I'm Absolutely Stuck!!! HELP!?

Question

C- AJ Pierzynski

1B- Mike Jacobs

2B- Dan Uggla

3B- Joe Crede

SS- Miguel Tejada

OF- Carlos Beltran

OF- Jason Bay

OF- Shane Victorino

UTIL- Willy Taveras

BN- Jay Bruce

BN- Mark Reynolds

BN- Marcus Thames

DL- Alfonso Soriano

DL- Carlos Pena

SP- Kyle Lohse

SP- Vincent Padilla

SP- Todd Wellenmeyer

RP- Bobby Jenks

RP- Todd Jones

P- John Rauch

P- Carlos Marmol

BN- Jonathan Sanchez

BN- Justin Masterson

DL- Chien-Ming Wang

So that's my squad in my 12 team roto league. Problem is, I've been stuck in 6th place ALL YEAR!!! I've got a few guys that are going to come off the DL soon and need to make some moves in order to cut down my roster.

Question is...

Who should I move and what should I try and get in return??? I'd just like to be able to move up the standings, even if only a spot!

Answer 1

Your starters seem pretty weak.  Maybe trade Jason Bay or Bruce and try get a good starter.

Answer 2

You're starting pitching is a bit weak, especially with Wang on the DL. You only have one noticeable pitcher, and that's Lohse. Even so, you don't have one of the 30 aces out there. Vincente Padilla has been struggling and Jonathan Sanchez can pitch, but only for strikeouts. Your offense seems pretty good, so I'd trade some position players for pitchers. Preferably an outfielder, because you can just slot in Taveras for the UTIL and Bruce from the BN. I'd try trading for Gavin Floyd, Jair Jurrgens, Zack Greinke, or someone who's an underrated pitcher.

Answer 3

I would certainly try to pull a trade involving Wang or cut him outright.  Here's the deal.  Wang is out for I believe atleast 6-8 weeks, and although he is seen as the Yankees ACE pitcher...he's not really that dominant.  He gets the benefit of some of the best run support in all of baseball which means he'll more often than not get the win even with an ERA thats frequently around 4!!  With him being out so long he wont be worth as much wins wise and therefore wont give you much for your staff.  I wouldn't carry so many offensive bench players.  Try to trade some for Starting Pitchers or a legit Power hitter who doesnt K every other at bat.  Most teams pretty much play on the same days...there's just not enough days to sub players in and out that warrant keeping so many offensive bench players.  The only reason to do so is to backup injury risk players.  Reynolds is ranked high because he's got pop, but the guy has almost K'd 100 times already this year...cut him loose!   Same with Thames!  If you are going to take a flyer on a young guy, or a "flavor of the week" guy then you should make it someone who is consistent and getting on base...dont do it just for HR's or you'll regret making that decision I promise you.  Your offense really isnt that bad, especially with Soriano in the mix.  His loss hurt bad I'm sure.  You do probably need another power hitting bat in your lineup though, but not as bad as you need ATLEAST 1 shutdown pitcher.  Try to trade a Closer and/or Jay Bruce maybe to get a nice top tier pitcher.  Maybe a Cole Hamels, Rich Harden or Dan Haren?  The downfall is your starting pitching for sure.  Also if you dont have holds you really dont have a need for Marmol even though he's been pretty good at what he does this year.  So in summary...drop your offensive bench to only 1 player MAYBE 2 and stock up some starting pitching...if nothing else works in trade then just start picking up starting pitchers who are probable to pitch each day and wait until someone sticks or hits a hot streak.