Trading a cheap Puig to go for a pennant?

[Judge Jude]

spoiler alert: my bottom line question will be "how valuable is having an option on Puig for 15 in 2016" to owners? I acquired him in a key dump trade last year, and he's .... frustrating (missed his 4th straight start today).

did some second-half projections, and have my team in a dead heat for 1st with my 32nd-year rival in this league. 3rd place projection is 13 pts back of us (this is the current leader by single digits on us, but he is overachieving on offense).

I am top 3 in R, AVG, SB, SV, ERA and Ratio and only the latter two are not rock-solid. mid-pack in K and crazy unlucky in W (Greinke, Burnett) for close 9th there.

the problem is HR, RBI - 10th, 11th.

I'll gain ground in HR in 2nd half (see roster below). But I really need one more big bat to make up for the first-half deficit.

last-place team has an overpriced Stanton but - well, you know.

so the big prize is 11th place team's lame duck Rizzo (exactly what I need).
other owner dangled Puig's name, but he has 2 cheap years left (10 in 2016 and 15 in 2017 and out).

can't quite see doing that straight-up. he also has Ryan Howard 13, while I am playing Clint Robinson at CI. is that enough of a secondary boost?

he also has a lame duck Byrd (heh), if that sounds better. both are old, though.

only other option I see is going BIG and also trying to get Kershaw 44. but then I have to go much bigger myself (for instance, I have Giolito 5-S2 until 51st MLB IP, then 5-10-15 options in the 3 years after that season).

so what's the buzz on the street on Puig? any bloom off the rose even when he'd only cost 15 next year?

[overkill94]

I think one of these years he'll fulfill that 30 HR potential, not positive it'll be in the next two years since he's still pretty young and trying to figure out how to stay healthy. Rizzo and Byrd doesn't seem like quite enough - does he have any other quality players you could swap that would also be minor upgrades?

[Judge Jude]

not really
Asche is a lame duck and I suppose better than my 1B Tyler Moore, but that's hardly worth typing the names on a transaction over

waiting to hear if Kershaw could even be in play

it's an odd dump cycle compared to most because teams rarely dump early (none so far), plus 10th place - the preseason favorite - knows he's still afloat, and no one else is 10+ pts out of the money (and middle 6 teams are within 10 pts of each other). so I have little to buy - and he has few places to sell, with so many fence-straddlers and with the other 2 top teams not really needing offense at this point.....

[Gregg]

I am thinking I would make that trade for Rizzo and either Byrd or Howard. It gives you exactly what you need to make a run. It also gives you a fine trade chip if you fail. Since others are on the fence you make the trade now and get to see how it unfolds. It also keeps Rizzo off of someone else's team.

[Judge Jude]

well, if I make that deal there's no way I'm not all-in. I'm already projecting 91 pts, to 78 for 3rd, and this deal should be worth 5-6 pts. lots of margin for error is required, but it would be there with this deal.

thanks. still digesting what Puig's perceived value at 15 is.....

[revo]

I am thinking I would make that trade for Rizzo and either Byrd or Howard. It gives you exactly what you need to make a run. It also gives you a fine trade chip if you fail. Since others are on the fence you make the trade now and get to see how it unfolds. It also keeps Rizzo off of someone else's team.

Agreed.

[Stephen]

he's still pretty young and trying to figure out how to stay healthy.

See, I'm not sure that he is trying to figure out how to stay healthy. Puig has talent, but he's wreckless and egotistical which is a bad combo. I'm not sure she'll he will ever get it in his head that he needs to tone down his style for longevity and max performance.

He's a very good player that I think we'll always been waiting on for that "amazing" season.

I'd do this deal in a second.

[Hornsby]

See, I'm not sure that he is trying to figure out how to stay healthy. Puig has talent, but he's wreckless and egotistical which is a bad combo. I'm not sure she'll he will ever get it in his head that he needs to tone down his style for longevity and max performance.

He's a very good player that I think we'll always been waiting on for that "amazing" season.

I'd do this deal in a second.

I'm always curious about where people get their information...how is Puig "egotistical"? Everything that I've ever read about the kid says that he's a guy who's taking everything pretty seriously, and if anything, he may be guilty of not being egotistical enough, following opinions that may not necessarily be the best for him. I do agree that he's frustrating to own, but he's still only 24, and despite his injury-filled year, he's slashing .306/.380/.491...you ARE going to want him when he breaks out...even further than he has already.

