So I woke up in mid-May with a fantastically struggling, and, as always, injured Washington Nationals team. We were older, constantly hurt, and starting to look pretty devoid of talent - and certainly devoid of players who would have made an impact for the foreseeable future.
2.5 months later, I'm actually really excited about how my roster has been re-shaped. We've gone from many mid-30's players to many late-20's - and pretty much knocked about 5 years off the average age of my starters...
Here are the deals that helped get the job done, and what I was thinking...
Nationals trades Nelson Cruz, Delwyn Young, Winston Abreu, to Pirates for Travis Hafner, Ichiro Suzuki, Brett Gardner,
Ok, so I actually got a little bit older in this deal - but my starting point was from a team that was going backwards, talent-wise, so my goal was to upgrade the overall talent on my team. I also knew I wanted Gardner to be my leadoff hitter going forward. This gave my squad more talent, more trade options, and the first addition of an in-his-prime starter.
Reds trades Ben Zobrist, Charles Furbush, to Nationals for Ryan Dempster, Nick Swisher,
Trading Swisher almost literally broke my heart, but getting a player like Zobrist and a talent like Furbush was a strong move for me. Dempster and Swisher were not getting younger (though have fantastic SIM's), and Zobrist gives me a bat and glove with a lot of flexibility.
Giants trades David Aardsma, David Pauley, Tim Stauffer, to Nationals for Matt Capps, Matt Guerrier, Rich Harden,
Injuries have been an achilles heel for me, so getting rid of Harden (and Capps and Guerrier to an extent) was an important step for me. Picking up the less "stuff"-y but more reliable Tim Stauffer was a good start - and getting Aardsma and Pauley hurt my SIM team this year, but will definitely help my team next year.
Pirates trades Bartolo Colon, to Nationals for Jake Westbrook,
Ok, I traded for Bartolo because I've LOVED watching him this year. The fact that he has a new arm and is hitting 96 again didn't hurt, but he'll definitely fight for a rotation spot next year.
Pirates trades Jon Jay, Derek Holland, Corey 10-Dickerson, Pirates Draft Pick 4, to Nationals for Aubrey Huff, Alfonso Soriano, Nationals Draft Pick 1,
Well giving up a top pick in a very strong draft was an interesting move for me to acquire younger talent, but Holland is 24 and has truly terrific stuff. The chance to be a strong #2 for what can still be considered a wild card who's at least 3 years away was a pretty easy move for me - and getting two other people I really liked (Jay and Dickerson) helped ease the pain.
Nationals trades Jeremy Guthrie, Ichiro Suzuki, Jose 0-Altuve, Nationals Draft Pick 2, to Giants for Carlos Beltran, Josh 10-Spence, Giants Draft Pick 3,
Giving up Altuve broke my heart, but essentially trading him for Beltran was an easy choice for me. I actually got younger in RF in this trade (Ichiro to Beltran) - and it certainly looks like there's some gas in the tank with Beltran. Also snagging Spence was a very pleasant addition as well.
Nationals trades Jon Jay, Charles Furbush, to Cubs for Gaby Sanchez, Cubs Draft Pick 4,
Caveating that I REALLY like both Jay and Furbush, getting Sanchez was a no-brainer for me. He's never going to be a top tier 1b, but he is developing power and has terrific on-base skills. He could be the 1b for me for a while.
Nationals trades Michael Young, Josh 10-Spence, to Braves for Homer Bailey, Braves Draft Pick 5,
In my quest to acquire young talent, I couldn't pass on Homer Bailey. Formerly a top prospect, he has his stuff intact, and has (for the vast majority of this year) begun to look the part of a top level starter. Now it's time for consistency...
