If you’ve ever played fantasy baseball (or any season-long fantasy sports), you know the importance of making trades. If you don’t, then you probably haven’t done very well. You probably heard some version of the phrase “the season isn’t won during the draft.” If you win your league without making any trades, you probably need to find a new league. That one isn’t very challenging.
With how streaky baseball can be, it’s hard to know when to trade someone. If A-Rod started April with a .150 batting average, would you drop him? Probably not, unless he’s injured. If Matt Harvey has another bad outing, will you give him the boot? Not if you’re smart!
On the other side of it, I definitely would pick up a player who’s usually not great, if they’re in the midst of a hot streak. You can never tell how long that is going to last and you can always drop him when it’s done. However, if you drop someone who’s slumping, you may find him on someone else’s roster when he finally gets his swing back.
I also advise that you check out some trade analysis tools, like the one on fantasysp.com. Don’t just take their suggestions as the holy grail of fantasy sports, but it’s a good tool if you’re on the fence about keeping or dropping someone.
Obviously, if you have someone on a 60-day DL, you should probably get rid of him. In 60 days, he could miss 50+ games. I’m not sure anyone is worth holding a roster slot for a third of the season, and potentially much longer. A 15-day for a good player is not usually enough for me to drop him. You can check all of this on mlbstartinglineups.com. They can also help you decide who to start each day, since you can make sure he’s actually playing and that the weather isn’t going to impact him.
I like to check that site for people nearing the end of their 60-day DL. If someone dropped him two months ago, you can swoop in and grab him right before he comes back. His returned could slip a little, but it could be worth it to pick him up off the waiver, rather than having to trade for him later. I’ve picked up some of my best players near the end of their healing, even if it takes them a few games to get back into the groove.
Regardless of how you decide who to keep, who to drop, and who to pick up...just make sure you’re not keeping your original team all season. You will not win if you don’t keep your roster changing! I guarantee it.
