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Mike Writes...

Love your blog. First one I check every day. Anyway, I'm in a bit of turmoil over a possible trade.

League info: 18(!) team mixed sorta keeper league (with complicated keeper rules I won't get into). Head to head, weekly changes.

Scoring:

H, R, HR, RBI, SB, AVG, OBP, SLG
IP, W, L, CG, SV, HLD, K, ERA, WHIP

My team:

C - Chris Snyder
1B - Todd Helton
2B - Brian Roberts
3B - Adrian Beltre
SS - JJ Hardy
OF - Manny Ramirez
OF - Matt Kemp
OF - Jacoby Ellsbury
UTIL - James Loney

SP - Jake Peavy
SP - Hiroki Kuroda
SP - Kevin Millwood
RP - Brian Fuentes
RP - Dan Wheeler
RP - Jonathan Sanchez
P - Greg Smith
P - Armando Galarraga

BN - Milton Bradley
BN - Carlos Quentin
BN - Edwin Encarnacion
BN - Colby Rasmus
BN - Clayton Kershaw
BN - David Price

DL - Rich Harden

Which finally leads to the trade…

I give Brian Roberts and Armando Galarraga for Adam Wainwright and Dan Uggla.

Giving up B Rob would be a pretty big deal, as the B Rob/Ellsbury tandem wins me steals every week. I do like Uggla, and he does provide me with a lot more power and rbi, which I might be lacking. Wainwright looks pretty good this year, even though he is not one of "your guys". I'd like to get your thoughts on him. Do you think I should look to land someone better with Roberts, or is Uggla a worthy replacement? I do have a surplus of outfield talent. Of those, who should I shop out and who should I keep?

Other possibilities I've looked at, but not discussed serious offers for, are James Shields, Justin Verlander, Brad Penny, Zack Grienke, Chad Billingsley, Javier Vazquez, Edinson Volquez, Ervin Santana, and Matt Cain.

Both Gorzelanny and Villanueva are still out there.

Mike,

Thanks for your kind words...

Your team looks good. As far as the deal goes... Uggla's AVG is ugly and Roberts is more valuable overall. I understand you have ample steals and could use some pop, which Ugla provides. I think you could get more for Roberts, but your situation and league depth makes me wonder outside the box on this one. So making that trade wouldn't be the worst thing in the world.

Of those pitchers on the list, I'd target Verlander, Billingsley and Cain. I like Greinke, Shields and Volquez just as much, but they will cost too much because they are pitching so well right now.

Don't bother with the likes of Gorzelanny or Villanueva. It is 18 teams, so I can't visualize your waiver wire as clearly.

I'd consider replacing Milwood and Rasmus (there will be others similar to him that come up) with guys like Jo-Jo Reyes, Nick Adenhart, Garrett Olson. Those guys present some upside and with your offense, you have no use for excess OF.

I'd consider packaging Matt Kemp and Hardy for an upgrade at SS.

Add Clement to replace Snyder if at all possible. Clement could be great, if you are in a CBS league where he is C eligible.

If you could get Lincecum or Shields or a top pitcher for Manny, I'd pull the trigger. Guys like Quentin and Bradley and the rest of the crew could adequately fill in your OF on a rotational basis while removing mediocrities like Millwood and Kuroda from your lineup.