[overkill94]

Puig's maturity has increased incrementally since he came up and with that maturity he should be able to figure out when it's okay to go all out for a ball or try to stretch that single into a double. He already has way less missed cutoff men and baserunning mistakes than when he first came up so I don't think he's that far off maturity-wise.

[Judge Jude]

this chit just got real

have been offered Rizzo LD and Kershaw 44-S2 for Puig, closer Ramos 10-S2, and farmhand Josh Bell (5-S2 until after the year of his 131st MLB AB)

I am 2nd in SV; current closers listed

45 Storen, Grilli
36 K-Rod, Ramos, Ziegler (me)
34 Chapman, Kimbrel
29 Melancon (my archrival)
3 more teams in 20s

may be "closed" out within a couple of weeks if I make this deal, but yeah Kershaw.

[Sour Masher]

this chit just got real

have been offered Rizzo LD and Kershaw 44-S2 for Puig (10 in 2016, 15 in 2017 and out), closer Ramos 10-S2, and farmhand Josh Bell (5-S2 until after the year of his 131st MLB AB)

I am 2nd in SV; current closers listed

45 Storen, Grilli
36 K-Rod, Ramos, Ziegler (me)
34 Chapman, Kimbrel
29 Melancon (my archrival)
3 more teams in 20s

may be "closed" out within a couple of weeks if I make this deal, but yeah Kershaw.

Boy, it is hard not to make that deal. I've been told Flags fly forever, although that hasn't stopped me from lamenting players I've lost the times I've gone for a championship, even when I've won them. Maybe if i put actual pennants up in my house, I'd feel better about losing young, cheap studs .

[Judge Jude]

just awaiting final confirmation from other guy to post it on our site

I tend to prefer to deal the 'can't miss' guys from A ball.
Bell is close - I could see him starting Opening Day for Pirates at 1B next season
but gotta give to get
Ramos unhittable this year and 10 SV, but with closers a lot can always change in a year

[overkill94]

I don't think Bell's the kind of player you'll truly kick yourself over losing. He's got a nice slash line this year and his K:BB is excellent, but the power's disappointing and pretty much always has been. He might come up right away and slash .280/.360/.420 but that's nothing special from a 1B.

I think you've gotta do that deal. Kershaw will really help in K's and (hopefully) wins and you should hold steady in saves as long as Ziegler keeps the job.

[Judge Jude]

yeah, I did the deal. league reaction mostly just "wow, that's a big one!"

seems like as many people are dazzled by Bell and maybe Ramos as Puig, maybe because he can get 4 years of Bell and 3 years of Ramos if they excel. Puig is the one year of 15 [corrected in this and earlier posts] - which obviously could be a big one next year.

Bell being 5, 5, 10, 15 only after his 131st MLB AB is key - in many leagues the farmhand is 10 units and the clock starts upon recalling (or pre-Sept recall, at least). Bell could come up in August, go back down, back in Sept, and play a bit next year in bigs. but if at end of 2016 he didn't reach 131 MLB AB, he'd still be a 5-S2 heading into 2017 (this went for comic effect with Met Fernando Martinez, who for years played just sporadically for them. by the time the clock started, his status as a good prospect ended).

[Stephen]

See, I'm not sure that he is trying to figure out how to stay healthy. Puig has talent, but he's wreckless and egotistical which is a bad combo. I'm not sure she'll he will ever get it in his head that he needs to tone down his style for longevity and max performance.

He's a very good player that I think we'll always been waiting on for that "amazing" season.

I'd do this deal in a second.

His "swagger". The watching home runs, the trying to much to make amazing plays etc. I think he is a fine player, but something about him has always and continues to rub me the wrong way. I will most likely be wrong, but I see a guy who we will always be waiting for that "monster" season. That isn't to say that we won't have several good seasons...I just worry that he's reading his own hype a bit much.

Bonds was egotistical, but he wasn't wreckless. He was also probably the most naturally talented player in history.

I totally get how this reads though and I wish I could give you more...but there is just something about him when I watch that gives me a lot of caution.

Granted, I haven't watched as much this year as previous years so if you guys say he has made strides this year, I believe you on that.