When Major League Baseball announced last week that the MLB team Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder Manny Ramirez had violated the league’s drug policy and would be suspended for 50 games, fantasy baseball team owners across the country were crushed. With Ramirez putting up crazy (and apparently pharmaceutically enhanced) numbers so far this season—hitting .348 with six homers and 20 RBI—having him on your fantasy baseball roster was guaranteed gold. Now that Manny’s unavailable until July 3, how can team owners save their seasons?
The most logical option is to look for free agent replacements in your league. A likely candidate is the MLB team Dodgers Juan Pierre, who will take over for Manny in left field. So far this season Pierre is hitting .371 with three RBI in 35 at-bats, but with only 13 career homeruns he certainly can’t match Ramirez’s offensive production. What Pierre lacks in power, though, he may make up for with stolen bases. He stole 40 bases for the MLB team Dodgers in 2008; from 2000-2008 he stole at least 50 bases four times and nabbed 60 or more twice. If you have to go without Ramirez for the next couple of months, Pierre might not be a bad substitution.
Depending on your fantasy baseball league’s available free agents, you could also look to pick up the Phillies’ Jayson Werth, the Nationals’ Elijah Dukes, or the Orioles’ Luke Scott. They’re all putting up decent numbers so far, with RBI in double digits and at least four home runs each.
