Let the Games Begin

Well, this is fun. Not like, spring break with your feet up fun. More like, first row of a roller coaster hanging off the edge fun. Currently, at this moment, I am the lesser half of a 1-2 match-up right now that is very likely going to end in a 5-5 tie. The 3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th seed are all winning their match-ups by 2 or more games. It's July 21st and we're 140 categories into the season, so you'd think, "well, gonna lose two games on these guys, that's a bummer". When I wake up tomorrow morning I will have fallen from 2nd to 6th place.

But, that's really been the story of the season. Standing jumps like that have happened to most of us this year. Eric was at the bottom to start and now in 3rd. Andy was at the top for a while and now in 9th. Hell, I was in 11th for a while myself. Has been the tightest this league has been since I can remember.

As I mentioned, it's July 21st, so this begs the question, what the actual fuck is about to happen at this deadline? The MLB Trade deadline is Wednesday, July 31st, which will give us all four days to digest where the dust has settled before making decisions on our 2019 championship hopes. Would hate to be Pflanz' therapist right about now.

What we know:
1. Jeremy, Russ, Eric, Brad, and John are definitely not selling. I'm throwing John in there because, well I don't need to explain that one. Also he just traded his first round pick. For a closer. Of the last place team in the NL West. Who has every reason to try and trade him. It's John so, I'm sure it'll work out in his interest.
2. Greg and Dan are definitely selling. I know Dan is cause he sent us all a text that was like, "Hey guys I'm officially selling." I know Greg is because I got a telegram from a birdhouse. Also he's 19.5 games back.

What I predict for the rest of the crew:
Pflanz / Richie: If this match-up is 5-5, trying to predict what will happen would be like golfing with a hockey stick. If Richie wins a lopsided match-up, Pflanz will sell. If Pflanz wins a lopsided match-up, Richie will have a trade rash outbreak and do whatever he cans to itch it.
Mark: When Mark gets drunk he thinks he's the best fantasy baseball player in the universe. So, bender not withstanding, I think he (hopefully) takes a big loss next week and decides to join a weak field of sellers.
Perka: It would be a tough climb into legitimate contention, and I think John is going to put the nail in the coffin for Perkins next week. He also seems to have the most pitching pieces to move out of the bunch.
Andy: Well, unless Andy decides to sell. Andy would be a scary buyer and a scary seller. Could either go all in and hope to continue the run he's been on, which, especially from the pitching side, has been pretty electric. Or, could be the phone receiving the most texts over the next two weeks. Someone should remind him to turn the alerts back on in our GroupMe chat.

Want to paint a clear picture of the remainder of the season:
Upcoming match-up is week 16. The MLB trade deadline is midway through week 17, and The Franchise trade deadline is the last day of week 17. August 5th will be the beginning of week 18 which is the first of the final five weeks of the regular season. 50 category wins up for grabs, and it looks like every single one is going to count. Just ask the asshole about to drop from 2nd place to 6th in one week...

So, let the games begin. Best time of the year. Stay close to your phones and on top of box scores. This is when the Epstein in all of us gets a good tickle. I wish everyone the best of luck. Except for John.

2018 Keeper Stats

As we roll over to year 11 of The Franchise, there's been a major change. This marks the first year that there are no keepers left from that afternoon we spent draftin in Roland's living room, watching some no name guard shoot the lights out for Davidson in the NCAA tournament (it was Steph), and hoping Zhou didn't notice that sharpie I was using on the posterboard had bled straight through onto the wall (He did). 

Over the last three years, we've seen three legends from that draft all dropped from their respective teams, Russ with Longoria in 2015, Mark with Braun in 2016, and now finally, Eddie with Miguel Cabrera. A little tribute to each...

Longoria was pick 182 in that first draft, selected in the 16th round, a hyped up rookie that went on to win rookie of the year and become an unsung hero in Russ' lineup for 8 years. While playing wing man to Pujols, he made it to 4 championships with Russ, and one more with Greg (infamously winning none of them), and also had 2 third-place finishes with Russ. Throughout his 10 years in the league, his teams have made the playoffs 9 times, but he's never won a title. He went with pick 164 to Eric this year. 

