With his hammies completely shutting down his speed (perhaps his biggest assest) and a 15-day DL stint just announced, not to mention a horrible 2nd half split during his career, would it be insane to drop him at this point? Unless I can get any value out of him, Mike Cameron and Jay Bruce (both of whom I have as 3rd OF options) seem to be better than him. This is not a post to ask you guys if I should drop him, but if he really holds much value for any team anymore.
As is with most questions: it depends on your league. If you're in a 12-team league with normal benches I think Byrnes has much more potential to help carry you in the playoffs than any other OF/Util hitter out there on the FA pile.
If you're in an 8-team league then maybe he doesn't.
I'd also put some feelers out on the trade front...maybe someone feels like you're selling low and they're buying low, so they'll give you something good for Byrnes. Even if it's a 10th-12th round draft pick, that's still better than what you could pick up off of the waiver wire.
Fantasy baseball's all about manipulating perceived value, so if you can get some guy who still sees Brynes as a top-100 player and is willing to part with a top-120-140 player, but you think he's basically not even in the top-250 anymore, then do it.
I personally don't have much hope for Byrnes. His career stats aren't terribly promising, he's usually a 265-270 hitter with mediocre pop (20 HR or so) and decent but not crazy speed in the 20 SB range. He's basically Mike Cameron with another 20 points of average, and personally I think both are going to wind up less valuable than Bruce in the remaining months of the season. But don't drop him until you are absolutely sure that no one will trade you a player better than what's in the free agent pool.
I haven't been able to get a good deal for Byrnes in any of my leagues. I sent out a feeler trade of Helton for Byrnes and told the guy to counter with another offer. He wanted me to give him Webb.
While Byrnes value has not been good at all this season it seems like many of the fantasy owners, at least those I play with, believe he will have a good second half and are not willing to sell low. Historically, correct me if I'm wrong, Byrnes has been a weak 2nd half player. Who knows, but I think he is a decent trade risk if you don't have to part with too much, but it seems to me that most still have him valued roughly the same way.
I'd rather have him taking a bench slot than your typical waiver wire guy in a 10-team league. Even if he doesn't run like last year (33sb in the second half), his 2006 second half was 39 runs 14hr 45rbi 15 steals .243avg. The average sucks, but everything else looks nice ala Chris B. Young.
As a Byrnes owner I think him going on the DL helps his value in the long run. His legs were never going to get healthy if he kept playing and without the SB he isn't worth having.
I dumped him in an 8-league team and a 10-team league and haven't looked back. But when you're replacing him with guy a guy like Carlos Quentin or Ryan Church it's not too big of a deal. I liked him for his steals, but if he's not doing that or hitting the ball period then screw it. Both of my leagues are deep in the OF (and I'm stacked at OF in both leagues), so it just depends on your situation. If you can afford to bench /dl him I'd probably hang onto him. If not I wouldn't worry about dropping him unless there's a Dbacks homer in your league.
I DL'ed him and picked up Jay Bruce. If Jay Bruce is producing by the time Byrnes comes back, I'll be dumping Byrnes. Byrnes is on the WW in two of my other leagues and no one has bothered to pick him up.
Two torn hammies? That's what ESPN was saying earlier this morning... Man, if that's the case, he's really not worth holding any longer in mixed leagues....
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by BostonBK7 » Tue May 27, 2008 6:59 pm 
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