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Click here to read RotoBaller's trading strategy tips and fantasy baseball advice about recent trades we've been asked about in our chat room and on twitter.
Take one look at Yasiel Puig’s CBSSports.com Player Profile and you’ll see that a mere two-and-a-half weeks of Trout-like production from the 22-year-old Cuban phenom has fetched some pretty stellar names in 1-for-1 CBS league trades over the past week. Dustin Pedroia. Paul Goldschmidt. Stephen Strasburg. Josh Hamilton. AL Cy Young contenders Yu Darvish and Max Scherzer. NL Cy Young contender Adam Wainwright.
That’s pretty incredible.
Perhaps even more incredible was a trade that went down between @PhilTWR and @ConsultFantasy involving Puig and Ryan Braun in @thefakebaseball expert league. It should be noted that the trade happened on the night the Biogenesis news broke. You can read about both owners' respective takes at the time via this tweet:
@RyanRufe @philtwr @rotoballer @thefakebaseball Our respective takes at the time... http://t.co/DKo2ptZoZ2
— Fantasy Consultant (@ConsultFantasy) June 20, 2013
To put that trade in perspective, a perennial fantasy superstar who was drafted anywhere between #1 and #4 overall was just traded for a guy who went undrafted in many leagues.
Is it crazy is that I’d be thrilled to get the Puig side of that particular trade?
“Puigmania” aside, let’s dive into some trades that you RotoBallers have inquired about via Twitter and the RotoBaller Fantasy Chat Room:
@Darci via the RotoBaller Fantasy Chat Room: I GIVE: Clayton Kershaw and Gerrardo Parra. I GET: Mike Trout and Marco Estrada. My starting pitchers are Felix Hernandez, Matt Harvey, Jeff Samardzija, Dan Straily, Corey Kluber, Rick Porcello and Tommy Milone. My outfielders are Andrew McCutchen, Jason Heyward, B.J. Upton, Brett Gardner and Wil Myers. Your thoughts sir?
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There aren’t many players that I would trade Kershaw for, but Mike Trout is definitely one of them. You have enough high-strikeout pitching depth on your team (King Felix, Samardzija and Harvey) that losing Kershaw won’t kill you. Yes, the loss might sting a little bit, but Trout will more than make up for it with elite production in all 5 hitting categories. And don’t forget that Trout will give you that elite production on a daily basis, whereas Kershaw will only deliver every 5 days. In trades like this, I tend to lean toward the side getting the elite hitter as opposed to the elite pitcher.
just traded canó for kinsler and strasburg what u guys think? @RyanRufe @rotoballer @nandocbs @thefantasaurus
— Fantasy Beisbol (@Oscarfantasy7) June 18, 2013
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Similarly to the trade above, there are not many players that I would trade Robinson Cano for. He is the best player in this deal, but Ian Kinsler is not an enormous downgrade at the 2B position. The inclusion of Strasburg easily makes up for that downgrade, as he is a top-10 SP when healthy. The only downside of acquiring Kinsler and Strasburg is the injury risk associated with both players. That makes this trade a bit of a gamble, but if Kinsler and Strasburg remain healthy, you’ll get elite production from two players instead of one. This is the type of trade I would make if I was stuck in the middle of the standings. If I were holding strong near the top of the standings, Cano wouldn't be going anywhere.
@Alva via the RotoBaller Fantasy Chat Room: In a long-term keeper league, I have Manny Machado, Shelby Miller, Jedd Gyorko, and Stephen Strasburg. How much should I be willing to give for Trout? All players are priced low enough to be kept for the next five or six years.
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I’m going to answer this question from the Trout owner’s perspective. In a keeper league, I’m simply not considering trade offers for Trout unless you present me with something that I simply cannot refuse - something along the lines of Bryce Harper + Miguel Cabrera + Clayton Kershaw for the Angels’ star outfielder. That should give you an idea of how valuable Trout is in this type of format. Granted, your trading chips have immense value in a long term keeper league as well, but if you offered me any combination of Strasburg, Gyorko, Shelby and Machado - or even all four of them - for Trout, I’d respectfully decline the offer. Now that’s just my perspective. The Trout owner in your league may not value him as highly as I do, so you might as well shoot him an offer. I’d start with Strasburg + Machado and see where it takes you.
@RyanRufe @RotoBaller I traded J. Altuve, B. McCann, and J. Weaver for J. Votto, H. Bailey, and R. Weeks.
— BS (@read_my_BS) June 20, 2013
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You've made a great trade. You acquired the best player in the deal by far in Joey Votto, and Homer Bailey is essentially a poor man’s Jered Weaver. Hell, that comparison might even be unfair to Bailey with the way he’s pitching this year. Rickie Weeks has been pretty bad overall but he has turned it on as of late and is a nice gamble to rebound. Well done.
@RyanRufe @RotoBaller I just did Rizzo and Beltran for Freeman and Greinke if you are looking for a trade to analyze
— Eric McGaughey (@ERICMCGAUGHEY) June 20, 2013
- I love the 1B upgrade you’re getting in Freddie Freeman. He’s on pace for the first 100+ RBI season of his young career, and the batting average (.319 as of this writing) is way better than we expected it to be. It’s hard to believe he’s only 23 years old. I’m not as high on Zack Greinke, but he’s a proven ace that should turn the corner in the second half of the season. Obviously, this trade works if you need the pitching. Pretty even swap, in my opinion.
Until next time, keep those trade inquiries coming! You can chat with me weekdays in the RotoBaller Fantasy Chat Room or hit me up anytime on Twitter @RyanRufe.
