Editor’s Note: FINALLY SOMEBODY STEPPED UP, and so we have a Trade Review for the small flurry of deals that occurred in this past week or so. Because damned if I was planning on writing one. All words and opinions here are Dochney’s so take any issues up with him, I am merely the vessel that uploaded them to this fine website and edited any typos I noticed.
“Somebody else beautifully contributing to the blog and me actually trying to check for typos, whatta world!” — the one true Sean
Offseason Trade Reviews
By Sean Dochney
The newest member of the Backyard League is getting his feet wet in writing for the league. To be honest, I can’t think of a better person to voice their opinion for the blog, because what other opinion would anyone want to hear other than mine? Blame (the one true) Sean #1 for being physically and mentally exhausted for writing countless articles and now unleashing the biased monster known as the Dochness Monster. Let the awesome tyrannical opinion of me reign free. Insert Nazi propaganda here.
TRADE #1
RCBD traded Archie Bradley, ARI RP to LTBS
LTBS traded Lazaro Armenteros, OAK OF to RCBD
Lazaro Armenteros – OAK OF
18 years old
47 pro games played between Rookie Ball and Dominican Summer League
.276/.377/.433, 4 HRs, 4 3Bs, 12 SB, 3 CS
High profile 17-year-old international signing last year by Oakland who has not played that much professionally yet. To his credit, he did see some action in Spring Training at 17, which is impressive. But then again, I seem to remember Billy Crystal and Will Ferrell have seen Spring Training at bats, so are spring training at bats really that impressive? Just kidding, this kid is going to be good. It is believed he will develop some power and he does have some speed. Way too early to tell, and way too small a sample size to discuss his on base skills, but I will anyway. If my math is correct, he had a 9% walk rate, and a 27.5% strike out rate in his first taste of pro ball. We will see how he progresses over the next few years, but the Bad Dudes may have reacquired a future stud prospect who doesn’t turn 19 until next May (allegedly).
Archie Bradley – ARI RP
25 years old
64.2 IP, 71 SO, 1.25 ERA, 2.43 FIP, 9.9 SO/9, 21 Holds
Hard-throwing Archie Bradley was converted from a starter to a reliever this season and it looked like a great move for Arizona. He isn’t a closer at this moment but that handsome gentleman down in Lacey is sure hoping he will win the job next Spring, with old man Rodney leaving for free agency this winter. This guy was lights out in the bullpen and will still be 25 for most of the 2018 season. He has all the stuff to be a dominant closer for a very solid Diamondback squad. His beard plays very well in the bullpen, because it is common knowledge that guys with sweet beards are awesome relievers, science! He has a fastball that sits in the upper 90s that he used at around a 70% clip. Opponents have batted .195 against that fastball with a 11.9% whiff rate. He used his curveball around 20% rate with great success as well, with a .190 opponent batting average against.
Analysis
The chat voted 6 to 1 in favor of Dochney winning this trade (thanks guys!). Both players have a ton of potential for their positions and only time will tell who “won” this trade. Bradley may not become a closer and I (Dochney) will look like an idiot for giving up a nice little prospect for a reliever who is about to lose his SP eligibility. Lazaro is still years away though, so this was a risk worth taking for a potential dominant closer. Because let’s face it, Dochney by far has the worst bullpen in the league with only the ELITE (I said it!) Corey Knebel rostered at the time of the trade. This is a major 2018 upgrade for the fan favorite BackdoorSliderz. For the sake of the article right now, I will side with the chat on this one and say Dochney won the trade at this moment. Lobman may have the last laugh if we go by the “2 Year Rule” that Dochney, and now apparently Odom live by. Because a good position player will always be more valuable than a 1, maybe 2 category closer. Simple math, you win more categories you win the matchup.
TRADE #2
OGTFC (SAD!) traded Eric Thames MIL 1B-LF to WOOD
WOOD Traded Jeurys Familia NYM RP to OGTFC (SAD!)
