General

The #TDGX Transaction Report: An Elite Prospect Changes Hands

You’ve been following TDGX. You love TDGX. We all love TDGX.  And every week here at The Dynasty Guru, I am going to be bringing you commentary from our flagship experts’ league, directly from the participants themselves. Today we’re going to cover all of the transactions made post-draft, including a few trades–one involving an elite prospect and another involving a potential high-end starting pitcher.

The goal here is to give you insight into the moves made by our group of experts so that you can use this information the next time you need to make a trade or prominent FA move in your league. So let’s not mess around with too much longer of an introduction. We’re going to break this up into three sections: trades, major league additions, minor league additions.

TRADES

3/22/14: Mike Buttil trades Andrew Cashner to Ian Kahn/Tim McLeod for a 2015 1st round pick and 2015 3rd round pick

Mike: “Paul and I aren’t shy about trading pitching, which is probably pretty obvious considering we dealt a pitcher as talked about as Cashner. To be honest, we were torn about Cashner from the beginning. It took some convincing on my part to draft him where we did because of his age (27) and injury history and he didn’t really jive with our plan to wait longer on pitching in this year’s draft. We considered what our options were to replace him, and saw some serviceable arms still on the wire. We acquired Kyle Kendrick from free agency to replace Cashner’s spot on the roster, and while he won’t replace Cashner’s numbers, we felt good about adding him to our rotation in a league this deep.

One of the things we considered in making this deal was the penalty we paid in keepers for 2015. Acquiring the two draft picks will allow us to get back some of the pieces we will lose when we send 15 players back into the pool. Since next year is the only year that this penalty is in effect and there will be something like 60 players thrown back, we are happy to have five picks in the first three rounds regardless of the position of the picks. We also like having extra picks given some of this year’s amateur draft talent that will be available in next year’s TDGX draft. Kudos to Ian for making a simultaneous move that brought two later picks back to his team.”

Ian: “Mike had committed 15 players to get that first slot to draft Mike Trout. That meant to me, that he would have to be looking over the course of the season to consolidate his base, and acquire draft picks (which has no keeper limits) in the process.

I spoke to Mike about a number of pieces on his team that held interest to Tim Mcleod and myself, but what we came to was the idea of a 1st round pick and a 3rd round pick in the 2015 draft for Andrew Cashner. Unlike other similar Dynasty drafts, these picks in 2015 will have many Major League pieces that otherwise wouldn’t be available. It also fit into Mike’s plan to have extra picks moving forward.”

3/22/14: Ian Kahn/Tim McLeod trade Travis Wood to Craig Goldstein/Mauricio Rubio for a 2015 2nd round pick and 2015 5th round pick

Ian: “Craig was in a bit of a bind to find that depth for his staff. We moved Travis Wood for Craig’s 2nd and 5th round picks in the 2015 draft. Tim was somewhat concerned about moving Wood, but I wanted some picks back for the draft next year, or at least as pieces that can be used in other deals as the season goes along.”

Craig: “Having lost Jarrod Parker directly after the draft, we felt a need to address our pitching shortage, as that was probably a weakspot even with Parker. We felt like what amounted to 37th and 40th round picks were well worth the bulk innings that Travis Wood provides, even with a relatively substantial step backward.”

4/6/14: Craig Glaser/Tom Trudeau trade Nick Castellanos, Julio Urias and Addison Reed to Chris Crawford for Oscar Taveras and Matt Barnes

Tom: “Craig and I built our team without 2014 in mind, meaning one of our primary assets is our willingness to concede present value. That made Addison Reed an obvious trade chip for us. He has a chance to be a good fantasy closer for many years, but closers and rebuilding dynasty teams don’t mix well.  At just 22 years old, Nick Castellanos was a less obvious trade chip, but the fact that he is in the Majors today means his utility to other owners is slightly higher than it is to us. We suspect Julio Urias will be a fast mover, both in the minors and on prospect lists, but his age made him expendable.

While Reed and Castellanos are solid assets, we believe Oscar Taveras has a chance to be special and help us in five categories for years to come. We love the value of the deal — getting Taveras, the 28th player selected in our inaugural draft, was likely only an option because he isn’t presently in the Major Leagues. The fact that he works for the St. Louis Cardinals Factory of Good Players doesn’t hurt, either. Consolidating our talent was a small but mention-worthy motivation for the deal because we sacrificed eight keeper spots for the rights to draft second and select Bryce Harper.”

Chris: “I suppose I should start with what I gave up, because it absolutely breaks my heart to trade someone as talented as Oscar Taveras. I think he’s going to be a star, but as the old cliche goes: You have to give something up to get something in return. Giving up Matt Barnes also was tough, but with the amount of pitching already in my system (Mark Appel, Jon Gray, Tyler Glasnow, Eddie Butler, etc.) I felt okay with him being a part of the deal.

