It’s that time again – time for our weekly Grading Trades column, and you know what that means. That’s right; we get to take a look at this week’s trades that went down across the fantasy baseball world and decide how much or how little we like them or provide some feedback on trade offers you might be a bit torn on. As always, thanks to all who submitted their trades to us and keep on keepin’ on.
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Rougned Odor for Brad Miller, straight up. 14-team keeper, contract league. 5×5 H2H, but OBP instead of AVG.
This is a trade that occurred in my league. I think I made my feelings on Rougned Odor pretty clear in last week’s Grading Trades column – effectively calling him overhyped and overvalued because of the power he possesses (but not much else). Odor is also signed to a contract extension at $18 through 2018. He hasn’t hit a home run since May 5 and has only seen his OBP ‘improve’ to .259 since his last home run.
Brad Miller has been a bit of a lost cause this fantasy season due to an incredibly slow start offensively, but he still does have a .350 OBP through his 39 games played even though the power stroke has all but disappeared. Granted, that may have something to do with an abdomen injury that has limited him so much during his DL stint that he’s not likely to come off the DL on Friday as originally expected.
The bright side of this trade, at least for the former Odor owner, is that Miller is not signed to an exorbitant extension and costs just $7 for the season. Miller is also eligible to play all across the infield with exception to catcher and third base.
Based on the contract value and extension alone, I give the former Odor owner a solid B for being able to flip Odor for something of value – at least something of value a couple weeks from now. Even if Miller doesn’t regain the power stroke he displayed last season, not being saddled with that contract is worth it in this particular league.
We’re in a standard 5×5, 12-team league. I was offered Carlos Gonzalez and Paul Goldschmidt for Michael Conforto, David Price, and Eugenio Suarez. I’m a huge Goldy fan and would love to have him, but I’m torn on whether I want to give up Conforto.
This is a pretty interesting offer. A good portion of fantasy baseball owners was ready to write off Carlos Gonzalez just a couple weeks ago as being done, and no longer truly fantasy relevant. It’s amazing how quickly that perception has started to change now that his bad luck in April has changed in May.
Michael Conforto is carrying an unsustainable .370 BABIP up to this point in the season, and while I believe he’s finally turned the corner as a true offensive threat, regression is coming. The biggest piece you’d be giving up, in my opinion, is Eugenio Suarez.
He’s put together one heck of a batting line this season, .302/.378/.566 and has shown marked improvement in pretty much every facet of his game. He’s been a real fantasy bright spot this season.
David Price is set to make his season debut with the Red Sox fairly soon, but elbow injuries are scary and who knows how long his will hold up, or how long it will take him to get into a comfort zone again. He’s certainly one of the top 10 starters in fantasy baseball when healthy, but I’d be fine moving him in a package trade.
If I were offered this trade, I’d accept. I’d probably feel a little bad about losing Suarez, but you’re getting Goldy and CarGo to make up for it – and they will more than makeup for it.
16-team keeper league, H2H, standard 5×5 categories. I traded Michael Conforto for Carlos Gonzalez and Eduardo Rodriguez. What do you think?
I think you capitalized on Michael Conforto’s hot start, and unsustainable .370 BABIP, and turned it into a Carlos Gonzalez who is heating up and a young starting pitcher with some decent upside as a fantasy starter on a great Boston Red Sox team. Given that it’s a keeper league, Conforto may come back to haunt you next season when he truly has a grasp on a starting role in New York, but if you feel you have a shot to win it all this season, you can’t be overly concerned about next season, in my opinion.
The biggest change in Conforto’s approach and development this season compared to last is his ability to pull the ball and take advantage of his raw strength. The funny thing is that he’s swinging more often – taking a more aggressive approach at the plate, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing considering the contact he is making is quality contact.
Last season he couldn’t handle a good fastball, this season he’s feasting off of all fastballs to the tune of a .383 batting average. He will regress some, but I believe he’s finally figured out how to make better contact and has a better mental approach at the plate.
Yes, I did just place high praise on Conforto and deservedly so. That doesn’t mean you made a mistake trading him away. Because like I said, regression is on the horizon.
Carlos Gonzalez had a horrible April, partly due to a .246 BABIP. He’s finally heating up, and owners will be delighted that he has. CarGo is walking at a higher rate this season than he has throughout any one season in his career and he’s carrying a strikeout rate slightly better than his career average over the past two seasons.
He’ll be a guy that gives you 30 home runs, or very close to it this season. Plus, there’s that Colorado air.
Eduardo Rodriguez has improved quite a bit over his previous two seasons. I’m sure the Baltimore Orioles are kicking themselves for trading him now; especially considering he’s a lefty that looks like he could become a solid number two starter with another season under his belt.
In most rotations in baseball (not fantasy) he’d probably be the number two starter already. He’s striking out a ton of hitters, isn’t walking many, and has pitched six quality starts out of eight.
I give your trade a grade of A-. You get win now pieces, but still get a young lefty that is keeper worthy in most formats. Plus, being in a 16-team league, I can imagine having a rotation deep with quality fantasy starters is incredibly difficult to do.
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To satisfy that fantasy baseball itch that is making trades, we’re grading and providing feedback on them as you submit them. Tweet us at @FantasyProsMLB with the trade details and use #FantasyBaseballTrades and we’ll let you know what we think about the deal.
Lance Rinker is a correspondent at FantasyPros. For more from Lance, check out his archive or follow him @LanceMRinker.