Eric Thames – MIL 1B-LF
30 Years Old, turning 31 in November
.236/.348/.507, 28 HR, 54 RBI, 22 2Bs
The former Korean League MVP came out blazing in his return to REAL BASEBALL. But by June we realized who gives a shit about Korean baseball and it seemed the league figured out this guy. This guy’s month by month splits make me sick. He was phenomenal in April, like best player in baseball phenomenal. He belted 11 dingers and put up a .345/.466/810 slash line in April. But then the honeymoon ended and he came right down to earth every other month. His triple slash line looked decent in July, but then you go on to see this “slugger” had 4 HRs and 5 RBI for that month of July. 5 RBI! Carried by a big April, his pre-all-star game stats were 23 HRs, 43 RBI, 15 2Bs, with a slash line of .248/.374/.562. After the all-star break has been a different story. He has had 5 HRs, 11 RBIs, 7 2Bs, with a slash line of .212/.294/.404. One may question if this guy is even rosterable with a second half like that. But who knows maybe he has another hot start next year and we forget about that second half. Weirder things have happened!
Jeurys Familia – NYM RP
27 Years Old, 28 in October
Who cares about stats this year, it was a lost season due to injury and domestic violence.
Familia was a stud closer for the Mets in 2015 and 2016, amassing 94 saves in those 2 seasons. If healthy, this is a great buy low candidate for the Devil in Ocean Gate (6-6-6 record). Familia has a career SO/9 rate of 9.1 which is not too shabby to go with his career 2.62 era. The question is if the Mets will be good again in 2018 or at least good enough for him to have more save opportunities. I don’t know what else to say besides I love the Mets.
Analysis
The people voted 4-3 in favor of Greg winning the deal in acquiring Familia. I tend to think closers hold more value to the team they are on compared to the trade market, because let’s face it, they are a roster spot that you’re trying to gain 1 category advantage usually. I would love to side with Shane on this one for getting a hitter, but who knows if this hitter rebounds and is even a starter next year. If Familia is healthy and back to closing, he will be on Greg’s roster for the entirety of next season. I get the feeling that Thames is not going to rebound and will hit the waiver wire by June, maybe even May! Greg gets my very important, very well-respected vote for this trade.
TRADE #3
X*RAYZ traded Daniel Murphy, WSH 2B to WOOD
X*RAYZ traded Beau Burrows, DET P to WOOD
WOOD traded Corey Dickerson, TBR LF to X*RAYZ
WOOD traded Dinelson Lamet, SDP SP to X*RAYZ
WOOD traded Willy Adames, TBR SS to X*RAYZ
WOOD traded First Overall Selection in Spring Draft to X*RAYZ
WOOD traded First Overall Selection in Rights Draft to X*RAYZ
Daniel Murphy – WSH 2B
33 Years Old in April
.322/.382/.550, 40 2Bs, 22 HRs, 88 RBIs, 86 Runs
Daniel Murphy is an elite 2B for fantasy purposes. He was a late bloomer with the beloved Mets and has put together back to back great seasons for the hated Nationals. He is a guy that the whole league should be happy to have on their roster. The only downside to Murphy is his God-loving, homosexual-hating ways. Oh, and his age! This guy is not getting any younger, and we may have seen the best of what this homophobic second baseman has to offer. He still has some good seasons left in the tank, maybe even 1 or 2 more great seasons. But father time will catch up to him, like he does to all of us, and Murphy’s stats will start to slip in the next few seasons.
Beau Burrows – DET SP
21 Years Old in like a week
135 IP, 137 Ks, 3.20 ERA, 9.1 SO/9 in A+ and AA
Honestly who cares about this guy, not much excitement around him as a prospect. He is just a prospect that is a sweetener for a Tigers fan in a trade. Evidenced by his availability last week until Odom was caught cheating and was forced to add other minor leaguers. Give Beau credit, decent minor league numbers this year even though he experienced a bit of a dip when moved up to AA ball, but he isn’t the first prospect this has happened too. I do not hate the guy, for he has decent K numbers and who knows, maybe he settles down starting in AA next year and improves his numbers from his first taste, which saw him pitch to a 4.72 ERA.