As for what I received, I’m pretty excited. Castellanos isn’t Oscar Taveras, but he’s a guy who can hit .290 with 20-25 homers a season, and he should drive in runs in a deep Detroit lineup. Reed isn’t an elite closer, but he should be good for 30+ saves, and he should be a high-leverage reliever for the next few seasons.

This deal doesn’t happen though without Julio Urias, I think he’s the best left-handed pitching prospect in baseball right now, and it wouldn’t stun me one bit if he ended up a member of the Dodger’s rotation at some point in 2015. It’s a risky deal, but I think it’s one that could pay big dividends for me both in 2014 and beyond.”

MAJOR LEAGUE FA PICKUPS, 3/31/14
Jake Ciely/Chris Mitchell pick up Tyler Flowers for $3, drop Devin Mesoraco
“Due to the leagues settings that we are only allowed to place three players on the DL and I had as many as six injured I was forced to cut four players while also adding another catcher. Of all my options to release, a mediocre catcher looked to be the best choice while Flowers was the best available option to add to fill the empty position. I also think he can hit for a little bit of pop.”
Chris Crawford adds Roenis Elias for $8

“With the injury/questionable ability of Miguel Alfredo Gonzalez — and the lack of quality pitching available — I thought taking a risk on a player like Elias was necessary. He’s not likely a long-term member of a rotation, but for $8 I thought he was worth a flier.”

