Final Freeze List??

[Lucky]

Even though we are about six weeks from freeze date, I think I have what will be my final freeze list. I made a couple of good trades, a couple of really stinky ones, and here is what I wound up with.

14-team mixed 5x5 keeper...we can keep up to ten guys (contract is as of the start of the season...if I want to extend someone, I would have to do it before freeze date).

Yadier Molina $14B
Yonder Alonso $5B
Carlos Gonzales $20Y
Ben Revere $11A
Dexter Fowler $3A
Denard Span $1A

Max Scherzer $16B
James Shields $12B
Ian Kennedy $7Y
Jason Motte $7

This would leave me $166 to spend at the auction on 13 players. I would think three or four big stars, and then fill in with solid, unspectacular types.

So, is this a hopeless group? Some of the other lists are scary good.

Who would you keep, who would you toss. I can still trade a bit. On the bench I have:

Manny Machado $10A
Andy Dirks $8A
Rajai Davis $5A
Ben Zobrist $27
Miguel Montero $19
Craig Gentry $2A

So, stand pat, fold, ask for a re-deak, what? Your help is appreciated.

[joncarlos]

What do you think Machado goes for if you throw him back? $10 might be his ceiling this year but he might have more value as a trade chip during the season if you take him in. I'd only consider throwing back Revere or Span for him, just because they're kind of redundant to each other.

[Lucky]

What do you think Machado goes for if you throw him back? $10 might be his ceiling this year but he might have more value as a trade chip during the season if you take him in. I'd only consider throwing back Revere or Span for him, just because they're kind of redundant to each other.

It's hard for me to get a read on Machado's value, in absolute terms or in the context of how the league values him. Several people have expressed interest in a trade, but don't seem interested in following up. Perhaps you are right when you say $10 might be the ceiling this year.

I recently tried packaging him with either Revere or Span, but haven't heard any responses yet.

I'm thinking Revere might swipe 40 this year, which would allow me to concentrate almost exclusively on power at the auction, but I'm not married to the idea of keeping him.

[Gregg]

If you are willing to throw Machado back, you should trade him. I would think if you packaged Machado and a $1 Span you could get a very nice keeper.

That said I would keep Machado and try a different combination.

[joncarlos]

It's hard for me to get a read on Machado's value, in absolute terms or in the context of how the league values him. Several people have expressed interest in a trade, but don't seem interested in following up. Perhaps you are right when you say $10 might be the ceiling this year.

I recently tried packaging him with either Revere or Span, but haven't heard any responses yet.

I'm thinking Revere might swipe 40 this year, which would allow me to concentrate almost exclusively on power at the auction, but I'm not married to the idea of keeping him.

I bet he goes more than $10 in your auction if you throw him back, but it's still possible nobody will trade much for him. Nobody realizes they want him until he comes up at auction.

Getting him back with another year on his contract might be nice too.

Are you worried about Shields with the Royals' D behind him? Maybe package him up with Machado instead?

[B-Fly]

I think at this point, following a few weeks of wheeling and dealing, most teams in this league are pretty wedded to their keeper lists. It's not that Machado wouldn't go for more than $10 at auction or Span for more than $1, but rather that most of us already have at least 10 eminently keepable contracts, if not more. So trading a good keeper pre-auction for two keepers who are pretty close to value doesn't make sense.