Gary Sheffield has been cut from the Detroit Tigers. You, as a fantasy baseball fanatic, have likely already heard the news. You also probably don't own Sheff, which is a good thing. At his age, lack of positional flexibility, and deteriorated skill set, Sheff wasn't worth owning in fantasy baseball this year. Now that point is hammered even further home. He'll probably catch on somewhere else as a DH, but I can't see him worth a roster spot this season. The real spin here is what the Tigers will do with their lineup, now, and how that impacts others. Here is a partial list of who this will affect.
Marcus Thames - Thames is the one who saw a significant boost in his fantasy value with the release Sheffield. Thames has significant power potential. In the past three seasons, he's hit 69 home runs in 933 at-bats. Prorate that to a full season's worth of at-bats, and he's hitting 44 bombs. Obviously, we aren't counting on that happening, for there's a reason he hasn't been given a full load of at-bats through his 32nd birthday.
He can also get hot. And I mean scorching. There was a 35 game stretch last season where Thames hit 15 home runs, drove in 32, and put together a 1.117 OPS. He hit 10 jacks in only 72 at-bats in June. This means he's definitely worth owning in larger leagues with a bench. Ride him while he's hot, and bench him when in the bad stretches -- because he can also be really bad. In August, he had 48 plate appearances, which resulted in 17 strikeouts, 0 walks, and only 9 hits.
Josh Anderson - You want some cheap speed? The 26 year-old prospect will now be playing for his third team in three years, but he can sure run. In six minor league seasons, Anderson averaged 47 steals with an impressive 80 percent success rate. He was also 10-11 last season in the bigs. He could spell the starters at any of the three outfield positions or pinch run. It all depends on playing time, but Anderson can realistically steal 20 bases -- and you'll be able to get him really, really late (AL-Only leagues for now).
Magglio Ordonez, Miguel Cabrera - With the Sheffield-at-DH albatross out of the way, the Tigers can afford to keep these two studs more well rested by using them as the designated hitter every once in a while. Whether Thames occasionally spells Magglio in the outfield or Jeff Larish fills in at 1B, these guys will have more opportunity to swing the bat without playing defense. This doesn't necessarily provide a boost in value for the two, but it should give you a bit more confidence in their health for the long haul this season.
Jeff Larish - The 26 year-old should see a slight uptick in at-bats now with Sheffield out of the way. He can be used as a DH, or fill-in at one of the corner positions. He's a cheap source of power in the deepest of AL-Only leagues, having hit 67 home runs in his past three minor league seasons.
