The art of the trade has dated back to the very beginnings of our civilization. It is a part of our culture and our world. Everyone does it, or has done it in the past. Good or bad.
Whether it’s trading baseball cards with your friends when you were a kid, or trading your wife a chocolate donut for her cinnamon twist. Trading happens all the time.
Trading in fantasy baseball is no different. It is a means to an end. Your team has a need, and you must figure out what you are willing to give up (statistically), in order to get what will be beneficial to your squad in the long-run. And of course you also have to consider the wants and needs of the person you are trading with. This is where fantasy owners begin to differ significantly.
We have provided a few first hand accounts of trades that were good, bad, and didn’t happen but should have, from our fantasy sports staff at AGSH. Hopefully fantasy owners can learn from our past mistakes and successes. Perhaps at least a place to start for a trade you may be thinking of offering soon. Enjoy.
Matt Sprayberry (@SprayBall):
In my second year of fantasy baseball (in 2005), I had a tremendous draft. However, I failed to get a respectable first baseman. The first week of the season that year Pat Burrell (at the time he was playing with the Phillies) was on a tear, and luckily I had room to pick him up off waivers and onto my roster.
I sent a trade offer to a fellow manager who had three first baseman on his roster, and a mediocre outfield. I sent him the following trade: Derrek Lee for Pat Burrell. Surprisingly he went for it, and Derrek Lee came close to the Triple Crown that year in Chicago. The rest is history, and I went on to win my very first fantasy baseball championship!
Jay White (@JayWhiteSports):
Last year I hit on Chris Davis. I pegged him for a breakout season and scooped him up in every league I had.
That includes this one league that I’m in with 16 teams and rosters 21 deep. We’re taking bat boys and bullpen coaches at the end.
I missed the draft, which meant my team was dreadful. But, I still landed Chris Davis!
As the season trickled on my team sank further and further out of sight, but as the league trading deadline approached, I held the biggest chip at the table- Chris Davis.
It’s a very active league so the trade offers were coming often. Some pretty inventive…
As the season trickled on my team sank further and further out of sight, but as the league trading deadline approached, I held the biggest chip at the table- Chris Davis.
It’s a very active league so the trade offers were coming often. Some pretty inventive…
Other far less so…
Ultimately, I went for a trade with fewer big names coming in, but offered an upgrade at more positions…
The trade was accepted by both parties and went before the league owners for the customary 2-day veto period.
It lasted about 20 minutes.
The trade was vetoed so quickly, that more than half the league’s owners didn’t know it was a thing before it was no longer.
It was so infuriating, I immediately took Davis off the market. He would not rot with me in last place forever as far as I was concerned.
Also, league brass and owners were put on notice…
So far, I’ve held up my end of the bargain.
The argument for the veto, many owners explained, was that, in this keeper league, Chris Davis had infinitely more value moving forward than the quartet I was to receive combined.
And I can certainly see their point.
Logan Grubbs (@NotFakeFantasy):
On May 8th I made a bad trade. It looked good at the time. Fantasy experts would’ve told me to green light it if they had done a quick analysis, but it was bad for a couple of reasons. Firstly, let me tell you the two sides of the deal and let you decide which side is better in a value vacuum:
Side A- Jered Weaver and Steve Cishek
Side B- Gerrit Cole
So take your time here before reading on and decide which side you would have taken in a 12-team mixed H2H league (Remember this is before Gerrit Cole landed on the disabled list with shoulder issues).
Okay, if you’ve decided on your side, then read on….
Not only was Gerrit Cole not on the DL at this time, but Jered Weaver was coming off a very disappointing April in which his fastball was sitting right at 85 MPH. I had researched Jered Weaver in the offseason and knew that he had not averaged over 90 MPH on his fastball since the ‘08 season, so I had faith coming into the season that he could have solid success without lighting up the radar gun. Well, I got spooked. Plain and simple. I started reading articles about the demise of Jered Weaver. I started seeing fantasy analysts rank him outside of their top-75 starting pitchers. I began having nightmares where there was a pitching machine throwing 85 MPH batting practice while wearing a gigantic Weaver jersey. Ultimately, I got sucked into the non-hype. All those ill-vibes had me worried sick and I didn’t trust my pre-season research for long enough to last through a small sample size! Perhaps it was due to the fact that I wrestled with Masahiro Tanaka and Jered Weaver for a long time on draft day before ultimately siding with the veteran….. CHOKE!!!
If it were strictly Weaver for Cole it would NOT have been a bad deal. Though with my 20/20 hindsight of Cole’s injury it certainly wouldn’t have turned out well. What made the deal a poor value for me was trading away Steve Cishek as well. There was simply not enough of a value gap between the two starters to throw in a very good closer, with fantastic skills, in an optimal ballpark and division. In my opinion, Cishek is a borderline Top-5 Closer. That’s a guy I expect to keep his job and save over 30 games with great ratios. All in all, I generally try to do 2-for-1 deals where I can give up an extra player and use my skills on the waiver wire to make up the difference. But in this case, I traded scared, and gave up too much value.
Check back with us next week as we analyze a few trade scenarios that could make or break your fantasy team.
Follow us on Twitter: @SprayBall, @JayWhiteSports, and @NotFakeFantasy
