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.

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

Mike Rosenbaum trades Jordan Zimmermann to Nick Doran for Aaron Blair and Jesse Winker

Mike: “In the first of my two trades last week, I shipped off Jordan Zimmermann to Nick Doran for a pair of high-probability prospects in Jesse Winker and Aaron Blair. I say high-probability rather than high-ceiling because I envision both players becoming solid big-league regulars, possibly sooner rather than later. Winker, 20, was having an outstanding season between High-A/Double-A at the time of his injury, and his bat is finally getting the love it absolutely deserves. Meanwhile, Blair, the No. 36 overall pick in 2013, is currently pitching well at Double-A Mobile after beginning the year at Low-A South Bend. Neither player has Zimmermann’s upside, but I like both their chances of carving out a role in the major leagues by the end of the 2015.”

Nick: “I have been scrambling all year to scratch out a decent staff of starting pitchers. I was able to acquire Jordan Zimmerman in a deal with Mike Rosenbaum just before the August 7th trading deadline in TDGX. Zimmerman immediately becomes my #1 or #2 starter because I lack a true ace. I have a long list of mid-range SPs that I have been mixing and matching all year. Zimmerman is a guy I can put in my lineup every week instead of playing the matchups. That is quite a luxury with my hardscrabble pitching staff. I had to give up one of my favorite prospects in Jesse Winker but sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do. I am in 2nd place and have only a slim chance of catching up with Team McKahn, but I still want to strengthen my hold on the runner up slot.”

Chris Mitchell trades Dustin Pedroia, Nelson Cruz and Yangervis Solarte to Craig Goldstein/Mauricio Rubio for Jason Kipnis

Chris: “Looking at our team for the future we felt like we needed to upgrade our talent level and we feel like Kipnis is an upgrade in 2015 and beyond over Cruz or Pedroia. Nelson Cruz has been the best player in this trade for 2014 but we feel like Jason Kipnis will be the best player in 2015-2018. It made sense to deal a 2B in order to get a 2B and we feel like Dustin Pedroia’s primary contributions going forward will be in batting average while his power and speed has diminished and is now on the decline. We don’t feel like Solarte is a keeper so he was a sacrifice we were willing to make to get the deal done. Cruz and Pedroia as two players will probably outproduce Kipnis in 2015 but we feel like Kipnis and whoever fills in for Cruz will outproduce them and in 2016 and beyond Kipnis should be able to outproduce them both combined.”

Mauricio: “It’s difficult to trade away a second baseman who should be entering his prime years while our team is looking to be competitive next year. The offer was too good to pass up however as we received Nelson Cruz, Dustin Pedroia and Yangervis Solarte for Kipnis. We have a speed deficiency now but Cruz has been absolutely mashing and Pedroia is still a very good second baseman who can provide in average and runs scored at a high level. Solarte is filler but we believe that we made a good move in acquiring power and average with this package.”

Mike Rosenbaum trades Ian Desmond, Alex Wood and Jorge Bonifacio to J.P. Breen for Kolten Wong, Trevor Bauer, A.J. Pollock and Rymer Liriano

Mike: “After trading Jordan Zimmermann for a pair of prospects the day before, I headed into the trade deadline looking to make one more big deal involving veteran players for young talent. J.P. and I began talking about deal centered on Ian Desmond, and from there it blew up into a seven-player trade. Though it was difficult to part with Desmond and Wood, I really like my return in this deal from a long-term perspective, as I’m getting three young MLB hitters—Liriano’s MLB debut was also his debut on my team—capable of contributing in multiple categories. Wong gives me a potential long-term second baseman after trading Kendrick a few weeks back, and even though I’m not replacing Wood with Bauer, I felt comfortable betting on the right-hander’s ability to at least hold down a rotation spot moving forward.”

J.P.: “I wanted two main things from this deal: (1) to acquire a upper-tier shortstop who projected to remain at the position for several years, and (2) an upgrade for Trevor Bauer before he established too much of a negative track record throughout the remainder of the season.

