Stanton for James Shields?

[Swipe79]

14 Teams in the league - standard scoring 5X5 Rotisserie League. We start 2 C, 2 1B, 2 2B, 2 3B, 2 SS, 5 OF, 10 P (Starter or Reliever) - pretty deep league. We keep up to 10 players each year.

The situation: I am sliding up and down from 2nd-4th place right now - leading the league in Avg, HR, R - 2nd in RBI, and top 5 in SB (thought I would be #1 pre-season!). My pitching is not awesome right now - I am doing okay in K's (4th-5th) and Saves, but WHIP, ERA, Wins are areas I need help. I'm in third as of this morning and have 62 hitting points and 37 pitching points (up 4 points this week in pitching).

I've had a number of teams contacting me to deal a pitcher for help and all of them are interested in Mike Stanton in return. The best pitcher offered so far has been James Shields - is it worth dealing Stanton in this case? I'd really prefer to pick up a younger pitcher, but Shields is dealing so far this year and he would boost my points. I have also given thought to the idea that my pitchers are under-performing a bit (Jimenez mostly) and the early struggles of Soria/Capps didn't help the ERA either. I also have had a revolving door at my #7 spot - giving Garcia a shot right now.

Here is my roster:
C - Ryan Hanigan (Napoli), Carlos Ruiz
1B - Mark Teixeira, Mike Morse (Davis)
2B - Rickie Weeks, Jamey Carroll
3B - Jhonny Peralta (SS), Placido Polanco
SS - Alexi Casilla (Jeter), JJ Hardy
OF - Andrew McCutchen, Drew Stubbs, Mike Stanton, Laynce Nix (normally Carl Crawford), Jason Bourgoeis (Tabata)
SP - Cliff Lee, Shaun Marcum, Ricky Nolasco, Ervin Santana, Ubaldo Jimenez, Tim Stauffer, Freddy Garcia
RP - Mariano Rivera, Joakim Soria, Mike Adams
Farm: Jesus Montero (F11), Wil Myers (F13)

DL - Mike Napoli, Ike Davis, Derek Jeter, Carl Crawford, Jose Tabata

[ahcryky]

I don't like trading top bats for pitchers straight up. In a keeper, I see Stanton as a lot more valuable then Shields, should give you a pretty good idea that Stanton is valuable if there are a lot of teams coming after him.

[bginda2g]

I say no.

If you were in second place, going for first, then maybe.

Have you tried selling Nolasco for a less name-worthy pitcher that would perform better in WHIP?

Another option is to counter the Stanton offer with Mike Morse.

[Swipe79]

There is a team in the league that is loaded with younger pitching (Lincecum, D Price, D Hudson, J Garcia) - worth going after any of them? When Crawford comes back, I might be able to trade him for Haren as the guy that owns Haren has been after Crawford all season.

I just realized I am actually in 2nd place right now - 4.5 points back from the two teams tied up in first. The Shields offer came from one of those two teams. The two teams I mentioned above are below me - the guy with the loaded pitching staff is way below me in the standings - his team has 62 HR on the year compared to my 146 on the year.

Just curious - of the OF I normally have rostered (McCutchen, Crawford, Stubbs, Stanton, Tabata) which is the better trade bait? I actually get Tabata as a free keeper because of our leagues farm eligibility rules (I get him free until 2012), so I would probably not deal him. So which of the other four listed?

[ahcryky]

Why are you wanting to trade top bats for pitchers straight up? Makes little sense.

[dannahann]

Tough trade to do in a redraft and I'd steer well clear of it in a keeper.

[Swipe79]

So where do you guys see me trading from to pick up the pitching I need?

I can't score any more points in BA, HR, R, and am only 3 RBI behind the guy in 1st. I have a .05 point advantage in BA, 11 in HR, and 50+ Runs

[ahcryky]

So where do you guys see me trading from to pick up the pitching I need?

I can't score any more points in BA, HR, R, and am only 3 RBI behind the guy in 1st. I have a .05 point advantage in BA, 11 in HR, and 50+ Runs

Well, if you're determined to trade a top bat then I would want a couple tier 2 pitchers in return or an ace and a decent bat. Nothing 1for1.

[Swipe79]

I'm just looking for ideas of what is expendable on my roster. Like mentioned above, Mike Morse may be worth moving if I can find something decent to replace him at 1B with - I'm not sure I will get Ike Davis back this year. The free agent pool at 1B is really thin (Kotchman, Rivera, Giambi, Scott, Nady are the top 5). But, if I get a decent SP in the deal and just pick up a guy that gives me some average production and doesn't hurt the BA it may be worth doing.

[dannahann]

So where do you guys see me trading from to pick up the pitching I need?

I can't score any more points in BA, HR, R, and am only 3 RBI behind the guy in 1st. I have a .05 point advantage in BA, 11 in HR, and 50+ Runs

The real issue goes beyond what you need this season. Stanton could be racking up 50 bombs for an opponent, for any number of seasons. I'm not saying don't trade him for pitching, just that if you do reach much higher than Shields. I wouldn't trade that potential for pitching unless the take was enough to all but assure my staff would be nasty this year and in the future. Trade a lesser bat if all you think you need is Shields. Morse might even be too much.