Yea, I know. If you just look at the trade on paper, it’s a no brainer, but let me explain the situation. In my keeper league, I’ve fallen to 3rd place. Under the league rules, after July 31, you can only trade with teams that are 2 spots above or below you in the standing, so my trading options are extremely limited.
So, here’s the deal. I traded Ryan Braun & Jonathan Sanchez for Jonathan Papelbon & Melvin Mora.
I’m in first place in saves, but that lead is quite tenuous. I currently have 84, with the teams following me at 82, 80, 78 and 77. Obviously, there’s a big chance of losing points in a hurry, especially when you take consideration that one of my 3 closers was C.J. Wilson, who recently went on the DL (my other two are Francsico Cordero & Brian Wilson). If I were to try and go forward without replacing him, there are 4 points I could lose quite easily, and if that were to happen, there would be no chance to compete.
As for the offense I’ve given up, let’s run down the categories:
- Average: I’m in 3rd place with at .279. First place is at .290, second at .283 and fourth at .277. I’m pretty well set there
- Home Runs: I lead with 226, with the second place team at 207 and third at 206
- RBI: I lead with 847 with second place at 815
- Runs: I’m in 3rd place at 830. The teams above me are at 838 and 835, with the next team behind me at 809
- SB: I’m in 6th at 104, with teams above me at 111 and 110 and a team behind me at 99. I did recently add Jose Reyes & Johnny Damon, so that certainly is going to help here.
So, with all that said, what do you think of the trade? Did I make a mistake in trading Braun or did I deal from strength to ensure keeping the points in saves?
I know hindsight is 20/20. And these numbers are assuming you got credit for Melvin Mora on August 9 and 10. He went 5 for 9 with 2 HR, 9 RBI, and 3 runs on those 2 games.
Here’s breakdown:
You gave up Braun and Sanchez:
Braun 36/151, .238 AVG, 27 R, 7 HR, 22 RBI, 4 SB
Sanchez 30 IP, 1 W, 26 K, 6.60 ERA, 1.47 WHIP
You got Mora and Papelbon:
Mora 44/114, .386 AVG, 23 R, 8 HR, 34 RBI, 1 SB
Papelbon 20 IP, 1 W, 10 SV, 19 K, 3.15 ERA, 1.10 WHIP
So you’re up 10 saves, a HUGE ERA and WHIP adavantage in a comparable # of innings, 1 HR, 12 RBI, and a pretty sizeable batting average advantege
You lost out on, 7 K, 4 R, and 3 SB
I’d say you not only won that trade, you killed it.
If only every fantasy blog write would’ve predicted Mora to hit .418 in August.