Freel's Loss Can be Countered

August 16, 2007 @ 16:00:00

By Rob McCarthy
Edited by Ryan Dodson

When a player that is counted on to score runs and steal bases has any kind of injury to his wheels, his value plummets like a meteor on a starry summer night. That is just the case with beleaguered Cincinnati Reds outfielder Ryan Freel. Freel was recently placed on the disabled list retroactive to Aug. 3, and his season officially ended Aug. 8 when the base thief had arthroscopic surgery on his right knee to repair torn cartilage and to remove a bone spur as well. His 2007 season was by far his worst in his six-year big league career. He hit .245 with three home runs, 16 RBI, 44 runs scored and 15 stolen bases in 277 at-bats. Although most owners gave up on him a while ago, exemplified by Freel being owned in 11 percent of leagues polled, some owners, especially in larger leagues will need a replacement.

The man that appears to be Freel's replacement for the time being is Cincinnati Reds outfielder Norris Hopper. On the season, Hopper is batting a palpable .315 with no home runs, six RBI, 39 runs scored and eight stolen bases in 200 at-bats. Hopper is riding a hot August where he has made the best of his opportunities while hitting .438 with no homers, two RBI, 10 runs scored and three stolen bases in 48 at-bats. Unless there is some sort of earth-shattering revelation over the next few weeks, Hopper appears to be nothing more than a National League-Only option. But, if you feel the itch to grab him in hopes to be tagged the owner that really knows the game of baseball, Hopper is available in nearly 100 percent of leagues polled.  

Your ongoing search for a replacement most likely will take you up to the bright lights of New York City. In 58 percent of leagues polled, New York Yankees outfielder Melky Cabrera is freely roaming waiver wires without a place to call home. Cabrera is a perfect fit for a replacement to Freel; actually he is better than Freel. Cabrera has been lights out lately, in August alone he has hit .333 with two home runs, 11 RBI and 10 runs scored in 60 at-bats. On the season, Cabrera has hit .297 with eight home runs, 52 RBI, 54 runs scored and 10 stolen bases in 394 at-bats. Playing time for Cabrera has been abundant lately, but with an outfield consisting of Johnny Damon, Bobby Abreu and Hideki Matsui, plus the addition of New York Yankees designated hitter Jason Giambi from the disabled list, New York Yankees manager Joe Torre will undoubtedly have a plethora of lineup decisions to make on a daily basis. But in the meantime, Cabrera is a great play for any owner trying to replace an injured player, he brings it every night.

Boston Red Sox outfielder Coco Crisp is definitely making up for his injury-plagued 2006 season with a .274 average, five home runs, 44 RBI, 66 runs scored, 21 stolen bases and one dodged mascot on an all-terrain vehicle in 402 at-bats this season. In addition, Crisp is a lifetime .287 hitter with 26 home runs, 142 RBI, 180 runs scored and 45 stolen bases in 1,318 post-All-Star break at-bats. Crisp is available in 89 percent of leagues polled, and with the Yankees looking to fulfill a hit on Boston's position at the top of the American League East, look for Crisp and the rest of the Red Sox to turn it up a bit down the stretch. At least I hope so!

The loss of Freel's speed is definitely going to hurt owners for the rest of the season. But, there are definitely options that can fill the void that Freel has legitimately left you with all year. Word out of Cincinnati is that Freel is looking into playing in the Dominican Winter League this offseason. Hopefully the speedster regains his knack for lighting the fire under the Reds' lineup and fantasy squads alike. Freel has now had surgery on the same knee twice, once in 2005, and his most recent procedure last week. With the world of baseball as unpredictable as the lottery, prepare yourself to be looking past Freel's name during your draft next season.

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Rob McCarthy
Rob has been with KFFL since 2007.

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