I'm in a deep 10 team NL-Only auction keeper league, with $1600 on the line. After finishing 2nd last year, this year my team is struggling. I traded Hart and Lohse earlier this year for JUpton, which hasn't saved me just yet. I'm not sure where my trade value even lies right now. Considered moving Votto for a usable 1B and a decent outfielder upgrade, but moving my best player, and the only legitimate 1B in the league, worries me. Especially since I need power. I'd like to avoid moving Marcum and Zimmermann as my two best keepers...I guess I'm just looking for some thoughts on who you would be shopping, and who you might see as possible targets that would improve this team? I know it's not the clearest question, but I'd love to have someone to brainstorm off of. Any help is really appreciated, and I'm more than happy to help in return!
*edit: The team in 6th place is struggling as well, and has: Morse, Hanley, Freeman, Zimmerman, Cuddyer, McCutchen, Dempster, Gio, Burnett...I feel like these are my best tradeing blocks to play with, based on teams/wants/needs...
My roster:
C - McCann($23) C - Thole($1) 1B - Votto($51) 2B - Hill($11) 3B - BWallace($1) SS - DGordon($17) MI - Rollins($21) CI - Lombardozzi($1) OF - Upton($37) OF - Belt($13) OF - DeJesus($4) OF - Kubel($15) OF - NMorgan($4) UTIL - Simmons($1) BE - JPacheco($1) BE - NArenado[M]($1) BE - RRoberts($1) BE - IStewart($6)
P - Greinke($31) P - Marcum($13) P - Zimmermann($13) P - EJackson($3) P - THudson($12) P - SCishek($1) P - Betancourt($1) P - DHernandez($) P - Marshall($1) P - Thayer(1$) BE - Eovaldi($1) BE - Teheran($1) BE - CCarpenter[DL]($3)
I actually am kind of surprised your team is all that bad. Your SP is pretty good and you have better players at most positions than i would have thought considering it is an NL only.
Your biggest hole right now is SS with both Gordon and Rollins not living up to expectations. Not sure how much value guys like Arenado and Teheran have but maybe you could deal them to improve your SS spot.
"In the beginning the Universe was created. This has made a lot of people very angry and has been widely regarded as a bad move."- Douglas Adams
Just a lot of under-performing guys at this point. McCann and Upton, Rollins and Gordon, even Hill and Kubel. Prospects won't have any real value around here until the trade deadline, and if something doesn't change I'll be buying prospects at that point, not selling...I agree, my pitching is strong, would have been even stronger if Stauffer and Luebke hadn't died on me. But I don't think it's strong enough to play with a whole hell of a lot just to buy a bat straight up...
Herrera's owned, the FA's a wasteland. Dominic Brown is the only thing I'm even interested in out there...best FA bats right now are Reed Johnson and Mike F'ing Fontenot...
I don't mind the SS/MI combo. Gordon has been a disappointment but still has use as a MI in an NL-Only. Rollins usually gets stronger as the season goes on. His average may be a lost cause, but I only had him pegged for 20 steals so I have been happy on that front. I personally would look to move McCann for a 3B and a high(er) BA Catcher. What I want out of my catchers is to simply not kill my average. Everything else is gravy. That being said, the high-end C usually fetch a price. I'd try to use McCann as my first piece.