Greetings, fellow Mafia members!

Let’s tackle something a little bit different this week, as we hear from our fellow Mafia member, and my League 4 “arch-nemesis”, Tony in Hitchin. He recently sent me quite a nice recap of the thought and effort that should, and does, go into the trading of superstar talent. Enjoy …

 
“Hey Bob, I recently made a trade that you might like to review in your ‘An Offer They Couldn’t Refuse’ pieces.

12-team, 5×5, vanilla, non-keeper league in its second year, put together by MLBRadioFans.com members.

I had 5 leadoff hitters. Shane Victorino, Reggie Willits, and Corey Hart were all free agent pickups, and I’d drafted Jose Reyes and Juan Pierre. At the beginning of June, I had 120 SBs (a lead of 40) and, unsurprisingly, was doing well in Runs … but I was suffering in HRs and RBIs. My pitching staff was average, doing well in WHIP and ERA but getting few Wins. I sat in sixth place in the standings.

By the way, in mid-May, I traded Pierre and Carlos Delgado for Aramis Ramirez.

I decided to shop Jose Reyes, my first round pick (second overall) and posted a message offering SBs … saying that, if I were to trade Reyes, I would like a SS to be part of the return. There were slim pickings among the free agents. I got four offers, from three owners.

First offer: Clemens and Renteria for Reyes. Rejected.

Second offer (same owner): Renteria and Josh Willingham for Reyes. Rejected.

Third offer: Jeter and Youkilis for Reyes and Edwin Encarnacion. Hmmm…

Fourth offer: Howard, Furcal, Glavine and Frank Thomas for Reyes, Brandon Phillips, Reggie Willits, and John Lackey. Rejected.

I kept in touch with the owner who made the third offer, making sure he knew that I wasn’t ignoring him. The owner who made the fourth offer indicated a willingness to negotiate, and we explored some options without getting very close.

Then, I got a revised offer from the owner who’d made the third offer. It was Utley, Jeter and Brad Penny for Reyes, Brandon Phillips, and John Lackey.

I thought this represented a perfect fit for my team and, crucially, it saved me from trawling the free agency market for a replacement SS.

I got an upgrade in BA and RBIs, some power, and only a slight drop in Runs. I may have downgraded at SP, given Penny’s history of second-half struggles, but to get both Utley and Jeter, I thought this was a reasonable risk to take.”

Great rundown, Tony! Some thoughts …

I’m impressed that each potential trade partner came to the table with an intent to honor Tony’s only request. They needed to come with a SS, and, not only did they do that, each team offered quality options.

In my opinion, Tony was right to reject the first two offers. Right or wrong, Jose Reyes is one of the best players in the game and, as we all know, 1st round talent. If you’re going to trade him, you should expect to receive as close to 1st round talent as possible in return. The “original” third offer was lacking as well.

The fourth offer is intriguing. Anytime you can acquire a slugger of Ryan Howard’s caliber, especially when your weakness is in HRs and RBIs, you have to take note. However, in this case, Tony was asked to give up way too much in return.

As I look at the eventual deal, Tony nets 1st round talent in return for Reyes as he secures the best 2B in the game. He has to pay a steep price in Brandon Phillips, but he also gets the SS he needs. As Tony points out, he may have downgraded from Lackey to Penny, but I’m with him when he says it was worth the risk in order to secure both Utley and Jeter.

Good trade! Thanks again, Tony, for your sizeable contribution to An Offer They Couldn’t Refuse. Now, will you PLEASE get your team off my tail?!

I encourage comments and critique with regard to these columns. I’d like to make this an interactive feature, so please feel free to register any opinions in the “Trade Feedback: An Offer They Couldn’t Refuse” forum on fantasybaseballmafia.com.