So in today’s column we’ll take a look at five specific types of fantasy baseball trades.  We’ll look at how these trades work…when you should utilize each one…and what you’ll need to do to pull the trigger.

Now without further delay – and before another owner in your league beats you to the punch – let’s take a look at what you need to know in order to wheel and deal like a pro over the weeks ahead.

Trade #1: The Price is Right Deal – Believe me…this is the worst possible type of trade.  It gets its name from the television show with – until his recent retirement – the game-show host who brings more to the table than perhaps any other emcee in history: Bob Barker.  (Are you kidding me?  The Bob Barker has been hosting The Price is Right for, what, eighty years now?  Yet each and every day Bob delivers the goods like he’s still in his prime…and we get the added bonus of Barker’s Beauties – and the knowledge that Bob has, in the past, “anointed” said beauties – plus a regular reminder to help control the pet population.  I’m telling you…it just doesn’t get any better than Bob Barker.) 

Anyway, this is a baseball column, right?  So where was I?  Oh, yes…the “Price is Right” trade, which gets its name because in order to make this deal you need to put your items up for bids.  In most cases – and this is why I think this is the worst type of trade – you have to be in a clear “sell” mode in order to get anyone to bid on your players.  And being in “sell” mode – especially when the calendar still says “May” – is not where any of us want to be.

This trade, of course, works by getting in touch with the entire league – preferably via a mass e-mail – and announcing that one or more of your top producers is now “up for bids.”  The secret to making such a deal, however, is one that few owners realize: urgency.  In order to command the highest price for your assets you need some sort of believable deadline.  Your league’s trade deadline provides a natural date to use, of course…but by that time the market will be crowded with more “sellers” than you’d like in order to get fair value. 

We’re far enough along into the season at this point for you to know whether or not your team is going to have a legitimate shot at finishing first (or finishing in the money…or whatever your goal was heading into this season.)  If things have gone horribly wrong, that’s probably obvious to you at this very minute.  So don’t wait until your league’s trade deadline just because you feel you have to.  Start the ball rolling now by putting your assets “up for bids” and you’ll have first crack at the market.  Teams may be willing to bid more for your players at this point than they would at the end of July, since they’ll get a few extra weeks of production out of your players.  So send out that e-mail…but be sure to include some sort of deadline.  And be sure to make that deadline a believable one, such as, “I’m going on vacation starting this Friday and I’ll be out of touch for a few days…so I need to wrap this up before then.”  (Or something along those lines…maybe you have a business trip…or some other reason why you need a response before a specified date.)  Then begin the process of sorting through the bids…playing owners off of one another…and employing the other fun tactics that make wheeling and dealing the highlight of the season.

Trade #2: The Fairy Tale – This is the deal that, in a perfect world, everyone would like to make: the proverbial “trade that helps both teams”.  I hate to burst that bubble…but these deals are about as rare as a David Ortiz stolen base.  The sad reality is, it’s very difficult – not to mention a tremendous amount of work – to pull off the “deal that helps both clubs”. 

That’s because the first step in making such a trade is finding another owner who is both smart enough to realize the benefits of the trade yet also willing to overcome the obvious paranoia: “Why does this owner want to make this trade with me?” 

Most leagues have grown so accustomed to unbalanced trades that many owners are now immediately suspicious of any trade offer that does not – on the surface, anyway – appear to be enormously one-sided in the favor of the owner proposing the deal.  So that objection – “why would this owner make a fair trade with me?” – will need to be overcome.

The second step, naturally, is sitting down with the standings and rosters, rolling up your sleeves and doing the hard work to spot an opportunity where you and another owner can each move up in one or more categories without any obvious negatives.  That may sound easy at first…but it can be time-consuming.  And, after all, it’s much easier to just find an owner who is ready to give up on the season and see what you can get, isn’t it?

