trading Adam Wainwright, as a prospect, for one year of JD Drew? Prolly, and that was a full career ago for Wainwright. Don’t get me wrong, De La Cruz is still boring for fantasy, but it’s a solid real baseball pickup. If I’m the Braves, I let De La Snooze play until Acuña returns, then platoon him with Kelenic. 2025 Projections: 40/13/39/.235/4 in 338 ABs
Jeffrey Springs – Traded to the A’s. Had him ranked incredibly low in my starter rankings — already available on Patreon – because I did not trust Springs to be healthy. Now, let’s get this straight, I’m supposed to imagine Springs is healthy because the Rays traded him to the A’s? Do you have a bridge in Brooklyn to sell me? But not the Brooklyn Bridge, but, like, a lesser known bridge, like, the Avocado Toast Bridge? Springs now becomes a guy I’d like to draft for other people in my league. Please, spend your auction dollars on Springs. I’m sure he’s healthy! The Rays traded him away, that’s a great sign! 2025 Projections: 4-3/3.62/1.33/86 in 81 IP
Tomoyuki Sugano – Signed with the O’s. He’s going to push my theory that we only really want command specialists to the limit. In 156 2/3 IP last year, he had a 0.9 BB/9 and a 0.95 WHIP when he allowed 16 total walks. His Ks might not play here. I’m fine with a 7 K/9. Would prefer a 7.5 K/9. He’d be an ace if he could musterrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr (sorry, listening to Kendrick) an 8 K/9, but a 6.4 K/9 in Japan? What’s he gonna do here? A 5? I don’t know if he’s gonna play for mixed leagues, but I’m fine with the 12-team mixed league flyer to see if he can surprise MLB hitters for the 1st half of the year. Figure the best case scenario is he dances on the edge of the plate, then his Ks go up as no one eats. 2025 Projections: 8-6/4.02/1.09/107 in 161 IP
