1)       Trading is the single scariest move you can make in fantasy baseball.  Trades can rescue a season, win a season, or ruin a season.  For the most part you do not need to trade during the fantasy baseball season while still winning.  The first lesson in this book should be that.  Only trade when you have to trade and don’t trade just because.  Trading can be Pandora’s Box, and you never know what you will get.  If you come to the conclusion that you must trade in order to improve your team, then ask yourself the following questions.

2)       Who can I trade without making my team significantly weaker, especially at that position?

3)       Do I have back up players to replace the players lost in the trade?

4)       Is the player I’m receiving superior to the player I’m trading or replacing?

5)       Before you commit to the idea of trading you have to know why you are making the trade.  You should go through the pre-trade preparations so when the trade does occur you are ready.    

6)       After you’ve completed your pre-trade preparations, you have to enter negotiations.  This is the meat of trade strategies.  Knowing what to say and not to say is the difference in winning.

7)       We will also cover trade research.  You have to know as much as possible about the players involved in the deal.  You don’t want to trade for a guy and find out the next day he was sent to the minors!

8)       In the last chapter we will cover the theory of “Buy Low, Sell High”.  It’s the stock market version of trading and if you do it right you can build a great team.
 

2.       Pre-trade Preparations

9)       There are several things you have to prepare before you make a trade offer or start any kind of negotations.  To start, you need to know what it is you want to gain out of a trade deal.  It seems simple enough, but many of us forget what it is we want, and see gold in a big name player that might be up for grabs.

10)   Make sure the player you decide to get is what you actually need.  For example, you decide you need a closer to improve your bullpen.  Make sure you get a closer in the deal.  Next, you have to determine what you are willing to give up for the closer. You don’t want to gain in one position, while losing the same or more in another.  Examine your team and its depth.  Determine the players you can trade while maintaining a strong starting lineup.  Your depth will suffer, but that can be repaired in free agency.

11)   Say you are strong at the first base position with 2 viable starters.  The first thing you want to do is scour free agency for first basemen who could replace one of the guys you will possibly trade.  This isn’t a deal breaker for a trade, but you should just have your replacement player lined up and ready to pickup if the deal goes through.

12)   Locate a team who is weak at first base and has a closer you’d like to get.  You are wasting your time if you go to a team with good or even better first basemen and try to make a trade. It sounds silly, but it happens to me ALL the time.  If someone offers me a player I don’t need, I won’t even look at the trade.  After you find the team you want to trade with, rather than just sending him the trade, send a courtesy email letting him know you are interested in trading with him for a closer and have some first basemen you’d like to offer. 

13)   This is a key strategy in trading.  You want to keep the decisions in his hands while you are making them for him.  By sending this email you already have established your control in the deal.  He knows what you want, and you’ve got him thinking about the position you want to offer him.  In allot of cases the manager will have no interest in a trade.  It happens, its common, move on.  If he shows any interest, a deal can be completed. 

14)   You’ve completed the pre-trade preparations, which include knowing what you need; finding who you can trade on your team, finding a team to trade with, and finally initiating contact with the other team.
 

3.       Trade Negotiations

15)   Trading is best and always in the favor of the aggressor when you have options.  Before you start negotiations revisit the closers on the other team.  In order to get the best possible deal for your team you need to study the players you want and study how the other manager is using them.  See if the opposing manager has any closers he’s benching or ones that are in slumps.  Maybe he’s benching a closer because he’s blown two straight saves.  Those are opportunities to take advantage of the opposing teams emotions and get a great deal. Remember, this can be applied to any position, any time.  We are just using the closers as our example.

16)   You’ve heard the term, “Buy Low, Sell High.”  The same applies to trading players in fantasy baseball.  If you see a player, and in this example a closer who’s value is low, go for him.  If you believe that he will get hot again and perform as he normally does then you have your man.  Players will always go through slumps and you need to look for those situations in your time of need.  When you find them, act on them with a sound trade offer. 

17)   Maybe all his players are good, so you must pick the best player for your team.  In the example we want a closer, so pick the best one for your team.  First, eliminate his best closer, unless you are willing to part ways with a top notch player.  Out of the rest, get the best most consistent one.  If the decision is still tough, the player that least plays your team.  If you have 4 American League East pitchers, then it’s not a good idea to trade for an American League East bat or closer.  However you decide on a player, choose wisely. Choosing the player to trade for is where most of the mistakes are made in trading.

18)   Let’s review; you established communication with a team interested in trading.  Now, you’ve selected a player you’d like to offer, and you know the player you want.  You are ready to send your first offer.  The first offer is incredibly important.  If you offer too much you might not get the better end of the deal.  If you offer too little you may insult the other manager and he’ll walk.

19)   Make your first offer simple.  Offer him the dreaded 2 for 1 or 3 for 1 deal.  Make sure you actually have 2 or 3 players you’d give up for the guy you want.  If the opposing manager actually accepts the deal, you got rid of 2 or 3 players and you get a great player back, plus two roster spots!  Normally they will decline and even counter-offer.  A counter-offer says allot more about the manager’s willingness to trade then you think.  Let’s start with the counter-offer.  If there is no counter-offer skip to verse 22.   