Ryan Braun was the defending rookie of the year in 2008, coming off a season of .324, 34 homers, and 15 steals in just 113 games. It was Pflanz, not Mark, who snatched Braun up in round 2, but on April 28th, he was swapped straight up for Carlos Beltran, and became the Tim Duncan to Mark's Spurs. 8.5 years and 4 rings later, he's probably (didn't look it up) the most successful individual player in the history of the Franchise. On July 28, 2016 he was traded to Eric for Leonys Martin and a 3rd round pick, Mark finished the year in 11th. Last season, in his first year back in the draft, he went 3rd overall, 15 picks before he did in 2008, he ended up on Dan's team, and finished 11th again. Greag grabbed him this year in round 5. 

Already an establiushed all-star and MVP threat in 2008, Migueal Cabrera somehow fell to #10 in that first draft, which probably had something to do with the fact that we didn't even know it was a keeper league then. Eddie snatched up the 25 year old star and enjoyed one of the best 10 year stretches from a single player in any fantasy sport. Seven all star appearances, 5 times in the top 5 of MVP voting, and back to back MVP wins in 2012 and 2013, culminating in a god-damn-triple-crown. It wasn't until 3 years after the triple crown that Eddie and Miggy were able to hoist a Franchise Championship, but after 8 years together, they got it done. In the ten years of ownership, Eddie only made the playoffs three times, but after 2015's championship, I don't think he would do anything different. Cabrera was never dropped or traded, and went to Richie this year with the last pick of round 4. 

 And now for the rest of them, here's my annual, 'How We Got Our Keepers' write-up that's so fun to write, and hopefully to read. It always serves as a great testament to our league's longevity and continuity, and is part of the reason I will never vote to add keeper rules or keeper values. It's fantasy, you get attached to your guys, when you get a Longoria, or a Braun, or a Miggy, it's a better experience; that's your guy, in some cases since high school, and you get to decide when and how things end.

The first part is a graphic which shows every keeper in the history of the league. I didn't list them by manager, but by organization, so Fitz/Dan, Zhou/Bart/Eric, Zack/Richie, Keeves/Scanlon are in there as well as the original 7 plus Andy (Pru wasn't around long enough to have keepers). I think it's a cool way to check out your team history. 

I tried to colorize them by whatever team the player was on at the time. If the colors look weird, keep in mind I'm slightly colorblind.

Now onto some of the more numbers based analysis. It's got all the usual categories, plus an early mock of round 1 of Sunday's draft!

The longest Kept Players in League history (maximum 10 years):
AKA, the guys you've almost never been able to draft in Franchise history

1. Miguel Cabrera - 9 seasons, all with Eddie
2. Ryan Braun - 8 seasons, one month with Pflanz, the rest with Mark
3. Joey Votto - 8 seasons, all with Pflanz
4. Evan Longoria - 7 seasons, all with Russ
5. Hanley Ramirez - 7 seasons, 2 with Zack, 5 with John
6. Felix Hernandez - 7 seasons, 1 with Dan, 1 with Mark, 1 with Richie, and two different stints with Keeves/Scanlon spanning 4 years (5 different owners have kept Felix Hernandez)
7. Jose Bautista - 7 seasons, all with Andy
8. Carlos Gonzalez - 7 seasons, all with Russ
9. Andrew McCutchen - 7 seasons, 3 with Keeves, 3 with Richie, 1 with Eddie
10. Giancarlo Stanton - 7 seasons, all with Dan
12. Clayton Kershaw - 7 seasons, 2 wih Roland/Eric, 2 with Brad, 2 with John, 1 with Richie
13. Robinson Cano - 6 seasons, 4 with Russ, 2 with Mark
14. Troy Tulowitzki - 6 seasons, 5 with John, 1 with Brad
15. Dustin Pedroia - 6 seasons, 3 with Greg, 3 with Zack
16. Albert Pujols - 6 seasons, 5 with Russ, 1 with Pflanz
17. David Wright - 6 seasons, 5 with Brad, 1 with Richie
18. Jacoby Ellsbury - 6 seasons, all with Fitz/Dan
10. Prince Fielder - 6 seasons, 4 with Brad, 1 with Eric, 1 with Greg
20. Max Scherzer - 6 seasons, 1 with Richie, 5 with Brad
21. Bryce Harper - 6 seasons, all with Greg
22. Mike Trout - 6 seasons, all with John
23. Zack Greinke - 6 seasons, all with Andy (but non-consecutive)
24. Edwin Encarnacion - 6 seasons, 1 with Brad, 5 with Eric
25. Chris Sale - 6 seasons, 2 with Eddie, 4 with Richie
26. Justin Verlander - 6 seasons, 5 with Eddie, 1 with John
27. Madison Bumgarner - 6 seasons, 1 with Greg, 5 with Pflanz