Across the league, legitimate offensive shortstops are rare. In a league as deep as TDGX, they become even more valuable, in my mind. Javy Baez will lose shortstop eligibility next season, and I didn’t have anyone else primed to play shortstop — in the minors or in the majors. I was left with depth at second base and no shortstop, so it made sense to center something around Kolten Wong, if possible. The overall package of talent was tough to part with, but I’m also a fan of Alex Wood and think he’ll ultimately be a better fantasy pitcher than Bauer. Thus, I feel like I upgraded shortstop and my starting pitching without hugely impacting my overall depth. I hated giving up Rymer Liriano. Mike and I discussed it, and I decided to take a chance that Jorge Bonifacio can turn it around. After all, he’s only 21 years old and in Double-A and recovering from a hamate injury last season. I’ll keep my fingers crossed.”

MAJOR LEAGUE FA PICKUPS

Ben Carsley adds Tommy Medica for $15
Ben Carsley adds Collin Cowgill for $5

“This is pretty simple – my team is out of it so I’m stockpiling players who could potentially help me next season, and both Medica and Cowgill fit the bill.  I’m fairly thin on corner infielders who aren’t injury prone and I have a ton of FAAB left, so I figured Medica was a decent option to burn $15 on given that he could get the nod over Yonder Alonso next year. Cowgill is nothing special, but he’s better than the player I dropped him for – Felix Doubront – and that’s basically how every non-competitive owner should be thinking at this point. The fact that I was legit excited to land Medica should tell you about the state of my life right now.”

J.P. Breen adds Shane Greene for $5

“Greene is an uninspiring starter who has significant trouble against left-handed hitters because he relies on his fastball/slider and fastball/cutter. He has no put-away pitch against lefties. That’s why he’s only striking out 10.0% of lefties and 30.3% of righties. Still, I had roster space available after my big trade this week. Why not take a chance that Shane Greene can put something together for the remainder of the season? He’ll give me more options heading into the offseason, which is important.”

Mike Rosenbaum adds Daniel Hudson for $5

“Hudson, who’s still only 27, is currently working his way back from a second TJ surgery in the Arizona League, where he’s building up arm strength before inevitably moving up to more challenging levels. I’ve always had a spot in my heart for Hudson as a White Sox fan, so I’d be lying if I said his addition to my team wasn’t at least partially rooted in emotion. The right-hander hasn’t pitched in the major leagues since early 2012, but he posted a 3.49 ERA and 2.03 BB/9 over 222 innings in his last full season.

Sorry J.P.

U mad, bro?”

Nick Shlain adds Caleb Joseph for $5

Mike Newman adds Jose Ramirez for $4

“After trading Asdrubal Cabera, the Indians are in position to give Jose Ramirez a long look with Francisco Lindor scuffling in Triple-A. He’s not the team’s shortstop of the future, but maybe he turns into a super utility player with the ability to accumulate 350 plate appearances per season. If so, he’ll still enough bags to be relevant. At 21, it’s easy to expect legitimate upside given his age-versus-level, but teams often promote middle infielders with limited upside at an extremely young age. With little chance of breaking Ramirez, why not throw him into the fire and save Lindor? With my season already over, I might as well go along for the ride.”

Mike Newman adds Brad Hand for $4

“Brad Hand isn’t a very good pitcher, but he’s performing better than Nick Martinez was. In a deep league where 800 players are owned, it made sense to sign a 24-year old starting pitcher coming off four consecutive quality starts. Of course he gave up 7 earned runs in 4 2/3 the same day the FAAB bid was made (face palm).”

Mike Newman adds Carlos Carrasco for $3

“Once traded for Cliff Lee, Carlos Carrasco is a former top-100 prospect turned Tommy John recovery story. In 2014, the 27-year old appears to be putting it together, posting strong numbers out of the Indians bullpen. In need of a starting pitcher, he hurled five scoreless innings last time out. For now, Carrasco will remain in the role. In TDGX, he has the potential to provide big value at a rock bottom price. With gimpy arms including Jose Fernandez, Gerrit Cole and Robert Erlin, healthy, productive arms are at a premium.”

