Thoughts on trading.

[bleach168]

Trading is a major part of fantasy baseball. But I've found that people have different opinions on the subject. Some people trade because it's fun. Others trade because it's a real way to improve your team if you can find a few suckers in your league. For me, I generally dislike trading. I find it much more challenging to try to draft a team that's balanced and has no need to trade. I can see injuries throwing a wrench in that way of thinking, but usually there is no necessity to trade to be competitive.

The last two years, I've made zero trades in my most competitive league. I find that it forces me to pay closer attention to the little details that are commonly overlooked in fantasy. I am much more cognizant of drafting too much power or speed on draft day. I watch the waiver wires much more closely. I have been forced to develop managing gimmicks to squeeze out the most from my team. One of those gimmicks is the "hail mary" trick at the end of the year. I think I was the first to post that here at the cafe. When you stop spending time thinking about trading, you have a lot of extra time to come up with these cheesy gimmicks.

I have a friend who started fantasy about the same time I did and he went the opposite direction. He used trading to win all his leagues. I couldn't beat him the first year because he traded his way to six first round picks. I tried to compete with him by matching his trades but I fell behind obviously. I then went to the as little trading as possible policy and lost the next two years also. However, last year, I was able to win without trading once. It was very satisfying.

I guess my point is, if you're looking to get better at fantasy baseball, be careful of the "trading crutch." With enough trades, any team no matter how poorly drafted or poorly managed can win a league. If you lose, it is really hard to identify what went wrong if your roster at the end of the year looks completely different from the team you drafted. If you've never done so, I suggest you try not trading in one of your leagues this year. Go into the draft knowing that you won't be able to trade and see how well your team performs by the end of the year.

[Pedantic]

I'm generally cautious about my trading. I will only trade if I believe it improves my team in some way. However, like you, I never like to come out of a draft knowing I need to make a trade to fill an area or get rid of an extra player.

[Y`s Guy]

I love trading and look forward to the interactions with other managers.

Relying on the FA list/WW is not a great way to improve a team as the season limps along...unless your league is 12 teams or less then your FA list is about 350 guys. Imagine younever will boost your starting rotation because other guys have Prior, Hallday or CArpenter. You are willing to stick with your own picks based on principle?

I enjoy assessing my need to trade and I love "trawling." I never insult people, though. I usually go right for the deal I want. No cheap first offers from me.

And I hate getting the reply..."Thanks, yours was the best offer but.."

[Oat Soda]

I almost never make trades before the All-Star break. I wear out the waiver wire though.

[SaintsOfTheDiamond]

I'm with you guys on this one more or less. I don't really go into a season looking to make a ton of moves, but if you've got an overvalued player on your hands and can move him for better players, then you have to do it IMO. I think the "no-trade" mentality could put you at a disadvantage as much as the other extreme since you eliminate one avenue for bettering you team. Just my $.02.

[bleach168]

Relying on the FA list/WW is not a great way to improve a team as the season limps along...unless your league is 12 teams or less then your FA list is about 350 guys. Imagine younever will boost your starting rotation because other guys have Prior, Hallday or CArpenter. You are willing to stick with your own picks based on principle?

Beckett was supposed to be my ace last year. Contreras was supposed to be my super sleeper. Without having the ability to trade, I was forced to spot start a lot. It was a good opportunity to work on a part of my game that I usually don't need to bother with.

Obviously, you're probably going to lose if you handicap yourself the way I suggest. But if you take it seriously, I think it helps your overall game in the long run.

[Nuclear29]

I love trading. Let's face it, its a looong season so sometimes its nice to mix it up a little and get some new guys to root for. There's nothing like that feeling of buying low and watching as your player blows it up.

[atlbraves11]

i also love trading i just checked and last year i made 26 trades in my 14 team keeper league
i ended up in first place so it worked out well
i obviously trade a lot and i think its a part of the game as well as the draft so i would never go into the draft knowing i cant trade in the season

[roadrunner]

i think both ways are or can be effective however i go into the draft with the mind set and focus to build a balanced team without needing to trade.
Basically there are 2 kinds of fantasy players
those who e-mail you and want to screw with a trade
or
those you contact and want to screw with a tade

[nikku88]

I like trading, I just find it fun to haggle and negotiate with others.
I don't think I would ever make a good reall GM and I would trade all players away.