Mets trades Alberto Callaspo, David DeJesus, Marc Rzepczynski, to Nationals for Lorenzo Cain, Nationals Draft Pick 3, Giants Draft Pick 3,
Another trade I had to make more than wanted to. I'm a HUGE Cain fan, and think he will be a terrific CF in the MLB, however being able to fill the hole at 3b with a strong defender with excellent on-base skills in his prime was a good get for me. Also being able to pick up a solid bench bat with some upside still (DeJesus) and a developing LH power arm (Rzep) was necessary.
My average lineup age went from just over 33 to just under 29, my rotation age went from just under 31 to just over 26, and my pen went from just over 31 to 28.5 (damn your awesomeness Darren Oliver!).
These past couple months was like a huge game of chess for me. I think I did a pretty good job of locating what I needed, and acquiring it. History will show me to probably lose a couple (maybe most of these) trades - but I think the sum of the parts will make for a very strong team for next year.
Bring on 2012 (are we there yet?)!
Reshaping the Nats
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Yankees
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The rebuilding continues...
Indians trades J.P. Arencibia, to Nationals for Gaby Sanchez, Corey 10-Dickerson,
I've had quite a hard on to get Arencibia for a while. This deal made sense for me, as I can move Napoli out from behind the plate (where he's an absolute disaster in the SIM) to 1b. This gives me another power bat in the lineup in Arencibia, and being ok with the average and strikeouts for the pop and defensive upgrade.
My catching at defense was a major sore spot for my team, so this move may be a slight knock offensively (though Sanchez' ops for a 1b isn't world-beating), but an overall improvement.
Arencibia will definitely sit pretty well in my lineup behind Beltran/Napoli/Morse in the middle.
Nationals trades Tim Stauffer, Ben Zobrist, to Pirates for Brandon Phillips, Clay Buchholz, Brad Ziegler,
This deal, well this was a rough one. I'm a huge fan of Zobrist, and may have turned down deals for him that brought my team more overall value. However, not having a #2 starter was the most glaring weakness on my team. Buchholz, whom I don't consider a true #2, is pretty damn close, and still in his prime. This makes Fister a more traditional #3, and this was acquired without moving Bailey or Holland. This allows Bailey/Holland/Colon/Chris Young/Brandon Webb/Livan Hernandez to battle for my #4 starter position, with the flexiblity to move the losers.
Long term, this gives me 5 excellent starters under the age of 27. Matt Cain, Buchholz, and Fister should give me an excellent top of the rotation, while Holland and Bailey still have some development - but both have flashed absolute brilliance down the stretch this year.
Indians trades J.P. Arencibia, to Nationals for Gaby Sanchez, Corey 10-Dickerson,
I've had quite a hard on to get Arencibia for a while. This deal made sense for me, as I can move Napoli out from behind the plate (where he's an absolute disaster in the SIM) to 1b. This gives me another power bat in the lineup in Arencibia, and being ok with the average and strikeouts for the pop and defensive upgrade.
My catching at defense was a major sore spot for my team, so this move may be a slight knock offensively (though Sanchez' ops for a 1b isn't world-beating), but an overall improvement.
Arencibia will definitely sit pretty well in my lineup behind Beltran/Napoli/Morse in the middle.
Nationals trades Tim Stauffer, Ben Zobrist, to Pirates for Brandon Phillips, Clay Buchholz, Brad Ziegler,
This deal, well this was a rough one. I'm a huge fan of Zobrist, and may have turned down deals for him that brought my team more overall value. However, not having a #2 starter was the most glaring weakness on my team. Buchholz, whom I don't consider a true #2, is pretty damn close, and still in his prime. This makes Fister a more traditional #3, and this was acquired without moving Bailey or Holland. This allows Bailey/Holland/Colon/Chris Young/Brandon Webb/Livan Hernandez to battle for my #4 starter position, with the flexiblity to move the losers.
Long term, this gives me 5 excellent starters under the age of 27. Matt Cain, Buchholz, and Fister should give me an excellent top of the rotation, while Holland and Bailey still have some development - but both have flashed absolute brilliance down the stretch this year.
