(*) MASTER NOTES: Dirty deals done dirt cheap

I didn’t do so well in my first trade. I was eight years old and my older brother’s friend convinced me to trade him Bo Jackson’s Topps 1988 football rookie card in exchange for a 1982 Fleer Johnny Bench and a bent Topps 1984 Andy Van Slyke rookie. Now considering Bo Jackson’s rookie was one of the most sought after and valuable football cards at the time, I’d say I didn’t exactly get market value in return. I chalk that up to being eight years old and being relieved that instead of torturing me, my brother and his friend wanted to discuss collectibles with me. I wasn’t savvy about the value of the cards involved in the deal. I was just a kid from Pittsburgh that loved Andy Van Slyke and knew Johnny Bench had been a great player. I was a chump and got treated like one.

I was thinking about this calamitous swap recently in relation to a lot of the trade dealings I’ve experienced or seen in my leagues this season. Specifically, I am irked by the way some owners treat their potential trade partners as chumps, as if they are ready to part with their most prized possessions for a fraction of their value in return. Not only does this approach fail to yield successful deals, it often breeds enmity between owners that may have otherwise been able to consummate a mutually beneficial swap.

Trade deadlines are approaching in many redraft leagues so the wheeling and dealing will soon reach a fever pitch. I thought it appropriate to share some advice for owners looking to complete some impact trades in the days and weeks ahead.  

Offer Unto Others as You’d Have Offered Unto You: Why make an offer to someone else that you wouldn’t consider yourself? I am not suggesting that you offer full value right away (although that is probably the most efficient way to make a deal), but even initial offers should be respectful of the other owner’s intelligence. The best way to neuter a potential negotiation is to treat the other person like an eight year old just dying to give away Bo Jackson’s rookie card. People aren’t that stupid… most of them anyway.

Four Quarters Does Not Equal a Dollar: These “spare parts in exchange for a stud” offers rarely work and yet they continue to be proffered in earnest in leagues everywhere. If your fifth outfielder, fourth starter and the closer that is in danger of losing his gig were worth Mike Trout, you wouldn’t be working so hard to explain to the owner that just rejected the deal why it’s such a fair offer. No owner is going to deal a premium talent in exchange for role players. It will not happen. Factor in that these types of offers require dropping some existing bench players in order to process and the deal becomes even more lop-sided and illogical.

If It Doesn’t Hurt Then It’s Probably A Bad Offer: The best way to get value is to offer value in return. If you find it’s easy to include certain players in a deal, chances are your opponents will find it easy to decline that offer. But dragging a certain player into an offer feels like giving away your favorite toy, chances are you’re on the verge of making a compelling offer.  

Put Up or Shut Up: For whatever reason, one for one/two for two deals where players of equal value change hands seem to be happening less and less frequently these days. My theory is that owners don’t want to gamble and lose on this type of deal, which is why they would rather hedge with offers built around quantity over quality. But these showdown-style deals are the types of competitive interactions that make fantasy baseball invigorating. You know your roster inside and out. You read BaseballHQ.com and have a strong grasp of player value so trust your instincts and do what you feel is best for your team. If you believe that Chris Davis is going to cool off and that a premium closer will give you the points you need to make a run, then a Davis for Mo Rivera swap may be the right move for you. Own your circumstances and trust your analysis. Things may not work out, but those bad results will have been borne of a good process.

Effective trading isn’t about winning a particular deal. It's about improving your team in an effort to win a championship. Value is a nebulous concept trade terms as a player is only as valuable to you as he is likely to improve your overall team performance. The more risk involved in a given deal, the more potential reward hangs in the balance. So put some real thought into the offers you make this trade season and don’t be afraid to dare greatly and make offers that hurt. You’ll get more deals done and if your analysis is correct, win more leagues.

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