Welcome, Matt LaPorta

Recently called up Matt LaPorta, acquired in the CC Sabathia deal from Milwaukee, started immediately for Cleveland on Sunday. He struggled against Tigers starter Justin Verlander, striking out twice in three at bats while leaving four runners on base. He made the final out of the game, going 0-4.

Verlander did strike out 11 batters in seven innings, so it wasn't just LaPorta who struggled to see the ball.

Fantasy Impact: It's not an ideal debut for the 24-year-old LaPorta. He was hitting .333 with five home runs in Triple-A. He's potentially here to stay, but LaPorta is a part time player to start with.

Sheff and the Mets

The Mets sign Gary Sheffield and plan to use him as an outfielder. That means Sheffield will certainly take playing time away from Daniel Murphy, Ryan Church and Fernando Tatis.

"He's more than welcome," Church said. "He's a great player and he's just another piece for us.

"I can't control what they do," the right fielder added in regards to potential at-bats he'd surrender to Sheffield, who played exclusively at DH last year in Detroit. "I just have to always be ready to play every day."

Murphy, who Manuel penciled in as the starting left fielder coming out of spring training, added: "We're here to win a World Series. If the organization and Omar (Minaya) think he's going to help, let's go get him."

Both Manuel and Minaya indicated that Sheffield is more likely to play right field than left and said the righty slugger can balance the Mets' lineup, which has been dominated by lefthanded hitters in recent seasons.

Sheffield brings 499 career home runs to the Mets. He'll get every chance to prove he can still hack it at the MLB level. It's a good move for New York, which has a rather unimpressive outfield situation for a contender.

Fantasy Impact: For Sheffield owners, this is about as good as it could get. Your injury-prone bopper will get a bunch of at bats, and he'll be part of an above average lineup. For Daniel Murphy and Ryan Church owners, this drops both players into a full-time platoon.

Braves get better player in Anderson

Garrett Anderson signed with the Atlanta Braves, where he's expected to enter a left field platoon with Matt Diaz.

The left-handed slugger and three-time former All-Star is expected to play left field for the Braves and perhaps work in a platoon with Matt Diaz — the role the Braves planned for Ken Griffey Jr., before Griffey decided Wednesday to sign with Seattle instead of Atlanta.

Anderson hit .293 with 15 home runs, 84 RBIs and a .325 on-base percentage last season, including 14 home runs in 433 at-bats against right-handed pitchers.

For comparison, Griffey hit .249 with 18 homers and 71 RBIs last season, including .272 with 14 homers in 327 at-bats against right-handers.

Soon after Griffey announced his decision, the Braves moved on to Anderson, despite stating publicly that they would take a look at their organization’s young outfielders and not immediately pursue another free agent or a trade for a veteran.

The Griffey option might have been more of a public relations plus for Atlanta than a productive senior outfielder. Anderson appears to have more hitting ability at this stage of his career.

Check out their numbers from 2007 to 2008:

Griffey:
2007: .277 AVG / 30 HR / 93 RBI / 528 AB
2008: .249 AVG / 18 HR / 71 RBI / 490 AB

Anderson:
2007: .297 AVG / 16 HR / 80 RBI / 417 AB
2008: .293 AVG / 15 HR / 84 RBI / 557 AB

As Griffey declines precipitously, Anderson is a steady veteran at this point. Maybe Griffey can recapture some past magic, but anyone who saw him play late last year with the White Sox will tell you he looked closer to washed up than consistent contributor.

Fantasy Impact: While you never rule out a former star completely, Griffey might be a backup fantasy player for the first time in his career. He just doesn't have the numbers to expect much upside. Anderson will potentially lose at bats this year, but if he hits 400 times, expect double-digit home runs and a .290 average, which puts him in your fourth outfield slot or on your bench as a backup who helps more than he hurts.