Each team's longest kept player (all-time):

Perk - Miguel Cabrera (2009-2017)
Pflanz - Joey Votto (2011-present)
Mark - Ryan Braun (2009-2016)
Dan - Giancarlo Stanton (2012-present)
Russ - Evan Longoria (2009-2015) & Carlos Gonzalez (2011-2017)
Andy - Jose Bautista (2011-2017)
Greg - Bryce Harper (2013-present)
John - Mike Trout (2013-present)
Brad - Max Scherzer (2014-present) & David Wright (2009-2013)
Eric - Edwin Encarnacion (2014-present)
Richie - Chris Sale (2015-present)*
Scanlon - Felix Hernandez (2011-2013; 2015)*

*No one has stayed on either team for more than 4 years, must be the facilities/ownership changes


Teams with highest percentage of seasons kept (through 10 years - includes repeat players)
1. New York Yankees...5.86% (Cano, A-Rod, Ellsbury, CC, Teixeira, Soriano, Granderson, Chapman, Sanchez, Judge, Stanton)
2. Boston Red Sox....5.86% (Youk, Pedroia, Betts, Bogey, Ellsbury, Gonzalez, Hanley, Sale, Devers, Benintendi)
3. Washington Nationals....5.63% (Strasburg, Harper, Turner, Morse, Scherzer, Murphy, Zimmerman, Desmond)
4. Detroit Tigers...5.63% (Cabrera, Verlander, Kinsler, Scherzer, Fielder)
5. Los Angeles Dodgers...5.18% (Kemp, Greinke, Puig, Hanley, Ethier, Gonzalez, Kershaw, Seager, Bellinger)



Teams with lowest number of seasons kept (through 10 years)
1. Kansas City Royals....0.25% (Billy Butler)
2. San Diego Padres......0.25% (Jake Peavy)
3. Oakland Athletics.....0.51% (Josh Donaldson, Sonny Gray)
4. Atlanta Braves.............2.25% (Freeman, Upton, Teheran, McCann, Acuna)
5.Baltimore Orioles....2.25% (Jones, Machado, Davis, Cruz)


Longest Current Tenured Keepers (with one team)
1. Joey Votto - 8 years
2. Giancarlo Stanton - 7 years 
T3. Bryce Harper - 6 years 
T3. Mike Trout - 6 years

Many tied at 5




2018 Keeper Breakdown

Draft: 52% (down from 58% last year)
Trade: 29% (same as last 2 years, 29%)
Free Agency: 15% (up from 8% last year)
Keeper Draft: 4% (down from 6% last year)

Details Below:

Greg
DRAFT: Harper ('12, pick 126), Marte ('14, pick 18), Dozier ('16, pick 28), Strasburg ('17, Pick 14)

Andy
DRAFT: Greinke ('13, pick 36), Rizzo ('14, pick 35), Springer ('17, pick 1)
FREE AGENCY: Donaldson ('13, April)

