If Greg Vaughn leaves Cincinnati, fantasy owners might want to consider the ripple affect on other Reds. With Opening Day five long months away, planning for the 2000 fantasy baseball season may be the last thing on your mind. It shouldn't be. Not if you have designs on a championship. Even though pitchers and catchers won't report until mid-February, there's plenty you can be doing to get ready for next year.
All leagues Pay attention to transactions.
A lot of players will have new addresses in 2000, via free agency or trade. Over 140 players could become free agents, including guys like Chuck Finley, Mike Jackson, David Cone, Todd Zeile, Tom Goodwin, Rick Aguilera and John Olerud. Other players, such as Alex Rodriguez, Tony Clark, Todd Helton and Travis Lee, have already been the subject of trade speculation, either because of their contract status, disappointing play in 1999 or their team's perceived opportunity to upgrade. True, there's always more smoke than fire when it comes to trade talks, but even the fact that a team has talked about moving a player can be useful information when it comes deciding how much money you want to commit on him in the draft. More than a few rookies will get chances in 2000, too.