The “Fairy Tale” trade is usually executed somewhat early in the season, as it’s much easier to find a compatible trading partner without the pressure of a trading deadline.  It’s also somewhat necessary early in the season, as those owners who thrive on making trades will likely not yet find an owner willing to pack it in during the season’s first 4-6 weeks.  But, as I said before, the sad reality is that these trades are – for the most part – a thing of the past.

Trade #3: The Scavenger Hunt – This type of trade typically happens in the hours just before the trading deadline and it involves picking through the remnants of those teams who have already traded away most of their talent in the hopes of finding something – anything – worth adding to your team.

Think back to last season; chances are there was at least one owner who made a handful of deals in the days leading up to the trade deadline, ridding himself of nearly everything of value for the current season.  But then – just before the trade deadline, as the clock is ticking – you take one last look at his roster and you find one tiny morsel worth trading for.  So you quickly gather yourself and make a last-minute trade proposal in hopes of making one final deal to put you over the top.

These deals are not at all pretty…and the morning after making one you often feel like you’ve been out on an all-night drinking binge: your memory is a bit hazy…you remember doing something but you’re not sure what…and then when you look at your roster, you ask yourself, “What was I thinking?”

Trade #4: The Sales Job – Another of the near-deadline deals, the “sales job” is really where professional traders separate themselves from the amateurs.  That’s because there’s so much heavy lifting involved…and you have to get it all done for the clock strikes midnight.

When making a “sales job” trade, you need to accomplish a lot of things in a small period of time.  First, of course, you need to reassure your potential trading partner that he is, in fact, doing the right thing by trading away his stars and playing for the future.  And that’s not an insignificant task.

The second thing you need to do is convince him that the players you’re sending him have such enormous upsides that you really don’t want to part with them…it’s just that you feel you have to in order to keep up with the other owners who have also been wheeling and dealing.  (It’s at this point where you usually want to mix in a complaint about the state of the league: “It really sucks that you have to trade away all your prospects in order win anymore…but that’s where we are.”)

The final “sale” you need to make is to convince this owner that he really has no choice but to make this deal.  In order to pull this off, of course, you need to mention the other trades made in the past few days – highlighting those where fellow “dumpers” have gotten great young, cheap players – and mentioning that everyone in the running for a title this year will likely finish at the bottom of the standings next season.  “This is a game of cycles,” you tell him.  “And it looks like my window is closing so I have to make this deal.” 

Pulling off the “sales job” is a great deal of work; there’s no arguing that.  But it’s the classic fantasy baseball trade and it’s the one that leaves the owner who pulls it off feeling like he has – at the least – gotten away with something and – at the most – clinched himself a title.

Trade #5: “Insider Trading” – Ah yes, the Martha Stewart trade…one that is either legally – or morally – wrong.  Come on, you’ve seen these deals before.  The trade where you take advantage of an unsuspecting owner by dealing him damaged goods.  Or where two owners make a “suspicious-looking” deal that unfairly benefits one side…only to see a second, equally one-sided deal go the other way the following season.

Let’s face it.  These “insider trading” deals are a bit more common than we’d like.  But given the popularity of our game these days, there are many more “corrupt” owners playing than there were as recently as five years ago.  So this type of things needs to be policed a bit more than any of us might like.

The key to regulating these illegal trades is having a strong commissioner who isn’t afraid to make a tough decision.  It doesn’t hurt to also have vigilant owners who not only examine deals closely but also are willing to think of the league first and their own teams second.

Final Thoughts

Obviously what we’ve presented here is by no means an exhaustive list of fantasy trading categories.  There are dozens of “categories” that trades can fall into…some of which are desirable and some of which aren’t.

But the point of today’s column was simply to get you thinking about making trades – if you haven’t already – so you can position yourself ahead of the competition well before your trading deadline rolls around.

So whether you’re looking to execute a “Price is Right” deal or a “Sales Job” – the message is clear: get moving.  Pick up that phone.  Send those e-mails.  The longer you wait, the more competition you’ll have to wade through.