Scanlon
DRAFT: Lindor ('16, pick 43), Turner ('16, pick 79)
TRADE: Arenado ('15, from Richie), Blackmon ('15, from Eric)

Pflanz
DRAFT: Votto ('10, pick 19), Betts ('15, pick 69)
TRADE: Bumgarner ('13, from Greg)
FREE AGENCY: Machado ('14, September)

Dan
DRAFT: Stanton ('11, pick 13), Freeman ('16, pick 23), Bogaerts ('15, pick 130)
FREE AGENCY: Devers ('17, July) 

John
DRAFT: Verlander ('17, pick 2), Ramirez ('17, pick 63)
TRADE: Trout ('12, from Greg), Bryant ('17, from Richie)

Brad
DRAFT: Murphy ('16, pick 94), Lester ('17, pick 5)
KEEPER DRAFT:  Scherzer ('14, pick 8)
TRADE: Yelich ('14, from Russ)

Mark
DRAFT: Abreu ('14, pick 60), Benintendi ('17, pick 29)
TRADE: DeGrom ('17, from Eddie)
FREE AGENCY: Bellinger ('17, April)

Russ
DRAFT:  Moncada ('17, pick 82)
TRADE: Kluber ('16, from John), Goldschmidt ('14, from Mark), Darvish ('17, from Greg

Perk
DRAFT: Pollock ('15, pick 174), Odor ('17, pick 20)
TRADE: Syndergaard ('17, from Mark)
FREE AGENCY: Hoskins ('17, July)

Eric
DRAFT: Altuve ('14, pick 48), Seager ('16, pick 20)
KEEPER DRAFT: Encarnacion ('14, pick 13)
FREE AGENCY:  Judge ('17, April)

Richie 
TRADE: Sale ('14, from Perk), Kershaw ('17, from John), Correa ('17, from John)
FREE AGENCY: Acuna ('17, September)


Maybe a preview coming this weekend, maybe not.

Trade Deadline Recap

Hey guys, I'm back for a little mid season check-in and trade recap. This deadline was different from usual, we saw only 13 deals (usually we get 20+), but some of them were massive.

I think the market did a lot of self-correcting and that played in to the trades. When the first few trades were made, they favored the sellers (as they typically do), but as the weekend progressed, it shifted to a buyer's market all the way. The prices for players on Sunday night was CHEAP. This is definitely due to the fact that there were only 6 buyers (usually we have at least 7), and some of the buyers were very quiet (Pflanz, Andy).

Those of us who were overeager (Mark and myself), may have overspent early, but were able to course correct and make some favorable deals eventually. Fun deadline.

Quick check-in on my preseason predictions:

12. Greg - Saw this coming 11. Richie - Totally outperforming my prediction, might make playoffs 10. Eric - Saw this coming 9. Brad - Still has a very outside shot, but right where I expected him. 8. Dan - Needed a lot to go right, it didn't 7. Pflanz - Right on track 6. Russ - Doing slightly better than expected 5. Mark - Right on track 4. Andy - Doing even better than my lofty expectations 3. Eddie - WOW! he's in 10th now. How did this happen?? He had so many picks! 2. John - Easy pick, nailed it 1. Scanlon - Easy pick, nailed it

Now for some trade deadline grades...

Team: IV Rings

Buyer/Seller: Buyer

What He Needed: Mark’s offense has not been good so far, in fact, it’s the worst of this year’s crop of buyers, winning just 44% of his offensive category match-ups this season. And the numbers show he actually might have overachieved in the first half. He ranks 11th in runs, 9th in homers, 8th in net steals, and dead last in OBP. Cody Bellinger is the only hitter he has who is ranked in the top 95.

His pitching is the reason he’s still in the playoff picture, winning 58% of those categories. His ratios are excellent, he’s top 3 in each, and he’s second in saves. Mark had 3 solid closers and good starters, even without centerpiece Noah Syndergaard.

