Fantasy Update: Trades!

Baseball and Relativity

There's a precise art to completing good trades in fantasy baseball. This week I've been trying to exploit my gamut of middle of the pack pitching to prey on friends who have a couple of extra sluggers but a less than stellar starting rotation. The results, as of yet, have been uninspiring. This is less because the trades I'm offering aren't good and more because inexperienced fantasy baseballers often develop a trade allergy.

The trade allergy finds its roots on the manager's fear of being burned. Nobody wants to trade me a bonafied slugger as they fear that his production, if substantial, may cause regret down the road.

Here are some tips for trading (based on a head to head Yahoo! styled league).

1. 4000 rbi's will not win you the SB category: As I have said before you need to develop a balanced squad to compete in fantasy sports. That means that if you have a lot of one thing, trade some of it to get another. This is most notable in HR/RBI/win biases. Most inexperienced players can't see beyond the more prominant stats to realize the value of trading Manny Ramierez to pick up a pitcher with a low ERA and Shane Victorino who will steal bases and will not hurt your avg./OBP.

2. Take chances: If you're making a trade get the other guy to throw in a low risk/high reward player like Jack Cust or Justin Upton to accentuate the deal. If the low risk player doesn't pan out its no real loss. If he does and the trade's primary chip flops then you can at least salvage your managerial dignity!

3. Get trades done early: Don't wait until your overachievers have lost value or until mid season when people aren't paying enough attention. Get the trading going while people are still interested!

4. Pay attention to the experts: They'll let you know way before you recognize yourself if one of your players is hot/cold. Despite the occasional mistakes experts are much better at predicting player trends than World Series winners.

5. Stay away from basement dwellers: In my opinion going after an Oakland Athletic, a Royal or a Pirate is just foolish. Take a lesser guy on a much better squad - better run support and offensive production improves stats.

DB