Hey there…Just wanting to get some of your opinions on a major trade I just made, which I think I did very well on…I traded SP Aaron Nola, who I have seen as high as #5 on 2023 Fantasy SP Rankings, for 4 players, RP Jordan Romano, OF Jarred Kelenic, 1B/3B Jose Miranda and OF Colton Cowser… It helped me immensely that I also have Darvish, Manoa, Strider, Bassitt and Rasmussen on my starting staff so I was able to trade Nola for other needs…How do you Ottoneu experts think I did on this trade?
You will need to give people the player salaries to understand context.
Oh ok sorry forgot the salaries for each player…Nola was worth $31 Romano $9, Kelenic $8, Miranda $6 and Cowser $2
Evaluating trades also requires knowing what you’re trying to do with your team. But on it’s face, I’m not the biggest fan of this trade.
Nola is a sure-fire ace and contending teams would want a shot at him if he’s available. So I assume you do not plan on contending.
As for the return, Kelenic at $8 is a smidge under is avg cost in ottoneu and he is a bounce back candidate. Some are starting to think he won’t be the middle of the lineup hitter he was projected to be.
I have Miranda just outside the starting caliber of 3B and he again is barely under the avg cost.
Cowser is interesting and I personally don’t have high hopes for his power outputs, so I would have wanted him at $1 if possible.
Romano is an interesting guy to want back because he again isn’t much below the avg cost and is a reliever - who are the most up and down year to year.
Ultimately evaluation comes down to the specific owner. Maybe you believe in these guys more than the rest and you will be rewarded for it, but depending on what you were seeking, I think you could have aimed a little higher.
EDIT: After looking at your team, it seems like Kelenic slots into your 5th OF slot while Miranda is adding bench depth to 1B/3B behind France and Bell. You have a solid MI quartet and you had David Villar with 1B/3B already on the bench. I might have made a bigger effort to add to your OF beyond Kelenic.
I’ve listened to tons of these Fantasy Baseball Podcasts and just about every one of them think Miranda and Kelenic are going to have breakout seasons and I think they are already showing that in Spring Training…I lost Ruiz for the season so I needed a solid consistent closer and I think Cowser will be on the O’s either prior to or right after deadline cause I think strongly that Santander will be dealt for a top of the rotation starter…Other factors in this Nola trade was I needed to fill more roster spots and I needed to lower my team’s salaries…Of course I preferred to trade Darvish instead of Nola, but I wasn’t getting 4 players for him or the potential quality I could get for Nola…
I think you did well diversifying the $ that was tied up in Nola. Offensively though, it seems you are still a bit behind your league’s defending champion and in moving Nola you’ve hurt your own solid pitching strength.
When I build my valuations I tend to use Fangraphs depth chart Steamer for hitters and I have Kelenic and Miranda as outside the starting caliber of OF and 3B. They can still be solid contributers, but I wouldn’t lock them in as top 12 (3B) or top 60 (OF).
I think the move helped you remove risk by spreading out $, added slight OF improvement, and added a little corner inf depth but I’m not sure it helped you increase your odds of winning this year. It feels lateral to me = 1 star pitcher for 4 contributors.
But then again I’ve never won with a solid pitching staff. I always lean hard into my O.
Another thing…Don’t know who you are referring to when you say Miranda is a reserve 1B/3B…Villar will be lucky to even come close to the offensive stats a healthy Miranda is putting up this season…He is projected to finish as a top 10 3B after this season…Plus I made a side deal for Bryan Reynolds so I think my OF is pretty solid…
Sorry, by “reserve” I don’t mean they aren’t a starter on their own team. I mean across the MLB/Ottoneu landscape. To me a ‘starter’ needs to be predicted to be top X in their preferred position (Top 12 for most positions, 60 for OF, etc.) Outside of these ranks and they don’t have relative positional value.
It turns out I miscounted, I do have Miranda in the starter category, he clocks in as the 11th best 3B option. But on your own team, I do show him as being a reserve for you. Bell (1B), France (3B), Lowe (2B/Util) all figure to produce more than Miranda, so he slots in at the top of your bench.
Edit: as for your OF, even with Reyonlds I see the following rankings:
Bryan Reynolds (#9)
Randy Arozarena (#14)
Josh Naylor (#31)
Jake McCarthy (#45)
Jarred Kelenic (#92)
So I have Kelenic as not being a worthy OF starter but he is the 5th best option on your team.
Again these are my own projections. I am probably wrong! We usually all are!
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I think it could work out to be a great trade for you if every one lives up to potential, but there’s also quite a bit of downside risk even though you’re diversified. I probably wouldn’t have traded Nola for this return in March without getting more certainty, even if it meant reducing potential upside.