He needed R, HR, NSB, OBP

What He Got: Mark broke things open with the first two trades of the deadline, first, he grabbed Aaron Nola, for basically a 3rd and a 7th. His second deal involved shipping away a first rounder for Jimmy Nelson and Felipe Rivero. Mark’s third and final deal was a true blockbuster, and a great deal for him, sending injured franchise keeper Noah Syndergaard and a 5th rounder to Eddie for Jacob DeGrom, Buster Posey, and Michael Brantley just before the trade deadline clock struck midnight.

Deadline Grade: C

He spent a lot of capital to make one of the best pitching staffs even better, but an already below average offense took a back seat.  The second deal was a headscratcher. Rivero has been excellent and Nelson had been solid (I guess) for the 3 days that Greg owned him, but overall this price was WAYY too high when we saw the other types of players going for first rounders. Losing a keeper as good as Syndergaard hurts, but DeGrom is a very small step down, and came at a pretty cheap price. Basically he gave up an injured keeper, a 1st, 3rd, 5th, and 7th for a great new shiny pitching staff that he didn’t totally need, and a couple of underperforming but high potential hitters where he needed more solid contributions.

Team: Cutch Me if Yu Can

Buyer/Seller: Buyer

What He Needed: My team has been overachieving all season, mostly thanks to Paul Goldschmidt and Corey Kluber. I was 10th in homers and OBP, and 8th in RBI. Really bad offensive numbers. Of course, Billy Hamilton has kept me at #1 in steals, and somehow I’m still winning 52% of offensive categories.

On the pitching side, I was also overacheiving, ranking 8th in ERA, 10th in whip, and 10th in QS, saves only by my #1 rank in K/9 (kluber +Chapman) and 5th rank in saves. So needed some better starters to get those QS and hopefully lower those ratios!

He needed HR, RBI, OBP, QS, ERA, WHIP

What He Got: A very active trade deadline for the Commish saw 4 deals made, most of any buyer. I started by getting Yu Darvish and Salvador Perez for a 1st and a 5th rounder. At this point I’m feeling like I may have overpaid a little bit. Full disclosure, I was going really hard after DeGrom at this point, but Eddie was weighing options and I was getting impatient. I was banking on the fact that Yu would be traded to an NL team and get a fresh start, because he has the talent to dominate. Perez was a great throw in considering the lack of catcher talent out there. So I gave up a lot but felt like I was getting QS, ratios, and offense out of it so it fulfilled a need. I still needed offensive upgrades so the next deal was an easy one, the GM rapport between my org and Brad’s really couldn’t be better. Seems like we usually make a deal every season, so when Brad had told me he wasn’t getting any bites on Upton, so I made him a juicy 3rd rounder offer and bolstered my power numbers for the rest of the season. At this point I still wanted one more starting pitcher, and maybe another bat in order to actually contend, but thought the price on Alex Wood was a little bit too high, and I had just been outbid for another solid bat in Rendon, so I went back to Perk and started working on Cutch. In the meantime I was able to flip a mid round pick to Brad for Sonny Gray (another player for whom I was banking on a change of scenery at the deadline being the trick for a return to Cy Young form). Finally, after quite the negotiation from both sides, I was able to flip my 2nd and 6th round pick (with an 8th round pick swap) for Cutch. He hit 3 homers that day. That’s all the validation I needed.  

Deadline Grade: A-

I really think I covered my needs. Got more power and OBP with Cutch, Upton, and Perez. I secured 5 outfielders so Billy Hamilton doesn’t NEED to be an everyday starter (he kills my OBP). I locked down 2 big arms with high potential, and I grabbed the Tigers new closer off FA, who’s already banked 3 saves in 3 days. I love my team going into the playoffs.

