Curtis Mead to Red Sox; Connelly Early to Nationals
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- Curtis Mead was traded to the Red Sox for Connelly Early in a rare need-for-need deal, with the fantasy-relevant trade deadline set for 6 p.m. ET on Monday, Aug. 3
- Mead is expected to play every day at second base in Boston, which preserves his third-base, second-base, and first-base eligibility for next year's Fantasy drafts
- Mead's right-side pulled fly-ball profile is described as perfectly suited to Fenway Park, where the source expects his outs off the Green Monster to turn into singles and doubles
- The Nationals are acquiring Early while he is sidelined by elbow inflammation, which the source flags as introducing an element of uncertainty into the deal
- Early's prospect stock has slipped entering the deal, with shaky control and ERA estimators well above his actual ERA before the injury
- The source writes that Mead now sits on the fringes of the top 12 Fantasy third basemen after the move
Why it matters: Mead goes from a National League infield surplus that benched him periodically to a Boston second-base job at Fenway, where his pulled fly balls should convert outs into extra-base hits and lift his Fantasy batting average. The Nationals are betting on a top prospect whose stock has dipped and who is currently shelved by elbow inflammation.