Mike Rosenbaum adds Aaron Barrett for $4
“Barrett, 26, has been a late-inning force in the Nats’ system over the last two seasons, saving 43 games with a 12.6 K/9 in 101 innings, and he made the Opening Day roster this year after throwing up zeroes all spring. My team has one legitimate reliever at the moment (Huston Street) as Michael Blazek tries to figure things out in Triple-A, so I added Barrett with the hope he gets some ninth-inning looks later in the year and possibly beyond.”
Bret Sayre adds Zach Britton for $1
“It’s no secret that I’ve had a thing for Britton for a long time. That stuff and the ground ball rate are a tantalizing combination. But when the Orioles decided to move him to the bullpen, I was both a little sad and a little hopeful–that he might turn that talent into on-field production in shorter spurts. He had ticked up in Spring Training into the 93-95 MPH range and he’s been off to a great start to 2014. Even if he never gets a start or a save, he could throw 90-plus innings and vulture many wins with strong ratios for this Orioles team.”
MAJOR LEAGUE FA PICKUPS, 4/7/14
Craig Glaser/Tom Trudeau pick up Chris Colabello for $50
“Whoa, fifty percent of our budget on a 30-year-old journeyman? This is as much a bet against the low expected value of $100 FAB in a twenty team league as it is a bet on Colabello. By getting him early when everyone still fancies themselves contenders, some team in need of a hitter will offer up a good prospect.”
Craig Glaser/Tom Trudeau pick up Matt Lindstrom for $30
“You’ve heard of FOMO, then call this FOWF… fear of wasting FAAB. We want to make sure we spend our money on useful pieces, rather than end the year with unused cash. In a league where almost all backup closers are owned, we’ll pay to find out if Lindstrom can hold down a closer gig long enough to be traded for a prospect we like.”
Alex Kantecki picks up Francisco Rodriguez for $26
“After losing my lone closer, Jim Henderson, to manager Ron Roenicke’s Opening Day shenanigans, I targeted Francisco Rodriguez with an aggressive $26 bid. Roenicke says he wants Henderson to return to the role eventually, but when that happens is anyone’s guess. K-Rod is 32 years old, which isn’t that old for a closer, and he has 306 career saves under his belt, so it’s not a given that he concedes the ninth inning to Henderson whenever he’s deemed ready. I thought maybe someone would go $20 on him; then I thought maybe they’d go $25 and bid an extra dollar. With Henderson rostered, I felt comfortable spending a fourth of my FAAB budget to lock up all the saves in Milwaukee.”
Mike Buttil picks up Jonathan Broxton for $15
“We decided to bid for Broxton this week with the announcement that he will be the closer for the Reds upon his return. His saves over the next six or so weeks have value in a league this deep and we didn’t have to blow too much FAAB  ($15) to acquire him. We’ll be benching one of our weaker one-start pitchers to get him in the lineup until Chapman returns.”
Jake Ciely/Chris Mitchell pick up Yangervis Solarte for $15
“Solarte has been swinging a hot bat. I also hope that if Solarte can continue to hit that he may play some 3B which is a weakness now that Wil Middlebrooks got injured. With Brian Roberts injury history I think there is a good chance that Solarte will get more than his fair share of playing time.”
Wilson Karaman picks up Devin Mesoraco for $8, drops Alex Avila
“I had wanted Mesoraco as my primary backstop and was looking to grab him around rounds 19 or 20, but he got popped in the 18th before I had the chance. That lead to my fallback selection of Avila in the 25th round. Mesoraco’s a guy who as recently as the 2012 pre-season was rated a consensus top-25 prospect in baseball on the heels of a 133 wRC+ season as a 23 year old at AAA in 2011. He then got himself Dusty’d for two straight years before injuring his oblique this spring. His approach at the plate and home ballpark are an intriguing blend, and at just 25 years old still he’s a perfect post-hype young player to wager on. I like his breakout potential and $8 was just the right price for a low-risk gamble that he seizes the opportunity before him.”
MINOR LEAGUE FA PICKUPS, 3/31/14
Nick Shlain adds Jordan Patterson for $0
“Sure. Patterson’s a big boy at 6-4 and 215, a fourth round pick out of Alabama. This is a premature selection I view as worth a shot. If he hits in the SAL, it’ll really be worth it. Could have a solid right field profile on my hands here and no real risk since I picked him up for nothing.”
Wilson Karaman adds Simon Mercedes for $0
“I’m not generally a guy who invests a lot in starting pitching prospects, and that showed up bigtime in the distribution of my minor league draft picks. I invested 12 of my 40 draft picks in prospects, and ten of those were hitters. My farm is barren of upside arms beyond that, so I figured I’d take at least one long shot risk. Mercedes is a guy I’m pretty high on as a potential breakout prospect in the Red Sox system. He’s got a nasty heater that can ring the triple-digit alarm with movement, and reports out of spring training had him featuring a much-improved secondary arsenal to go along with better mechanical repetition. He’s a high-octane arm who threw very well in the the NY-Penn League last year, and Boston’s brass regarded him highly enough to jump him up from short season ball to High-A Salem this spring. If the scouting reports prove to be on point he’s a guy with the potential to shoot onto prospect maps in a hurry this season.”
Nick Doran adds Reydel Medina for $0
“I bought a lottery ticket named Reydel Medina, a 20 year old left-handed 5-tool outfielder the Reds signed out of Cuba last August. He has yet to play anywhere in the United States, but it is rumored he has the potential to display elite power and speed although his skills are still extremely raw. His most impressive attribute is his bat speed. He is truly a completely unknown commodity right now. I am hoping Medina will turn out to be a strong prospect as he begins his professional career this Spring. If he doesn’t I will just dump him and grab another intriguing lottery ticket who piques my curiosity.”
Ben Carsley adds Jairo Beras for $0
“There are more than 200 prospects rostered in this league, which means you have to dig pretty deep to find anyone you want once promotions start hitting your roster. I was pretty pleased to find Beras, who was one of the bigger J2 names from last year, still sitting on the waiver wire. I saw Beras in Arizona this spring, and he is a very big human being who’s going to have a ton of raw power. Usually I wouldn’t want to clog up an MiLB roster spot with someone four-plus years away from the majors, but the pickings are slim and I’m already overloaded with players who could see PT in 2014 or 2015, meaning I need to diversify the ETA of my players a little bit. This was a replacement pick for Kyle Gibson, who I needed to promote to the majors.”
MINOR LEAGUE FA PICKUPS, 4/7/14
Jake Ciely/Chris Mitchell add Dillon Overton for $0
Jake Ciely/Chris Mitchell add Jose Mujica for $0
“In a keeper league with minors as few as 10 prospects I normally claim two types of prospects. One being the elite of the elite regardless of age and the other being prospects close to contributing in the majors. However, this is an expert league and the prospect pickings were pretty slim so I was forced to claim a few of the best prospects I could find regardless of level and how far from the majors they are. Overton and Mujica are two of four or five that I like. Overton, a lefty with the potential for mid 90’s velocity from the left side with two above average secondary pitches. Mujica is almost entirely projection but he has a lot of natural potential and the Rays have been very successful in drafting and developing their pitching prospects.”
Jason Hunt adds Dustin Peterson for $0
“Peterson was a bit of a backup selection, as I had a number of claims that I ended up missing out on as my fellow owners bid substantially higher on players like Chris Colabello and Francisco Rodriguez. A $0 bid, Peterson has the potential to be an impact bat for both average and power, although there are questions about his long-term position (currently he’s at third base), and obviously he’s a long way from the majors, starting the season in full-season Low-A. Given that I had an empty roster spot due to players on the disabled list, he’s a nice flier to hold onto at least until I can fill the spot with someone that can help sooner, and could end up as a keeper with a strong season.”
Follow me on Twitter at @dynastyguru.

The Author

The Dynasty Guru

The Dynasty Guru

2 Comments

  1. Doog
    April 8, 2014 at 12:18 pm

    This is one of the more interesting #TDGX articles so far. Looking forward to seeing the rationale for transactions throughout the year.

  2. […] already seen some ridiculous transactions, whether it’s in the form of adds, drops or trades. Paying $26 FAAB for Francisco Rodriguez? Really? Come on […]

Previous post

Prospect Smackdown: Gary Sanchez vs. Blake Swihart

Next post

Digging For Diamonds: Four To Watch