Corey Dickerson – TBR LF
28 Years Old
.282/.328/.503, 32 2Bs, 26 HRs, 60 RBIs,
Hey guys, I like Corey Dickerson, he helped me get the first overall selection in the Rights Player Draft last July, ironic how now he would be traded along with the next 2 FIRST OVERALL PICKS IN BACKYARD DRAFTS. Corey does not excite me all that much. He is another Jekyll and Hyde type player, nice first half, followed by a rough second half. First half he slashed .312/.355/.548, with 24 2Bs, 17 HRs, 42 RBIs. His post all-star game numbers are not as nice. He slashed .229/.278/.422, with 9 HRs, 18 RBIs, and 8 2Bs. I get real skeptical when players have such poor second halves to a season. Shows they are not making the adjustments they need to make to be successful. I’m afraid Corey Dickerson may not be that good, but trust me, he was not the big return for Odom in this deal. I truly believe he is a filler that Odom is hoping he gets a nice month or 2 out of before he hits the waiver wire next season.
Dinelson Lamet – SDP SP
25 Years Old
4.32 ERA, 1.20 WHIP, 98 IP, 123 Ks, 11.3 SO/9
I love this guy’s strike out rate! Nice little underrated pitcher to have here. He is a young pitcher that will only get better pitching in a friendly environment like PETCO. He will not turn 26 until around the 2018 all-star break and there is solid upside to this guy. 98 innings is not a huge sample size, but it is a solid half season to believe in his K numbers. Lamet needs to cut down on the walks numbers moving forward, which currently sit at 4.1 BB/9 through his first season. These rates coincided with his 2017 AAA numbers of 4.6 BB/9, and 11.5 SO/9. There is improvement that is needed, but plenty to like in this young pitcher.
Willy Adames – TBR SS
22 Years Old
.277/.360/.415, 30 2Bs, 5 3Bs, 10 HRs, 11 SB in AAA
This is a guy that Odom once traded in part of a 3 team deal to bring Mark Trumbo to Point Loma. Trumbo has since been waived and who knows where he is now, I don’t have time to search that shit. Adames is a nice little prospect here. As of the midseason rankings, Adames ranked as the 17th prospect according to MLB.com, 13th by Baseball America, and 26th by Baseball Prospectus. Willy has a little pop with maybe a little more to grow as he progresses. He had a nice season in AAA and should be the Rays SS of the future starting early next season.
Spring 1st Overall Pick
The trade market has been disappointingly stagnant in the most recent 2 trade deadlines. In this humble stud’s opinion, all that means is that draft picks are more important than ever in building your team roster foundation. There are some solid prospects right now whose rights are not owned and will be available in this draft. Who knows maybe there is a nice international free agent to come over, and Odom will get first stab at that dude. The Cheater will have the pick of the bunch for this draft, and that is a not a bad advantage to have.
Rights Draft 1st Overall Pick
I have never been a part of a Spring draft, but the Rights Draft seems to be super juicy, especially for those with high draft picks. Half way through the season, you have the advantage to see who is a breakout candidate. May I suggest that the Japanese Babe Ruth, Shohei Otani does not come over this offseason to the MLB, causing his rights to go back into the rights pool to become easy pickings for Odom to take!
Analysis
The chat voted 5 to 3 in favor of Shane for this trade, but I am going to disagree with the chat, and let you all know why at least 5 of you got this one wrong. Daniel Murphy is the best player being exchanged in this trade, as of today. But that doesn’t mean the chat is right in thinking Shane won this trade. I fully believe that Odom made a very savvy move in selling on Murphy. Odom may have been able to get more for the 2018 season in exchange for Murphy, but that doesn’t mean he will not be sitting alright in the long run here. Murphy is about to turn 33 and he is not getting any younger. 2016 was the best season of Murphy’s career, and it is going to stay that way moving forward. It is better to move a player a year to early rather than a year to late. Murphy is a nice player. He will help Shane’s team in 2018. But Odom received potentially 3 top prospects, 1 OF WHICH MAY VERY WELL BE THE COVETED OTANI! There is no chance in hell Shane gets a return like that for Murphy this time next season.
