Fantasy : Trading 101 : Around the Diamond

by Howard Bender

Every year at about this time, my email box gets flooded with questions, thoughts and comments about fantasy baseball trades. Some people are just looking for another opinion before they pull the trigger and others are really just venting about the vast stupidity they run into during trade negotiations. That's right....vast stupidity.

I had one guy send me an email, we'll call him Big T for the sake of anonymity, and I could actually see him pulling his hair out as he was questioning the integrity of his league as people were offering him players like Juan Pierre, Jeremy Hermida and LaTroy Hawkins in exchange for David Wright. "Am I and idiot?", he asked. "Do they think I don't know that Pierre will lose his job when Manny Ramirez comes back? That Hermida is nothing but mediocre? That Hawkins is nothing more than middle relief unless Jose Valverde goes back on the DL?" I'd share some more quotes, but I don't think AFS will allow me to use the f-bomb, let alone the dozen times Big T used it.

And he's right. There's nothing more frustrating than having your email cluttered up with stupid trade offers from people that have no idea how to make a trade. I can understand the concept of buying low like everyone else, but there's a fine line between buying low and making offers so bad that they frustrates the other owner to the point that he no longer wants to even talk deal with you.

So with that, I'm bringing back a section from an old article I wrote back in '06 that may help you as you try to swing a few deals to improve your squad. I'm obviously making a few changes here and there to keep it current, but the beauty of it is that, while the names may change, the concepts transcend time. If you're one of the frustrated, then you might want to send the link to this to your potential trade partner and let him know where you're coming from. If you're on the other side, well then this should help you understand why every offer you make is ridiculed and refused.

You’ve got to pay to play. I’m not talking entrance fees, I’m talking in trades. If you want to trade for a stud like Albert Pujols, you can’t offer up Mike Jacobs, Juan Uribe and J.P. Howell. It’s about quality, not quantity. If you need HR and RBI then you need to trade from your strengths. If you have speed to spare, than you’re not getting Prince Albert for anything that contains less than a Jacoby Ellsbury, a B.J. Upton or at the least, a Chone Figgins. If you want the big dog, then you have to give up a big dog.
Know your fellow owners. Listen, if you’re reading this, then chances are, if your league is competitive, then so are they. Respect their intelligence when you are making trade offers. That’s not to say you don’t try and finagle something good from your league idiot, but if you know who you’re dealing with, then you’ll waste a lot of time in bad negotiations. No one hates it more when they read that Khalil Greene is losing his job and then gets a trade offer from someone that tries to talk him up.
Do not make an offer you aren’t ready to pull the trigger on. Some people say that the first offer is just a step in negotiations. I disagree. If you send someone a legitimate trade offer, you should be prepared, and hope, that it is accepted. Why else would you send it? It can be very frustrating to have a decent offer pulled back because the guy was “just talking”. Obviously he’s re-thinking his decision when you jumped at the chance. Don’t be that guy.
Be active in trade talks. Now I’m not saying that you have to participate, but at least give an acknowledgment to the league members that just because you are at the bottom doesn’t mean you’ve fallen off the earth. Always respond back when someone is trying to talk trade. Even if you have no intention of doing a deal with them, courtesy says to respond. That way, if you aren’t interested, you don’t leave them wondering. They can just move on to someone else.
Make and actual offer. I can't stand it when an owner puts out an email with a player's name and asks for people to make offers. How many times have you seen that? "Jimmy Rollins is available. What are you going to give me?" It's merely a tactic to get someone to overspend. The owner obviously has an idea of what he'll take in exchange for Rollins, but he's hoping to rope in a fool that's going to overshoot and possibly go on the receiving end of the dreaded dump deal. If you have someone you're willing to trade, go find a team that could really use him and make a legitimate offer.
Stay active in trade voting. In most leagues that allow trading, there is either a league vote on each deal or a vote that goes to a trade committee. Most people opt for the former rather than the latter as then the debate arises as to who is on said committee and why. If you do a league vote, then pay attention to it; no matter where you are in the standings. And be smart about it. Look at the players involved. Don’t just “yes” it through because you’re at the bottom of the standings. Someone in the league will always try to pull one over on the league hoping that the bottom feeders just don’t care. Conversely, you need to be reasonably objective when voting. If you’re at the top of the standings and a rival just closed a deal that will help them in his push to pass you, you don’t just simply vote “no”. Vote no if it’s unfair, not because it may hurt you. That one will come back to haunt you when you try to make your own deal.
Respect the league. If you find yourself near the bottom of the standings, don’t just dump off your guys because you don’t care anymore. At least make it a fair trade. You’re doing more harm to the integrity of your league than you realize. In non-keeper leagues, it is usually a friend just dumping for another, which is collusion. In keeper leagues, it is called a “dump trade”. It’s when you don’t care who you give up so long as you’re getting a keeper such as Mark Teixeira back in the deal for next year. It hurts the competitiveness in the league and subsequently, the championship is decided more on who pulls off the most egregious dump trade rather than who has the superior knowledge and know how.
Do not cry “collusion” unless you are 100% certain. One of the things that make trading so difficult at times is just how subjective player values can be. One man’s trash is another man’s treasure? Heard of that? Listen, some guys are just higher on certain players more than the next guy. Owner A may think Coco Crisp is the “be all, end all” of outfielders today and Owner B may think he’s playing over his head and is garbage. The fact is, everyone evaluates guys differently and everyone has an opinion. And we all know that opinions are like a**holes. Everyone’s got one and most of ‘em stink. If you think a trade is one-sided or unfair, then vote no. Don’t throw a word like “collusion” around unless you know it for a fact. Calling someone a cheater becomes a very sticky situation if you can’t back it up.
If you are vocal about opposing a trade, don’t submit a worse one later. This kind of goes with #8 again. It’s bad enough when you have an owner who lobbies against a trade to the other owners and cries foul, but when that owner turns around and makes an even worse deal, it will inevitably be voted down as well. Not to mention how stupid you look to the rest of the league. Your credibility is shot.
Watch your reputation. Just like in any business environment, a bad reputation spreads faster than a good one. If you’re always making bad offers, word will spread and you’ll never be able to get a deal done. If you try to trade off guys you know are hurt, everyone will know to be wary of you. If your fellow owners don’t trust you, you will find yourself very alone come the trade deadline. Believe it or not, fair play is still respected. Don’t be that guy who makes everyone else’s eyes roll.
And as always..."Whatever you do, take care of your shoes.” ‘nuff said.

Hopefully this will help you out in making some quality moves for your team. We're in mid-June right now and trading deadlines are getting closer and closer. It's easy to get frustrated by some of the offers you get, but rather than that, turn it all around on them. Be smart, be educated and be efficient. There are going to be plenty of deals available to you if you go about it in the right way. Trade from your stengths and trade wisely. Do your research on players and your fellow owners and the rest should be a breeze.

Good luck and I'll see you all in the money this year!

For more on trading, player updates and fantasy advice, come check out what's going on over at Rotobuzz.com.

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Howard Bender is a freelance fantasy sports writer and champion in both rotisserie and head to head leagues. For questions, thoughts, or comments, you can email him at Howard.Rotobuzz@yahoo.com.