Chris Mitchell adds Ezequiel Carrera for $2

“We needed an OF to fill Nelson Cruz’s spot and as a part time player in Detroit we feel like he could steal 8-10 bases the rest of the way while scoring some runs. A cheap price for some steals.”

Nick Shlain adds Eduardo Nunez for $1

Wilson Karaman adds J.A. Happ for $0

“I was pleased to snag J.A. Happ for free this week, as he’s been on a nice little run of late in posting a 1.71 ERA, 0.95 WHIP, and 25:6 K:BB over his last 4 starts (26 innings). He’s been generating greater extension with his mechanics recently, getting wider and taller at point of release. The result has been greater movement on all of his pitches, and a corresponding across-the-board jump in his whiff rates over several starts now. Whether it continues is an open question, as we’re dealing with a veteran pitcher with a long track record of mediocrity. But it’s enough of a sample at this point to raise an eyebrow, and in a league this deep that’s all you really need. He gets the Mariners tonight, who are the second-worst offense in baseball against left-handed pitching, followed by the Brewers next week (a not-much-better 23^rd in wRC+ against southpaws). If he’s made genuine mechanical improvements to where he’s even a viable #5 starter going forward that’d represent a tremendously valuable addition to the back end of my staff as a $0 FAAB claim in mid-August.”

J.P. Breen adds Jose Iglesias for $0

“More options. Jose Iglesias isn’t anything special, but he’ll be expected to be the Tigers’ everyday shortstop in 2015. He could slide in as one of my extra keepers, or he could be traded, or he could simply be dumped. I’m looking for roster flexibility heading into 2015, and Iglesias provides that.”

Chris Mitchell adds Oliver Perez for $0

“Perez has had a good year with the strikeouts, ERA and Whip and should contribute well as a dominant, though limited producer, to make up for our recent injuries in the starting rotation.”

Wilson Karaman adds David Buchanan for $0

“I wrote about Buchanan over at Baseball Prospectus heading into his two-start week this week, and I decided to take the plunge myself. He’d been a perfectly serviceable back-end starter of late, with a 3.43 ERA and 1.26 WHIP over his last seven starts and no starts with more than 3 ER allowed. With a favorable two-start draw (NYM, @SFG) he made for an enticing add for me, as I’m stalking several teams in strikeouts and wins right now, and a guy like Buchanan posed the opportunity to pad both stats with a relatively tolerable risk for ERA and WHIP. He’s a likely one-and-done, but so far so good, as he delivered a very strong (albeit winless) performance against the Mets yesterday.”

MINOR LEAGUE FA PICKUPS

Ben Carsley adds Mitch Nay for $1

“Nay is a 20-year-old third baseman who’s hitting .284/.339/.387 in Low-A right now. Those are some pretty uninspiring power numbers, but I’ve read several reports that suggest Nay will add some pop as he ages, and he’s showing off a pretty good hit tool and approach right now.  I picked up Nay at the expense of Stryker Trahan, who can’t hit or catch, which are disappointing qualities in a catching prospect. I can make a lot of puns with Nay’s last name, which also helps.”

Nick Doran adds Nick Tropeano for $0

“I picked up Tropeano to fill a minor league slot. He has been striking out a lot of batters in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League all year. He missed some time with arm tightness but is back in action and pitching well. He doesn’t project as a top of rotation pitcher but you know what? Neither did a lot of the better pitchers in the major leagues. Tropeano is pitching very well in AAA in the PCL and is ready for the big show. He will likely get a cup of coffee this September and could earn a job in the Astros rotation at the beginning of next season. If he develops into the next Dallas Keuchel or Collin McHugh I will be happy.”

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