Trade Talk: Need Hitters

[Dark Treb]

Right now, in my 5 X 5 roto league, I'm doing fairly well (12 person, 8+ in each hitting category) in hitting, and am within striking distance of the lead guy in each category. I'm doing great in every pitching category except wins, and so I'm wondering

Which of these hitters:
Juan Pierre
Adam Dunn
Fred McGriff
Paul Konerko
Fernando Vina
Rafael Furcal
Mike Lowell

and which of these pitchers:
Jeff Weaver
Odalis Perez
Keith Foulke
Brian Lawrence
Byung Hyun Kim
Eric Gagne
Mark Prior

would you package to try to upgrade at a certain position (ie: Vina and a pitcher for a superior 2B). I'm looking to deal guys whose values have reached a new high (like Perez, Kim, Gagne, Konerko)

[Arlo]

Hmm... the players you mention are certainly possibilities. Of those, Kim might be the most tempting, since there is still a possibility that Mantei will return to the closer role. Trading Kim plus a bat for a lesser (but safer) closer and a hitting upgrade could work very well.

Of the others, McGriff is at a high right now; if you can package him with an arm for a star 1b, I'd do it. There's no telling when he'll return to mediocrity.

Prior is at a high right now, too, thanks to his excellent starts and the hype surrounding him. I like him, both for this season and for the future, but it may be worth asking around whether anyone is willing to pay a ridiculous price for him. Some of the offers for him thast I've seen are amazing.

I think you have a lot of options here. Just about any of those players can conceivably be upgraded (Pierre + arm for Ichiro, for instance). You should be able to make some pretty solid offers.

[Dark Treb]

Thx, Arlo. Believe me, I've been trying to package Pierre + various arms or bats for Ichiro, but the guy who has him won't budge, and I'm not going to go crazy just for Ichiro, because Pierre is still a good outfield option.

Should I try specifically to deal Perez or Padilla? I think they're for real, and their value may go up even more.

[Arlo]

Sure thing. Going after Ichiro was just an example anyway; I can understand why his owner won't deal him, though. Oh well, no matter. I really, really like Pierre.

I also think both Perez and Padilla are legitimate. I wouldn't go out of my way to deal them now, but I'd certainly listen to offers for them. Packaging, say, McGriff with Padilla, might get a nice return now.

With your flexibility, I probably wouldn't even start by sending out definite offers but by asking whether a team might be interested in a certain player or position. Maybe something interesting will develop that way.

Good luck dealing!