As we embark on our 13th season here at ARomano, I thought that perhaps an article to expand our knowledge-base would be of use. Now, I’m not going to lie and say I had no ulterior motive regarding this post. Frankly, I was insulted when I received the above trade offer from pat007ohmss, unsolicited. However, perhaps we can turn this into a training situation to help our new members as they traverse the trade waters.
#1. Always trade with a purpose.
I swear some seasons its like trades are going off on the whim and before you know it or before the “newbie” probably realizes it, most of their talent is gone and they still have not planned for the future or even that season. Don’t trade because you can, trade because you have a goal, plan, or objective. And, keep it realistic. Now as for pat007, his plan was to replace Tony Dorsey, his part time closer for the past several seasons. Tony is going to miss the next 20 days or so due to injury. Now, pat007 does have other relievers to choose from for the closer role but pat007 is trying to win it all this season and probably wants top notch talent. Enter Solly:
#2. Know what the other person wants.
Most people trade chat before they send an offer, or at least have a message in the note section of the proposal. However, some (like pat007 in this case) just “cold call” and try guessing at it. There is a literally slim chance of success when you do this.
Instead, try and find out what the other person wants. Before you even chat, look and see where they are at in their budget. Research their roster. What weakness do they have that you may be able to fill? Find out if they are rebuilding or trying to win now. This is actually pretty easy to do. Or, you can just ask them.
For me, I just want young talent. Mostly pitching talent. I’m content with building from scratch this time, bottom up. So, if asked, I would say shove off. I would be hard pressed to trade any young pitching talent let alone one who just won the rookie of the year award (and might still be around win I start winning again). Of the three players offered to me, all have 3 or more seasons already, 2 will need to be on my 40 man roster, and none of them would help me win in the future. Let’s be honest here, the only way these three could help me, would be if I wanted to lose MORE games.
I’ve done this myself, many times, before I was finally corrected (ever so rudely) that I was wasting time. The lesson was hammered home further when it started happening to me.
When the person you are trying to trade with is trying to improve their team, how does 3 backups replace one starter? Don’t get me wrong I understand why this happens: if you want to trade to get more talent than you have, you obviously don’t have straight-up equal talent to trade with. But seldom do those vying for a championship have a need for more low 70 talent when they are trying to get more players in the 80 range.
3 for one trades can work when a player has come to the realization that the plan they had is not within their reach and thus the season is lost. Know they are trying to pick up International FA or trying to cut salaries before the next season. In general, if you want the top talent you will have to give up your youngest talent to do so.
#4. Avoid sending cash.
Sending cash to cover a salary when the budget is tight is one thing, but sending or demanding more cash than is in the trade is just plain wrong. If you need more money in your payroll then get rid of someone, and then next season, plan better. Case in point: the before mentioned trade had me giving 1.8 million to pat007, in addition to Solly. Now it wasn’t as if the trade wouldn’t have gone through without the extra cash. Solly only makes $360,000. In fact, without the extra cash pat007 would still have about $100,000 left in cap room. Not much space but, still in the black.
In conclusion, you should be keeping in mind that the person you are trading with may be in this league for many seasons to come, and the wrong offer or trade could ruin any possibility of a trade in the future. Regarding the offer from pat007, the 1.8 million in cash was really the icing on the cake for me. Trying to pond 3 scrubs off on me for my ROY closer made this a bad trade, but then asking me to pay for the mismanagement of your payroll made this trade offer an insult.
80 Plus players: 9; 70 Plus: 8; Total Average: 74.4; Top Player: Hugh Gray
80 Plus players: 7; 70 Plus: 10; Total Average: 73.9; Top Player: Pat Ueno
80 Plus players: 5; 70 Plus: 13; Total Average: 74; Top Player: Sammy Piatt
80 Plus players: 6; 70 Plus: 13; Total Average: 74.7; Top Player: Everett Morrow
80 Plus players: 5; 70 Plus: 10; Total Average: 72.6; Top Player: Angel Acosta
80 Plus players: 3; 70 Plus: 13; Total Average: 72.4; Top Player: Tomas Salinas
80 Plus players: 4; 70 Plus: 13; Total Average: 72; Top Player: Shane Aven
80 Plus players: 4; 70 Plus: 7; Total Average: 71.6; Top Player: Valerio Romero (91 rating)
80 Plus players: 3; 70 Plus: 13; Total Average: 71.6; Top Player: Hal Gilbert