20)   In most cases you will get one.  Sometimes the manager will offer you a crazy deal back and sometimes they will offer you a real deal.  Either way it lets you know that they do in fact want to deal and it should let you know exactly who they want or which type of player they are looking for.   Your second offer should be a realistic one.  Don’t drag trades out with silly offer after silly offer.  You aren’t buying a car, this is a trade.  You have to respect the other manager, so end the negotiations as quickly as possible. 

21)   In your second and hopefully final offer narrow it down to the exact terms you want to give.  Again, you don’t have to offer him everything.  This is also where we will pick up if he straight declined the first offer.  In the examples we have presented, you wanted a closer and he needed a first basemen.  When you trade the first thing you think about is what am I losing, so comfort the other manager by offering a middle reliever to replace the closer if you have one to get rid of.  Then, offer one of your first basemen. 

22)   The key here is you won’t need that middle reliever once you get the closer, and he’ll feel like he’s not giving as much.  Also, he gets his first basemen.

23)   Always keep your focus on your goal which was to acquire a closer at the least possible cost.  Certainly avoid giving up any real starters on your team.  Most teams overlook the value of a deep bench as trade bait.
 

4.       Trade Research and Strategies

24)   Researching before you make a trade is critical to the execution of the trade.  We all do basic research on a player like injury status, statistics, etc… What most of the managers probably don’t consider is who does this player have left to play, which league is he in, or even which division?  We mentioned earlier about picking players that won’t hurt other players on your team.  For instance, if the majority of your offense is American League then trade for a National League pitcher.

25)   If this trade is occurring late in the season and you are looking for a strong bat, research who this player will face for the rest of the season.  Its tough long work, but it will help you in making a far better decision in the long run.

26)    You don’t want to create headaches for yourself when AROD (your player) hits a grand slam off your newly acquired John Lackey, so avoid it if you can.  We aren’t saying take a lesser quality pitcher, but if the option is out there take a similar quality pitcher. Also, never trade for an injured player unless he will come back quickly and is an awesome player.  Most players do not come back from injuries quickly and they can be hampered by them the rest of the season, so consider an injury a red flag.

27)   Next, it’s mandatory you get the better end of the deal.  I know some people feel that in a trade both sides can come out on top, that there isn’t always a winner and a loser.  That is wrong.  It’s true both teams can benefit, but someone will always win, and someone will always lose.  How do I know this?  There can only be one league champion, that’s why.  Regardless of the deal, make sure you get what you needed, and you don’t give up any key players. 

28)   Some managers will think because you gave up your starting centerfielder in a deal for a starting pitcher that you gave up allot.  On the other hand, your backup centerfielder is just as good, and was wasting away on your bench.  The way to benchmark a trade is simple.  If you complete the trade while remaining a strong team with fewer holes then you started with, you made a great trade.  If you create a hole by filling another one, you haven’t done a good job.
 

5.       Buy Low, Sell High

29)   Finally we will discuss trading when offers are presented whether you want to trade or not.  This is the “Buy Low, Sell High” theory and it works just like the stock market.  Throughout the season you will have managers who will just get sick of a player on their team.  Whether this player is slumping or injured, whatever the reason they want him gone.

30)   A great example of this move was in 2006 when Ichiro Suzuki started in a terrible slump.  A manager in a league I was in was desperate to trade him.  Of course I knew how good Ichiro was, and frankly I could use his speed and bat, so I offered another starting pitcher AJ Burnett for him.  The guy ate it up.  He was thrilled to get rid of Ichiro.  Later in the season once Ichiro caught fire I traded him from Francisco Rodriguez and another outfielder.  That is a perfect example of buying low and selling high with one player.  Basically the end result was I got Francisco Rodriguez and another outfielder for AJ Burnett.  Let’s just say I won that league. 

31)   If you see desperation in a manger who is trying to unload a good player in a bad spot, jump on it.  Research the player as best you can.  Read the local newspapers and find out if he has any nagging injuries, he’s getting benched; his wife is due to give birth, etc...  If he clears all that, then make a low offer for him and see what the manager is willing to take for him. 

32)   Allot of managers feel that they shouldn’t take advantage of another manager if he panics, and that is the wrong way to look at it.  This is a game of numbers and luck.  Part of the luck is being the guy who steps up and makes the best move for his team when the time is right.  If another manager is willing to trade a player because he stinks that’s his managerial style and you cannot argue it. 

33)   Let’s not joke. There are risks for the team getting the player.  What if it’s a season long slump and you get burned.  It can happen, but these are the risks that must be taken to win a championship.

34)   Of course the time will come when you are ready to let go of a guy. Hopefully it’s at a time when he is peaking.  That is the time to trade him and sell high.  Try not to get yourself caught on the other side of the deal where you are selling low.  You can’t always avoid it, but if you had confidence to draft the player, have the confidence to see him play out of his slump.  Patience is a virtue in fantasy baseball.

35)   If you do get caught in the sell low situation, maintain the look that the player is still a quality player that you highly value.  Do not let on that you just want to get rid of him.  NEVER POST about trades or how much you like or hate a player.  That will only hurt your chances.  Never send a low offer when you are trying to unload a good player slumping.  Make the other manager make the first move whenever you can.

36)   Understanding how setup and execute a trade are keys to winning a championship. If you have any questions about your draft, email us at thetrueguru@fantasybaseballsearch.com.