Offseason Fantasy Blockbusters

Ottoneu is a year-round fantasy baseball platform developed by Lord of Shadows Niv Shah. You probably know that. The arbitration period ended on November 14, and trading began the next day. In the writer’s league, FanGraphs Staff Two, a pair of blockbuster trades were consummated on the very first day of trading. Today, we’ll discuss those trades and the perspective of each owner involved.

Interestingly, we replaced two owners this offseason, with David Wiers and Scott Spratt inheriting teams. Both trades included one of our new owners. Wiers’ roster, Crosby Sweaters and Jello Pops, is decent. The previous owner finished seventh last season and the team was well endowed with pricey stars including Mike Trout. It lacks low cost talent. Scott’s roster, Bradley “Handsome” Woodrum (it’s unclear if Scott knows he can change the team name), came in dead last in a league where two other owners punted 2014 for prospects. He’s not in bad shape, but he still has a long way to go.

Let’s consider the trades. The first to be executed is pretty straightforward. Behold:

Bradley “Handsome” Woodrum receives
$61 Clayton Kershaw

The Razor Shines (Robert Baumann) receives
$6 Marcus Stroman

It may not look like it, but this is a rebuilding move for both owners. Baumann’s team came in third place, but he spent most of his best keeper assets gunning for first. Prior to the trade, he had over $600 of players on his roster. He can keep a maximum of $400.

When I asked Robert about the trade, he offered some regret for having executed it so quickly. Tactically, it’s usually (but not always) wise to field multiple offers. However, he knew he had to get his costs under control, and this move nets $56 of cap room. Stroman was among his top targets, so he acted aggressively. Personally, I would have targeted a position player due to the attrition rate of pitchers, but I find no fault in the general strategy.

As for Scott, his roster is a little thin on keepers, which means he’ll enter the draft with a lot of money. He’s worried there won’t be a lot of star power to purchase on draft day and didn’t want to get stuck overbidding for the mid-tier talent.

If we look past just this offseason, Kershaw should also help his rebuild. Kershaw is a player I considered acquiring, but I had trouble accepting the $61 price tag. I was hesitant to offer a $2 Julio Urias for him. However, once our league drafts in March, Spratt can include a loan with Kershaw to make him a $0 player in 2015 (he’ll still cost $63 or more to keep). That should net multiple rebuilding blocks. Overall, I love the strategy, it’s one I used last season in acquiring Miguel Cabrera, Joey Votto, and others.

The second trade involves my team, so I’ll do my best to remain objective. Here’s the specifics.

Encarnation Instant Breakfast (me) receives:
$55 Mike Trout
$14 Jonathan Lucroy

Crosby Sweaters and Jello Pops receives:
$5 Corey Seager
$4 Steve Souza
$3 Jace Peterson

I spoke to Wiers after the trade to get his take on the deal. With the expensive, star laden roster he inherited, David believed rebuilding was the best path. While he has a handful of great players, he didn’t have enough depth or money to fill out the roster. This deal was about adding future talent to a roster that completely lacked prospects.

As Wiers himself notes, banking on Seager, Souza, and Peterson is a big risk. He’s identified each of the three as possessing high value potential. Seager is a top prospect and the lynch pin of the trade. Souza is a well regarded prospect with the Nationals who is currently blocked on the depth chart. I like him better in 5×5 leagues. Carson Cistulli found Peterson to possess many of the same qualities as the top prospects in the world, and we’ve all been a little wonky about him since then. After all, Carson’s pretty damned good at finding diamonds in the rough (Corey Kluber anyone?)

From my perspective, this couldn’t have come together any better. I added a ton of money to my payroll, but I was in fantastic financial shape. My offseason strategy was to add one or two high priced stars. Even after the trade, my roster organizer shows $320 allocated to 32 players – and that includes an unlikely $30 payday to David Wright. It would be a challenge, but I could add another $50 player and still field a full roster.

Trout was my very top target of the offseason. Wiers and I discussed a variety of scenarios during the arbitration period, which is how this trade came together. I initially made an offer of Seager plus a bundle of lesser goodies for just Trout. Earlier in the month, we had discussed my interest in both Trout and Lucroy. Wiers exploited my interest in a catcher to upgrade the back end of my offer.

The move adds considerable depth and talent to my roster. Lucroy will join a $6 Evan Gattis to form a catchers platoon. I was worried I would have to rely upon an overpriced Carlos Ruiz type, so I’m relieved to now own Lucroy. Gattis will also serve as outfield depth once he regains that eligibility. He’ll be joined by Trout, $22 Yasiel Puig, $6 Christian Yelich, $5 George Springer, $4 Steve Pearce, and a couple other depth guys. Not only did I add points, I also built some dynamic, high value depth. As part of my push for the pennant, I have no regrets trading players who won’t contribute much in 2015.

Parting Thoughts

No other trades have been executed since those opening salvos. Three of the four teams involved were aiming to rebuild, while I’m trying to claw my way past perpetual contender Chad Young and 2014 champion Cody Wiewandt. When I was new to the league last offseason, I was aggressive in making trades. I’m glad to see our newest members taking a similar tact.