You had to know something was up when, here in mid-January, the Tigers still had Tyler Collins slotted to play left field.
As if owner Mike Ilitch, the man who ousted Dave Dombrowski after he dared make a couple future-minded trades with the Tigers out of contention in the second half, was going to settle for someone so pedestrian.
No, he was always going to make a splash, and this time it came in the form of Justin Upton -- a clear upgrade, albeit an expensive one.
But perhaps more notable for Fantasy owners are the moves this move could trigger.
Yoenis Cespedes becomes the last big-ticket free agent available, and though his number of suitors seems to increase by the day, with even the rebuilding Braves expressing some interest, that number should quickly dwindle to the ones with the most glaring needs now that Upton is no longer available as a fallback option. The Angels stand out, as do the White Sox, Rangers and Indians (who probably don't have the money). Even after re-signing Chris Davis, the Orioles could use another outfield bat. The Mets are probably also still in play, though you'd hate for Cespedes to rob Michael Conforto of playing time.
One of those teams will be able to fall back on Dexter Fowler, but as the rest realize that they're not going to be able to fill that need through free agency, it should open up the trade market again. We already know one of Carlos Gonzalez, Charlie Blackmon and Corey Dickerson will have a new home after the Rockies signed Gerardo Parra (and if it's either Gonzalez or Blackmon, woe to the Fantasy owner who drafts him). One reason the Braves were linked to Cespedes is because newly acquired Ender Inciarte's name keeps popping up.
Once all these outfielders fall into place, then the last few dominoes -- like Ian Desmond and Yovani Gallardo -- should fall into place, just in time for pitchers and catchers to report. In other words, the end of the offseason is in sight. We can start referring to these players by something other than dollar amounts again.
As for Upton himself, his Fantasy value doesn't change in a meaningful way. Maybe if he wound up in Baltimore and hitter-friendly Camden Yards, it'd be different, but instead he's moving from one slightly pitcher-leaning park to another. He'll have a better supporting cast, joining Miguel Cabrera and J.D. Martinez in the middle of the Tigers lineup, but has been more or less the same player at each of his three stops. He seems well suited for the mercenary role.
Now that he's 28, we shouldn't be holding out hope for improvement anymore, but a .265 hitter with the capacity for 25-30 home runs is still an advisable second outfielder in standard mixed leagues. Think of him as sort of a poor man's Adam Jones and target him not long after the top 15 outfielders are off the board.
