Trading for Categories, part 1
By Evan “the Censor” Dickens
 

The trading deadline is just a couple weeks away in most fantasy leagues and if you want any shot of overcoming the deficit you’re in and getting to the top, it’s time to start seriously considering some trades. But in standard roto formats, it’s long past time to just look at trades as value vs. value—you have to be trading for categories. Your total points are irrelevant information right now; you need to know the detail of where you stand in roto category. Here are some rules to follow as you approach those trades moving forward.

Rule #1: There’s no need to finish first in any category by an excessive amount! If you are leading SBs by 30, it probably means that you’ve got multiple solid speed guys. The odds of you being overtaken are fairly low, and even if you do you will still be second or third—find your most valuable (or most recently hot) speed guy and start shopping him. Trade out of your strengths; you don’t get extra points for winning a category by more than one. Would you rather finish with 12 points in SB and 3 in HR, or 10 points in each?

Rule #2: Be careful who you’re trading to. If you’re in the above situation and you decide to move Brian Roberts, trade into someone else’s weakness. Make their day. Find someone who is hovering around 8th or 9th in steals, who still feels like they have a chance to win, and who is still forced to run Mark DeRosa or Tad Iguchi out at 2B every day. It doesn’t make a whole lot of sense to offer Roberts to the guy who’s in second who could conceivably overtake you that much more quickly.

Rule #3: Be the aggressor and know what you want! The worst thing you could do is just a little e-mail along the lines of “Hey, what would you give me for Brian Roberts?” You can tell from looking at his roster that he needs Roberts, so send him an offer. Suffering in average? Offer Roberts for Derek Jeter. If Jeter is his only SS, then anticipate that problem and try to offer him your backup SS and ask him to throw in a low-end starter. If you’re serious about making a trade, you should know more about the roster and the needs of the guy you’re trading with than he does. Also, at this time of year, remember keeper and non-keeper needs as well, those may

Rule #4: Never be afraid to negotiate. Believe it or not, a lot of fantasy baseball players just want to make a trade with someone who’s pleasant to deal with. If you’re friendly and show that you don’t mind adjusting the players around the fringe of the centerpiece in order to get the deal done, you leave a positive impression in the other owner’s mind. But don’t let the negotiation get so far that you end up getting five new players, none of whom actually help you in the category you’re looking for.

Rule #5: Before any trade is offered or accepted, you should be able to complete the following sentence with two or more of the roto categories in your league: “I was strong in ____________ and so I traded to improve my ____________.” You don’t win a league for having the best outfield or having the most sell-high candidates. You win by beating other owners in the ten categories. Every trade has to reflect that mindset.

Categories are king! That’s all that matters right now, as long as you’re still trying to win your league (if you’re giving up and stacking up keepers, than you should still be looking at everyone else’s categories, but that’s a whole other article).

This is the first of three articles on this subject. Next time we’ll take a look at the five standard roto hitting categories and who some good bets are to trade for that can help you in those categories going forward.