Trades Anatomy

Trading can be one of the most exciting and also the most nerve wracking part of Fantasy Sports. It can make or break your season. Make the right trade, and you’re on top of the world. Make the wrong trade, and you’ll feel like Vanilla Ice circa 1991.

As you can imagine, I am in a multitude of leagues. Different depths, formats, rosters, etc… One of my leagues is a fairly shallow, 10 team head-to-head league. This morning I executed a trade, which I’d like to break down for you to demonstrate the anatomy and thought process that should go in to each move. Let’s start with the brass tacks: I give: Matt Holliday, Matt Lindstrom I get: Alfonso Soriano At first glance it seems like a lot to give up to get Soriano; and maybe it is. When we take a closer look, however, the move makes sense for both my, and the other guy’s, teams. What you need to know ahead of time is that the league is shallow and there are plenty of solid players available. Also, my team has a need for steals and homers and I am weak at Shortstop because Stephen Drew is a lot like the first time I had sex: brief and disappointing. Well, maybe just disappointing in Drew’s case. My roster is stacked with five closers; three of them premier guys (Broxton, Bell, and Soria). That makes Lindstrom expendable. In a head-to-head you don’t really need more than three closers, so even without him I’m in good shape. First, I decide to seek out the team most in need of saves. Once I indentified that team, I perused the roster for any players that might pique my interest. The first spot I check is Shortstop, because that’s my main positional need. His Shortstop situation is a no-go, with only Jason Bartlett and Troy Tulowitzki on his roster. A lot of people would carry on in search of a Shortstop to trade for. I am not a lot of people. What I did instead was look for any other players that might serve as an upgrade for me at any position. That’s when I decided on Soriano. Remember, I also need Homeruns and Stolen Bases. Ok, so I want Soriano and I know I’m giving him Lindstrom, but he isn’t making that deal straight up; I need to add in another quality player. If I don’t give him an OF to replace Soriano, he’ll be less likely to make the deal and I’ll have five outfielders. That leaves me with Lind, Cruz, Choo and Holliday to couple with Lindstrom. Lind has the best numbers, but doesn’t have the name recognition to support his value. Cruz has massive upside, but is also lacking in name. Choo has been very solid and is one of my few sources of Stolen Bases. That brings me to Holliday. He has the name to catch some attention and he’s coming around just enough to be intriguing. His power numbers and steals are down in that abysmal Oakland lineup. Holliday is marketable enough that the trade makes sense on the other side, but not so much that Soriano isn’t an upgrade for me. Perfect, Holliday it is. If you look at the trade and only consider the players involved, the deal is slightly lopsided in his favor. What most people forget to consider is that I’m giving 2 and getting 1 and that means I am free to add a player from free agency, which has value. That means whatever player I add, in a sense becomes part of the deal. Creating an empty spot in my roster allows me to address my need at Shortstop without having to drop Drew, who I still think might pull it together. That kids, is the long and short of it. Identify an expendable player. Determine which opposing team is in need of the services of said player. Decide if that team can trade you a player to fit your need. If the swap isn’t even, decide who you can couple with your expendable player to produce an upgrade for your roster. Make sure to choose a player with enough of a name that you’ll get proper value. And don’t forget: if you trade two players for one upgrade, especially in a shallow league, you’ve in effect added another player to the deal by way of free agency, which might help you fill another need. Happy Trading! PCB Scout

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Questions? Comments? Random nonsense? Email me at: pcbscout(at)gmail.com