Trade Offers

[CaptAM]

During a season, how does everyone evaluate trade offers they receive or make. Do you base them on the dollar value of players or do you go by how the cards are performing in the league. I've been playing since 2004 and based on some of the messages i've received lately I don't know how to make a fair offer.

[durantjerry]

To me, during the season dollar values are irrelevant except for making the trade work . The needs of each team as the season develops are what matters. A lopsided trade can help a team that is perceived as getting the short end if he fills the gaps on his team. It can be a tough sell though. Not to be cruel , but even a good offer sent to someone who doesn't know what they are doing can be thrown back in your face.

[coyote303]

[quote:46da833c4f="CaptAM"]During a season, how does everyone evaluate trade offers they receive or make. Do you base them on the dollar value of players or do you go by how the cards are performing in the league. I've been playing since 2004 and based on some of the messages i've received lately I don't know how to make a fair offer.[/quote:46da833c4f]

In a 200x league, I don't care how a player is doing in the league when I evaluate a trade. What matters are his card (and what I think of it) and my needs. Performance is meaningless.

In a mystery card league, you want to know which year you are getting. Performance could matter if the year is still otherwise unknown. However, even then, by the time there are enough games played for performance to be meaningful, a player's year is usually known.

To make a trade you have to meet all of these criteria:

1. Determine who you want and who you are willing to give up
2. Look at the trade from the other manager's perspective--does it make sense to him?
3. Make sure the salaries work
4. Make sure you did step 2

Even then, the other manager may simply like the players he has. I spend so much time putting a team together in the preseason, this is often the case for me.

So, pulling off a trade is tough. But they can be fun when they happen.

[DHowser]

people make trades in strato??

[CaptAM]

I try to offer players that i think fill a need for the other team,but I'm finding people are so unwilling to trade that "star" player.For example, i've had some who would rather finish in last place with Manny hitting .208 then trade him for anything else. I've also seen players try to take advantage late in the season by offering low value players for high value just because a team is out of contention.

[coyote303]

[quote:8eb7df93f7="CaptAM"]..., i've had some who would rather finish in last place with Manny hitting .208 then trade him for anything else.[/quote:8eb7df93f7]

My favorite 2008 player was in a horrible slump at the start of the season, hitting below .200. Yet, there isn't a trade possible* that I would have accepted because he had the same great card that won the batting title the previous season.

As I said in my previous post, performance is irrelevant when considering a trade.

Coyote

*This was an $80 million salary cap league. In a $200 million salary cap, I concede there would be a possible trade, but it still wouldn't be influenced by performance.

[LMBombers]

What coyote says is very true. The odds of your player doing well on any given night is only influenced by his card, not by his stats in previous games.

[tcochran]

Hmmm, yes and no -- odds are also influenced by how well he fits in a particular stadium.

And from a team perspective, even a great player is expendable if the team has a significant weakness; e.g., I had a team once with 5 of the top 6 hitters in the league after 50 games, but we were still playing .500 ball because my pitching sucked. Trading Manny Ramirez for a top-level pitcher made sense in that case.

[CaptAM]

I understand that you want a player with cards that work for your stadium but why hold on to a underperforming player just because he might have a good night every once in a while. This is why so few trades are made. Players can't always trade a "Teixeira" for "Manny".

[RICHARDMILTER]

If you are not an expert at reading a Strat card, the players given salary is an excellent place to start, when trying to determine a player's value.

Furthermore, stadiums do come in to play when evaluating a player's value, however some GMs place too much emphasis on the stadium. There ARE players who will succeed(or at least have great cards) no matter what the stadium. That is a FACT!

You tell me what is not a good stadium for Joe Mauer, or Shane Victorino.