You can e-mail your Fantasy Baseball questions to DMFantasyBaseball@cbs.com. Be sure to put Dear Mr. Fantasy in the subject field. Please include your full name, hometown and state.
It's getting to that time again -- the playoff push.
People on the cusp of contention will start making crazy deals that they wouldn't have even considered just a month ago. Why? They need to get a little edge somewhere, to make some subtle adjustment that allows them to leapfrog a team ahead of them.
They'll make lopsided deals. They'll overpay. They'll do basically what real MLB teams do at the July 31 trade deadline. Because they have to do something. Standing pat hasn't worked, and unless they want to settle for fifth place, they'll pull out all the stops to make a meaningful change. They might even consider something like this ...
I have good pitching depth, and I was offered Chipper Jones for Dan Haren. I don't currently have a viable third baseman. Should I take the risk that Chipper will finish strong? Haren is a stud, and losing someone like that would hurt. -- Chris Shepard, Billerica, Mass.
SW: In a vacuum, I'd never make this trade. But nothing happens in a vacuum, including Fantasy leagues.
You kind of made your own case for the deal, laying out the only scenario in which it's plausible. In order to justify it, you better have plenty of pitching depth (check) and a complete dud at third base (check). You also have to consider whether you play in a keeper league. You probably shouldn't make the deal if you do.
If you really have someone or a combination of someones who you can plug into Haren's place without losing as many points as you think you'll gain from replacing your current third baseman with Chipper, you have to consider this deal. Chipper's current DL stint makes it a million times more scary, because who knows how much time he'll need to recover? For that reason, I'd play hardball and hold out for more. See if you can make even a subtle improvement at another position, and if you can, let it fly. Hey, if nothing else, you can bank on Haren's poor history in the second half.
You sure you can't find someone willing to trade a healthy third baseman for Haren? I have to think someone out there would bite.
I am in a 6x6 Rotisserie, 12-team, 10-spot keeper league. Steals and strikeouts are two of the offensive categories. I am not sure who should fill my 10th and final spot -- Jorge Cantu, Carlos Gomez or Alex Rios? -- Chazz Michael Michaels, Detroit
SW: I understand your enthusiasm over Gomez, who already has speed and could develop power down the road. But if you keep him now, you risk handcuffing yourself to a dud. Until a player proves he can do something, you almost have to assume he can't. Otherwise, you end up with a warped perception of his Fantasy value, which I think you might already have for Gomez if you even consider him alongside those other two. As for your decision between Cantu and Rios, I want Rios simply because of his upside. Cantu surprised everybody with his play this year, meaning he probably doesn't have any room to improve. He probably doesn't even have any right to play as well as he has. Rios has struggled this season, but back in April, most people thought he had the upside to improve on last year's All-Star numbers. Despite his struggles, you have to assume his ceiling hasn't shifted. Keep him.
I'm in a 14-team Rotisserie-style keeper league. I'm currently running away with the league crown and have to narrow this list of players down to five keepers: Alex Rodriguez, Prince Fielder, Jake Peavy, Dan Haren, Brian McCann, Carl Crawford, Bobby Abreu, Mariano Rivera and Jacoby Ellsbury. I'm of the mindset that pitching and outfielders are in abundance come Draft Day, and infielders are comparatively more valuable. Your thoughts? -- Mike Pramberger, Philadelphia
SW: I generally don't want to keep pitchers because I don't like leaving myself vulnerable to what I can't control. I can't control injuries, and pitchers go hand-in-hand (arm-in-arm?) with injuries. So my views differ slightly from yours, but I don't want to keep pitchers all the same, so hooray for us. As for your approach on outfielders, I don't necessarily agree. Don't forget you have to start three outfielders, meaning in order to justify your approach, the 42nd outfielder should produce numbers just as good as the 14th first baseman. In most cases, he doesn't. So as I make my selections, keep in mind I don't discriminate against outfielders. You ready? I'd keep Rodriguez, Fielder, McCann and Crawford, in that order. As for your fifth keeper, I know I don't like keeping pitchers, but I find the prospect of keeping Abreu and Ellsbury so uninspiring that I'd prefer to go with Haren or Peavy. I'd probably choose Peavy, but you can't go wrong either way.
Would you drop Carlos Pena in favor of Chris Davis? Pena's average and strikeouts are killing me. –- Seth Ryan, Worth, Ill.
