Ottoneu Trade Targets for Buyers

With the Ottoneu trade deadline a week away, buyers are running low on time to find the pieces that can swing a league in their favor. Finding the right players to buy usually comes down to “the most expensive players on the worst teams” but there are a few players I am very specifically targeting to buy this year.

Alex Bregman – Bregman is more of a “check in on” than a definitely buy, because his value is going to vary heavily by manager. On the one hand, Bregman cost less this year than he has in a while, as a result of a couple of down seasons. On the other, he still has a $30 average salary and this season – while an improvement on 2020 and 2021 – is still not matching his best. As a result, some managers may be thrilled to have a $25-$30 Bregman, seeing him as having rebuilt his value and viewing him as a keeper. Others might want to cash in while they can.

On top of that, 3B has been a problem this year. I have multiple Ottoneu teams competing for titles and almost all of them could use a 3B upgrade. I am busily grabbing up Evan Longoria’s and Elehuris Montero’s off the wire, or hoping Josh Donaldson can regain his lost glory. Bregman would be a huge add.

Shane Bieber – Bieber, like Bregman, is a bit of an enigma right now and his value is very much in the eye of the beholder. The results speak for themselves, but we have been hearing for almost a year now that Bieber can’t survive with his current velocity and he is the 4th highest paid Ottoneu pitcher (not counting Shohei Ohtani) on average. The K’s are way down and that is where pitchers earn their keep in Ottoneu.

But Bieber flashed better velocity recently and has, at least in my opinion, shown that he can still be effective even without regaining his former velo. He is 16th in points per inning pitched among SP with 100+ innings this year. He’s 10th in total points. That’s a really nice pitcher to add to your rotation, especially given a relatively soft rest of the schedule for the Guardians.

Where Bieber is paid like his average salary suggests (like a top 5 elite ace), his manager won’t view him as a keeper and will be happy to move him – and you can add a guy who is arguably a #1 SP for an Ottoneu rotation.

Trevor Story – This is purely a buy low. He is still hurt, though on rehab assignment and could be back soon. He has been very bad. He is generally expensive, with a median salary of $31. A team that isn’t competing has no use for him as it is really too late in the season for him to rebuild value meaningfully. While their current manager may have been hoping for Story to go on a little tear and increase his trade value before the deadline, that ship has likely sailed.

Rest of season projections on Story are varied, from a .320 wOBA per Steamer to .342 from ZiPS. None of that is prime Story. None of that justifies his salary. But if you need help at MI, he should be able to provide that.

J.D. Martinez – If you were wondering why the Red Sox are where they are, having two prominent players on this list is not ideal. The relatively weak season from Martinez was predictable. His .337 wOBA this year seems like a step back from last year, but from last May 1 through the end of last season, his wOBA was .339. This version of Martinez isn’t new in 2022 – it’s the same guy he has been for nearly two seasons now.

And yet he has a $27 average salary that his performance simply doesn’t support. But he is still posting 5.15 points per game, which isn’t league-winning but is very likely a step up from your 4th or 5th OF. And while I think this version of Martinez is his current true talent, he is more than capable of rattling off a hot streak that helps your team far more.

He isn’t a keeper at $27, or for that matter at $17, so he should be readily available via trade.