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The Atlanta Braves acquired 2B Dan Uggla from the Florida
Marlins and sent utility player Omar Infante and RP Mike Dunn to their NL East
rival.
Dan Uggla has been consistently productive throughout his
5-year stint with the Marlins. Last season has probably been his best year with
a batting average of .287, 100 runs, 33 homers and 105 RBI.
The second baseman will remain a middle of the lineup guy in
Atlanta and add some right-handed power to an otherwise lefty-heavy lineup.
Omar Infante has been hitting over .300 in the past 2
seasons and is a defensive improvement over Dan Uggla but he is nowhere near
his productivity. With a healthy Chris Coghlan I see Infante batting 2nd
at best but would not be surprised if he slipped down considerably in the
batting order. It clearly is a trade that’s motivated by money.
Middle Reliever Mike Dunn is young but still unproven. Last
season he pitched 19 innings in relief and went 2-0 with a 1.89 ERA and 1.68
WHIP. He is joining a bullpen that ranked 17th in the MLB last
season and 9th in the NL. He could be an upgrade but, as mentioned
before, has yet to prove his worth in the league.
Fantasy Perspective:
With Jason Heyward, Derek Lee and Brian McCann the Atlanta
Braves have a lot of power in the middle of their lineup. Dan Uggla could end
up batting anywhere between 2nd and 5th and in my opinion will be moved around.
Due to the team’s talent I see Uggla repeating his numbers regarding RBI but
fear that he will not have 30 HRs or over 100 runs.
I consider Omar Infante only as a low-end option, helping
you to raise your batting average.
Mike Dunn is no closer and therefore has little to no value
as a fantasy player.
New York Mets View:
The Atlanta Braves were a much better team last season than
their division rival, finishing 12 games ahead. The Braves were last season’s
NL Wildcard team and have just improved their roster. At this point it is hard
to envision the Mets playing postseason baseball in 2011.
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