Ottoneu Leagues - July Trade Analysis and Grades

Hey RotoBallers and Ottoneu fans. I'm back after a bit of a break, and I'm ready to grade a few more trades for you all. I didn't receive much Twitter feedback, so I'll be throwing in a few deals that I found among the Ottoneu Fantasy Baseball Official Trade Thread. Let's see what kind of deals you all have been working on prior to the All Star Break.

Basically I will be breaking down the pros and cons of each side of the deal, and I'll let you know who I think won the deal. I'll give the winning owner a grade: C being about neutral and A+ being an absolute steal.

Feel free to send me any trade questions or examples you have on Twitter @BellRoto. I can give quick advice there, and I can also put your trade in the mix for a future article. Let's get to it.

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Ottoneu MLB Trade Analysis

League: Old School 5x5

Team 1's: Andrew Benintendi ($29)

for Team 2's: Yoenis Cespedes ($17) and Robinson Cano ($9)

A little context helps here, as Team 1 is pretty much out of the race this year, while Team 2 needs a big push to jump into the top three in the standings. I actually don't mind the trade for either side. I can see why Team 2 is frustrated about having very little production from two supposedly awesome Ottoneu cogs, and the addition of a consistent run producer like Benintendi should help him make a push. At the same time, I can see why Team 1 might be hesitant to keep Benintendi around next year for that hefty price tag. With that perspective, some high upside bats like Cespedes and Cano for relatively cheap price tags is interesting. Cespedes is young enough to have a big second half, making him a huge steal at what would be his 2019 price tag. Cano's path to being kept for 2019 seems a little more murky, but he's still one of the best hitters in the game when healthy. It's a fine dump in the hopes of hitting big upside for next year, and because I think it's possible that Cespedes matches Benintendi's production in the second half of the season, I'll side with Team 1.

Verdict: C+ for Team 1 - I'll take the upside for two shaky guys over the inflated price tag for a younger one.

League: FanGraphs Points

Team 1's: Max Scherzer ($51) and $21

for Team 2's: Carlos Martinez ($24) and Charlie Morton ($6)

This one perplexes me a little, but it was interesting enough to evaluate. The context here is that Team 1 is in second place while Team 2 is trying to catch him, currently in fourth place. With that in mind, I am assuming both are going for the championship this year. I'd have to imagine that the only reason Team 1 is willing to give up Scherzer and money in this deal is that he's lacking depth in his pitching rotation, and he feels very confident in Martinez and Morton for the rest of the season. However, I'm all aboard Team 2 here. Morton has looked a little shaky as of late, and he's certainly capable of reverting back to his up-and-down form that we saw in Pittsburgh for a few years. Meanwhile, I've never been a big Car-Mart fan. He's always had the upside of a great power pitcher, but he walks to many guys and gets blown up way too often. Team 2 saw the ability to ditch two risky guys for one of the (if not THE) best pitchers in the MLB, and I don't blame him for taking it. I even think he can keep Scherzer at that massive price tag next year, so it's a no-brainer for me.

Verdict: A- for Team 2 - As usual, if you can combine two lesser guys for one stud, I'm probably going to like your side of the deal A LOT.

League: FanGraphs Points

Team 1's: Matt Carpenter ($12)

for Team 2's: Sean Newcomb (3) and Nick Pivetta (3)

Team 1 is a little bit lower in the standings, and could potentially make a push for a final playoff spot. Team 2 on the other hand is in first place and has a playoff spot pretty much locked up at this point. I'll start by saying I think every player in this deal is underpriced, especially Nick Pivetta. I would imagine that Team 2 has a very good pitching staff already, which is why he has first place on lock down right now. With that in mind, it's easy to see why a few back-end rotation pieces for an underpriced, very solid hitter to fill an offensive gap makes sense. However, I think both of these pitchers have the potential to be aces. If Team 1 has a previously injured player coming back to fill the gap that Matt Carpenter will leave offensively, it's a landslide win for him. But even if he takes a hit on offense, there's a potential to have a really, really good one-two punch in your starting pitching rotation for years to come with this combination. I like this deal for Team 1 as a way to stay in the playoff hunt while also building BIG upside for the future.

Verdict: B for Team 1 - Playing for the future without hurting your current season too much is always a nice way to win a trade.