Kudos to Shane for not having to move Carlos Martinez, Happ or Vlad Guererro Jr in this deal. That is a win right there in itself. But when it comes down to it, Shane only had 3 wins last season and needs to build up trade chips and acquire some YOUNG talent. One can acquire talent and trade chips through DRAFTS. As of right now, Shane will not have a first round pick in the next 2 drafts, and some of his best talent is Greinke and JD Martinez, who are both on the wrong side of 30. Murphy will improve his roster in the short term, but he just took himself out of a chance for an elite talent like Otani. Call me crazy, I get the feeling that Otani will not accept a 10 million dollar offer to come over to the MLB next year, but wait a year to receive 150 – 200 million dollars to come play here. I don’t know why, but the math just makes sense to me. Why leave that much money on the table, I don’t care who you are, money talks. If this trade was looked at as potentially Otani for Murphy, I bet most of the league would say acquiring Otani would be the winner. Odom may have just got Otani, plus 2 other top prospects, plus a nice little K machine named Dinelson Lamet. Worst case scenario, Otani comes over to the MLB this offseason for Rojo to roster, and Odom still gets 3 top prospects and Lamet. Good job Odom.
TRADE #4
BPMZ Traded Ronal Acuna, ATL CF to LTBS
LTBS Traded Jonathon Villar, MIL 2B to BPMZ
LTBS Traded Aaron Nola, PHI SP to BPMZ
LTBS Traded Fernando Tatis Jr, SDP SS to BPMZ
Jonathon Villar – MIL 2B
26 Years Old
.241/.293/.372, 16 2Bs, 11 HRs, 23 SB
Villar has seen the best of times and the worst of times over the tale of 2 seasons. Last year he was a fantasy stud who hit 19 HRs, and stole 62 bases. This year, well you see his stats up there. Still a big-time source of stolen bases even when having a down season. He has lost a lot of playing time this year because of his play, but Neil Walker is a free agent at the end of the season and Villar presumably will slot back in the starting 2B gig. He might not be as good as last season, but he certainly isn’t as bad as this season.
Aaron Nola – PHI SP
24 Years Old
148 IP, 156 Ks, 3.71 ERA, 3.26 FIP, 9.5 SO/9, 2.6 BB/9
Breaking news, Aaron Nola is good. It was tough to give up Louisiana Lightning. This guy has a big-time curveball that he uses 30% of his pitches. A 49.9% groundball rate in 2017, which is lower than his career norm. He doesn’t pitch in a pitcher’s park by any means, but this guy is good and still has a lot of room to grow. I like the groundball plus strike out rates that he possesses, and he does not walk many batters. Good job Sean for squeezing him out of me. I already hate giving him up.
Fernando Tatis Jr. – SDP SS
18 Years Old
.278/.379/.498, 27 2Bs, 7 3Bs, 22 HR, 32 SB, 15 CS between A and AA
Fernando Tatis is a very young prospect who broke out this year to see himself start climbing up the prospect lists (55 on MLB.com, 100 on BA midseason list). Tatis is a very good prospect who will only see his status grow in the next few years. He has good power from the SS position, but will most likely be moving to 3B by the time he makes it to the majors. He has the bloodline to make it as a good MLB player. I do not think the steals will be there as much as he gets to the higher levels of the minors. He could also cut down on the Ks, but seeing 77 BBs this season shows he has an advanced approach at the plate at a real young age.
Ronald Acuna – ATL CF
19 Years Old
.325/.374/.522, 31 2Bs, 8 3Bs, 21 HRs, 44 SB across A, AA, and AAA
Quite possibly the best prospect in all of baseball. This guy has hit since he was 17 years old, but the power showed up this season in the form of 60 XBHs. This kid has all the tools to be a stud and this owner is hoping we will be renaming the J-Roll award after him. There is a lot to love about this guy, with a lot of room to still grow for the teenager. But was the price to acquire him too high?
