Roto World by Dave Diamond

In many leagues, like mine, there is a trade deadline. Some trade deadlines are designed to mimic the big leagues, just for the sake of doing it. Mainly, though, trade deadlines are designed to prevent owners from dumping talent or to prevent collusion between owners late in the season. They are more common in leagues with no trade approval process, and in non-keeper leagues, where late season trades of key players from second division teams are likely to raise eyebrows more so than in keeper leagues where the trade of current talent for future prospects makes at least some sense.

So, if you're in my situation - sitting in 5th place, with hope of moving up if you could just get a hitter - and you're thinking about trying to pull off a trade before the deadline, how do you convince someone to deal? You probably can't (or don't want to) trade with the teams ahead of you. Why help them? And why would they help you? But dealing with the teams behind you is also tough. Many owners in the second division may have already given up on the season - they're hard at work on their fantasy football draft. They have no real hope of moving up into the money, so why would they even bother to make a deal? It's getting a player away from these owners that could make or break your season.

Here's a few ways of approaching the process:

The let's-make-a-deal-for-the-fun-of-it trade

"Making deals is half the fun of playing roto. You're the GM, working out the deal, and negotiating, and trying to evaluate the pros and cons of the trade is fun. Sure, your team is probably not going to come back into contention, but why not at least have some fun with it.?"

This approach works best with owners who have a history of making trades. They like it, or they wouldn't do it so much. They might be willing to make a deal just for the heck of it. The flip side is an owner who never makes a trade. This is the time to practice. Why not do it now, get your feet wet? What have you got to lose? The approach has the appeal that it really is true! Making deals is part of the fun of the game, and even if your team is out of the running, you can keep yourself in the game by making a deal. Of course, you still have to follow the general rules of trading (see related columns in the links at the end of this column) - you have to offer the other guy some value, and come to the table with a reasonable offer. The guy isn't going to give away his stars just for the sake of making a deal with you! But the deal might be there if you make the call.

The "rooting interest" deal

For owners who are out of the running, watching the daily stats of their roto players is not much fun. Interest wanes very quickly when you're in 12th place. (Hint your league - try instituting some kind of consolation prize for the team with the best stats for the second half, or the last 10 weeks of the season, to keep up interest for the owners whose teams are not going to finish in the money for the whole year, but who might have a shot at the consolation prize.) Sometimes, the only fun is having players on your roto team who are also on the team that is your real-life "home" team or favorite team. If you have an owner who you know is a Yankee fan, and if you have a Yankee - any Yankee - you might be able to make a deal. Sometimes it's fun to have a player, no matter how marginal, on your favorite team, and the owner at the bottom of the standings may be more willing to give you superior value in order to get one of "his" guys to root for. Don't go crazy and ask for someone with so much more value that your fellow owners will lynch you, but you can get value.

The "change for the sake of change" deal

"I hate my team," is a refrain heard often in the cellar of roto leagues. Let's face it, if you are in 13th place out of 15 teams, you pretty much gotta hate your team. "So, change it." Get some new talent. Get some new guys to root for, even if they're not on the Mets (if that's your favorite team), at least they aren't the bums you've got now. Some owners will be willing to part with players who have been injured, or who have generally had sub-par seasons, just to be rid of them. If you can get an under-achiever who might be able to come back and have a good last few months for you (see below), you might be able to make the deal. (This approach may be combined with others above.)

The "wait for next year" deal

If you're in a keeper league, you can try to find an owner at the bottom of the league who will trade you current talent for someone who can help him/her for next year. If you're in contention, and you've got a young player like Adam Dunn, or Josh Hamilton on your bench, maybe now is the time to risk next year's master plan in order to win now.

The "you can still make a run" deal

If you can identify an owner below you in the standings, but not so far out that it's not a completely hopeless cause, you might be able to swing a deal by pitching it as the owner's last chance to make his move. Providing some historical perspective here may help. If you can find the league standings for past years, look to see if there have been examples in your league of teams that have moved from 8th or 9th place in August into the money by the end of September. If so, you can pitch the deal as one last chance. If things break right, both of you could finish higher than you are now. Of course, for this to work, you need to have a deal that can arguably help the other guy, as well as you.

The Side Bet Deal

One last approach is to make a side bet with an owner low in the standings. "I bet that Tim Salmon will have better stats from now until the end of the year than Ben Grieve. Oh yah, then trade me Grieve for Salmon and I'll bet you ten bucks I get the better end of the deal." This works best if you can find a guy who has really under-achieved so far this year, and you're willing to trade your under-achiever for someone else's.

OK, now get out there and make a deal!! (If you make a good one, email me and let me know and we'll evaluate it for you!)

Here are a few ideas for guys to try to go out and get if the opportunity presents itself:

Nomar Garciaparra - If he was drafted by someone who is now out of the running, it might be available right now, but not after he's activated.

Johnny Damon - Now that he's not going to be traded, look for him to finally put up the numbers he was paid so much for.

Derek Jeter - Although his numbers haven't been that bad, they have been sub par. But Jeter has started to turn it up, and will probably some on strong from here on in.

Greg Vaughn - If he gets traded, he'll be even better, but without a move, he'll still put up some good numbers.

Edgardo Alfonzo - A really disappointing year for Alfonzo owners, but he's getting healthy and will be better from now to the end than he's been so far.

Edgar Martinez - Currently injured, but not seriously, Edgar might be available if owned by a second-tier owner.

Geoff Jenkins - Has underachieved all year due to nagging injuries, but if he gets hot, he can be one of the most productive hitters in the game. Get him, and hope he gets totally healthy for a September run.

Carl Everett - With Nomar coming back, the Red Sox offense will suddenly get a lot better. Catch an Everett owner who is disgusted with his injuries, and hope he comes back strong.

Rondell White - With the Cubs making a playoff run, White will get plenty of RBI opportunities when he gets back from his injury. Try to get him now.

Jason Kendall - Really a disappointment, but he knows he has to pick it up for the rest of the year, and let's face it, there's no pressure on him.

Good luck - There's still time!!

Previous columns:

07/18/2001 - First Half Performance - Pitchers