SW: Got news for you, Seth: Pena's strikeouts aren't going to change, so if they kill you now, they'll kill you always. Frankly, I'm surprised you haven't given up on him already. I know we all had high hopes for him entering the season after he hit 46 home runs in an abbreviated 2007, but good gosh, man. It's August. Certainly, he still brings something to the table power-wise, but Davis looks like he brings a whole lot more. And even if Davis ends up having some deficiencies, he'll likely have the same deficiencies as Pena, so what do you have to lose? Time to pull the trigger.
I was just offered a package of Kerry Wood, Conor Jackson (whom I stupidly dumped a while ago), and one of these four players: Justin Duchscherer, Javier Vazquez, Chris Carpenter and Clay Buchholz. I would be giving up the tandem of Matt LaPorta and Tim Lincecum. Should I do it? -- Tony Hughes, Granite Bay, Calif.
SW: I can imagine plenty of instances where I wouldn't want to do it. I like being on the side of a deal that gets the best player, and the best player here clearly is Lincecum. That said, I think you get enough in return to make this trade worth your while, assuming you have a need for Wood and Jackson and wouldn't just acquire them to clog your bench. Also, forget Carpenter and Buchholz. They come with too many concerns and might end up more of a detriment than an asset. If you make this deal, you have to choose either Duchscherer or Vazquez, who each come with concerns of their own, but they still deserve to start in all leagues right now. I'd probably go with Duchscherer just because he has had a more consistent season, but if you have a greater need for strikeouts, go with Vazquez.
I'm in a little bit of a dilemma. Francisco Liriano is available in my annual pool, and I was wondering if I should drop one of my starters to pick him up. My starters are Scott Kazmir, Jon Lester, Joe Saunders, Armando Galarraga and Dan Haren. Do I take a chance on Liriano, who is coming off Tommy John surgery, drop one of my starters, or stand pat? -- Vinnie De Caria, Toronto
SW: Gotta pick up Liriano in all leagues right now. He looked like the best pitcher in baseball as a 22-year-old rookie before succumbing to Tommy John surgery, and he pitched at least close to that form in his first start back from the minors. Right now, you clearly want to drop Galarraga of the five pitchers you named, but I think the Tigers rookie also deserves a roster spot in all leagues. So here's what I'd do: I'd drop Galarraga for Liriano. Then, while his value remains sky high, I'd try trading Saunders, who doesn't have any strikeout potential and has gone seven innings only once in his last seven starts. Couple him and one of your weakest hitters for a better hitter at the same position. Then, pick up Galarraga. See how that works? Picking up Liriano enabled you to improve two positions on your team instead of just one.
I'm in a 14-team Rotisserie keeper league, and I was offered Prince Fielder, Alex Rios and Jonathan Papelbon for Ian Kinsler and Josh Hamilton. I am in the middle of the pack in home runs and steals and am currently in good shape in saves, except for the fact that I just lost all three of my closers (Ryan Franklin, Damaso Marte and Jon Rauch). I hate to give up both Rangers, but I think Fielder and Rios are due for big second halves, and I think my man crush for Hamilton and Kinsler is keeping me from making this trade. What would you do here? -- Josh Klauber, Brooklyn, N.Y.
SW: Nice poor man's closing trio, Josh. I like the thought even though it didn't pan out. You almost talked me into this deal, but then I realized you play in a keeper league. Kinsler and Hamilton -- the two guys you'd give up -- make the best keepers of all the five players involved here. I like them even more than Fielder, who I believe will have a truncated career because of his physique. It happened to his father Cecil, Mo Vaughn and scores of other players with similarly unfortunate builds. You can't give up the best two players involved in a deal just to pick up, at best, 15 saves. Be patient. Another closer will emerge. You could try picking up the new Mets closer, be it Aaron Heilman or Eddie Kunz. You could try trading some scrub player for Matt Capps, thinking his owner won't have much optimism for his return. Or you could try just waiting. Someone new will enter the picture for saves before season's end (Eddie Guardado?), and when he does, pounce on him. But don't tear apart your future -- and maybe even your present -- just for a few saves.
You can e-mail your Fantasy Baseball questions to DMFantasyBaseball@cbs.com. Be sure to put Dear Mr. Fantasy in the subject field. Please include your full name, hometown and state.