Analysis
The league voted that the new Sean (Dochney) won this trade in a 4-3 vote. I swung the vote by voting for myself in this poll, because why wouldn’t I vote for myself? But if I were being honest, the Mooninitez won this deal. The price was huge for a guy who hasn’t stepped foot on an MLB field. Sean McLaughlin capitalized on the hype machine and got a huge return for Acuna, and good for him. I would feel a lot better about this deal for myself if I didn’t have to give up Nola, but Sean was insistent on his inclusion, and he got his guy. I am hoping Acuna hits the ground running when he makes it to the show and we see Mookie Betts, not Byron Buxton (credit to Buxton for being a stud in the last 2 Septembers though). Dochney gave up too much to get this guy, and it will only be worth it if Acuna becomes a superstar.
Would also like to take a moment to go back to the midseason Pollock trade for all you haters out there. The pick received in that trade became Tatis Jr., who later is a part of the Acuna deal. Moving Pollock (who is overrated and has already seen his best baseball) got me the trade chips to land a potential 5 tool superstar. 2-year rule in affect for judging the tangled web of trades here.
TRADE #5
X*RAYZ Traded Walker Buehler, LAD P to LTBS
LTBS Traded Adam Duvall, CIN LF to X*RAYZ
Adam Duvall – CIN LF
Just turned 29 Years Old.
.250/.299/.497, 33 2Bs, 3 3Bs, 31 HRs, 74 Runs, 94 RBIs
Duvall is underrated in this league because his OBP sucks. But OBP is just 1 category, and Duvall helps a lot in the counting stat categories. He may not be sexy, but he instantly becomes the X*Rayz top slugger on his roster. And Odom won the league (albeit controversially) while having the 9th ranked OBP in the league. Adam Duvall is no fluke either, this is the 2nd year in a row he is a full-time starter, and the 2nd year in a row that he will have over 30 2Bs, 30 HRs, and 100 RBIs. Duvall is good, and plays in the hitter friendly confines of Great American Ballpark. He will be 29 for most of next season as well. Contrary to popular belief, he is not the same player as teammate Scott Schebler (Editor’s note: No he is though.). Duvall is a good power bat who will keep benefitting from hitting behind the Walking Red, which guarantees Duvall to have more and more RBI opportunities. (Whatever Duvall been slumping and moved down the lineup and is not batting behind Votto right now, don’t ever fact check my claims!)
Walker Buehler – LAD P
23 Years Old
3.35 ERA, 1.10 WHIP, 88.2 IP, 125 Ks, 12.7 K/9, 3.1 BB/9 between A+, AA, and AAA
This guy slipped in the draft a few years back because of an elbow injury that people knew he would need TJ Surgery for. He watched his Vanderbilt teammates Dansby Swanson and the bum Carson Fulmer get drafted in front of him. Make no mistake, going into that final Vanderbilt season before injury Buehler was the guy, not Carson Fulmer. Buehler recently received a call up to the big club, and will pitch out the bullpen the rest of the season. He looks like a front rotation starter moving forward though, possibly forming an Ace 1 and Ace 2 with Kershaw much like when the Dodgers had Greinke. I said it, subtle Greinke comp there even though I don’t like doing comps.
Analysis
Well I love this deal for myself, and so did everyone else in the poll from the chat. I get a potential future ace to go along with the other stud prospects I have. Odom gets an underrated slugger who will help him out next season, but paid a huge price in what could become a star pitcher. The Backdoor Sliderz have built themselves up an impressive farm system during their first year in the league, but they have also paid a big price in doing so. Not all prospects are can’t miss, and here’s to hoping these guys become fantasy studs for years to come.
So there you have it folks, the owner of the Lacey Township BackdoorSliderz VALIANTLY contributing a trade review on a bunch of different trades SEVERAL OF WHICH coincidentally included the Lacey Township BackdoorSliderz. I will leave it up to our loyal leaders to determine how much his bias was or was not showing (I think he did fine and objective work) but I will NOT leave it up to you schmucks to decide whether or not he deserves a round of applause for stepping up to the plate and providing us with a #ContentMonday. He deserves a round of applause. Please give him a round of applause regardless of where you are reading this right now. I am proud of him.
Backyard Views 