Team: The SevenYear Yelich

Buyer/Seller: Seller

What He Needed: Draft Picks

What He Got: Brad made 4 deals, more than any seller, and came away with a pretty good haul. A third rounder for Upton, a 3rd and an 8th for Jake Lamb, a 9th for Sonny Gray, and a 3rd and a 10th for Marwin Gonzalez. Brad will have 6 picks in the first 3 rounds of next year’s draft to go along with Scherzer, Murphy, Yelich and….hmmm maybe he should have held onto one of those guys….

Deadline Grade: B-

It’s tough to be a seller and not get any additional picks in the first 2 rounds, but he’s got 4 picks in the third, so didn’t come away with nothing. I’m curious to like they would have been pretty perfect...

Team: BeefWellington

Buyer/Seller: Seller

What He Needed: Draft Picks

What He Got: A first rounder for Darvish and Perez, AND a first rounder for a closer he picked up in May and a starter he picked up 3 days before the deadline. THAT is how you sell.

Deadline Grade: A

I loved Greg’s deadline. He made just 2 trades, both for 1st rounders, and still has Harper, Strasburg, and a few others in keeper consideration. I think he got the better of both deals with Mark and Russ. I would say that he left too much talent on his team, and should have tried to unload more for picks, but by the end of the deadline it really seemed like a buyer’s market and the supply was beating the demand, so I can’t knock him at all.

Team: Lindor Extra Dark

Buyer/Seller: Buyer

What He Needed: The best team in the league by a good margin, Jeremy could have stayed put and still been in great shape to win the title (a la Perk in 2015). Winning 63% of offensive categories and 63% of pitching categories, he had no glaring needs.Jeremy’s offense has been excellent, top 5 in everything. His pitching has been excellent, top 5 in everything.

No specific needs, just pile-on.

What He Got: I never actually expected him to stand pat and not make deals, that’s just not in his nature. Scanlon ended up securing 3 big pieces for his championship run. First he plucked Osuna from Perk for a 2nd rounder, to keep his stranglehold on the saves category. Then he flipped a first rounder for Alex Wood, another great arm to add to his rotation. Finally, he sent his 3rd and 8th rounder for a bat, Brad’s Jake Lamb.

Deadline Grade: B-

He didn’t need to have a good deadline to win a title, but he still did. The league usually becomes a massive arms race, and if you’re not sporting all-stars at every position you might fall behind. His biggest threat to the title (John) made his team better, and Jeremy responded well. He probably overpaid for all 3 guys, but he could afford to, he didn’t have to sacrifice much because his team was already good enough.

Team: The Young Guns?

Buyer/Seller: Buyer

What He Needed: John is currently in second place. He ranks in the top 3 of EVERY offensive category, and has won 60% of offensive matchups. Same situation as Jeremy, there’s no glaring needs here.

His pitching is not quite as strong, but he is still winning 52% of categories. He’s top 3 in ERA, QS, and saves, but 7th in whip, and 8th in k/9.

He needed WHIP, K/9

What He Got: First he made a blockbuster first round deal for Anthony Rendon. Then he made a super mega crazy blockbuster the likes of which this league has never seen. What a fucking trade. 13 players, no draft picks, 2 of the top names in baseball. John sent away the injured Carlos Correa and injured Clayton Kershaw (the player he worked so damn hard to get once upon a time) to Richie (who has been working hard to get him for almost as long) in exchange for reigning MVP Kris Bryant. HUGE deal. Rich Hill, Trevor Story, Greg Holland, and Marcell Ozuna also come back John’s way, which should help pretty much everywhere.

Deadline Grade: A

Really ballsy deadline from Johnny, cutting ties with two of the better keepers in the league to increase his short term chances. I think it’s a move he should have made, but I never thought he would actually do it. The offensive has been upgraded, and Hill and Holland will help those ratios too. The Rendon deal is gravy, and John keeps his 2nd, 3rd, 4th 5th pick in the draft...etc.

Team: Super Seager Bros.

Buyer/Seller: Seller

What He Needed: Draft Picks

What He Got: Nothin’

Deadline Grade: F

Tough break for Eric, he just didn’t have the assets. His biggest chips were Domingo Santana and Brad Hand, who was in heavy trade rumors and expected to be a setup man somewhere. Santana has been solid, and Eric would have taken pennies on the dollar (as he should have in the current market), but still no buyers appeared.

Team: Kids Back

Buyer/Seller: Buyer

What He Needed: 4th in runs, 1st in homers, 3rd in rbi, 5th in obp, last in steals. 59%, 67% without steals. 7th in ERA, 4th in whip, 11th in k/9, 6th in QS, 4th in sv. 51% pitching

What He Got: Nothin’

Deadline Grade: D

I was expecting some sort of last minute deal as is customary with Andy at the deadline, but crickets from the Musto camp. He certainly could have used help with steals and pitching. His offense is still dominant, but the other buyers are showing off much more complete teams.

Team: All Betts are off

Buyer/Seller: Buyer

What He Needed: The defending champ;s offense has been pretty good this year numbers wise, but it’s only winning him 49% of offensive categories.

His pitching rations have been good, top 5 in each, but he’s dead last in QS and 7th in saves. He’s tied for the last playoff spot but there were really only 6 buyers, so his path could be clear if he made a few big deals.

He needed OBP, NSV, QS

What He Got: It was a very quiet deadline for typically one of the most active trade deadline movers. He made just one deal, late on a sunday, shipping a 3rd rounder for Marwin Gonzalez.

Deadline Grade: C

Gonzalez is a great all around player and that position eligibility is tantalizing (Pflanz was getting prime Zobrist flashbacks without a doubt), but he needed more than this to contend for a repeat. This smelled of concession.

Team: Ozuna Matata

Buyer/Seller: Seller?

What He Needed: winning 40% of offensive categories, his offense has been bad all year, the pitching has been better, but none of it is title caliber. Kudos to Richie for making it this far with a team I predicted to finish in 11th.

He needed to decide what the heck he was doing.

What He Got: Typically an all-in or all-out guy, I was shocked to hear he wasn’t going in either direction. He wanted to stand pat unless a keeper deal came along. And one did. As outlined above, it was the biggest deal in Franchise history, involving 13 players, and sending 2 keepers back Richie’s way.

Deadline Grade: B+

Sale, Correa, Kershaw, and all of his draft picks make him an immediate 2018 title threat. He built for the future without exchanging a single draft pick. And I like the deal from his perspective. On top of that, he still has a shot at the playoffs this year, and who knows what will happen once you’re invited to the dance.

Team: Gettin’ Miggy With It

Buyer/Seller: Seller

What He Needed: Draft Picks

What He Got: He flipped McCutchen into a 2nd and a 6th, he traded Osuna to Jeremy for a 2nd, and secured a 5th rounder and future keeper Noah Syndergaard for DeGrom, Brantley, and Posey.

Deadline Grade:  D

Perk was supposed to be a contender this year. He sold big last season and came into the season as one of my final 4 picks, but somehow he turned all those juicy picks into a crappy team, currently sitting in 10th. In his words, he got too many high draft picks last year, and not enough mid round picks. I’m not sure I follow the logic completely, but whatever works for ya.

This year, he kinda shipped everyone off. Like, I don’t know who he is expecting to keep besides Thor. Bold strategy Cotton.

Team: Xander the Great

Buyer/Seller: Seller

What He Needed: Draft Picks

What He Got: Sent Rendon away for a 1st and a 3rd, set Wood away for a 1st and a 7th, sent Nola for a 3rd and an 8th

Deadline Grade: A-

Dan played things very well at the deadline, and of all the sellers, he probably got the best haul (picks-wise). Not sure who he’s planning to keep after shipping off some talented young players, but 8 picks in the first 3 rounds should make up for that. As with Greg,  my only negative was how much mid-tier talent is still left on the roster, but it wasn’t like he wasn’t trying to sell, the market just wasn’t there. Great job getting all those picks in a buyers market.