One of the toughest things to do in fantasy sports is pull off a good trade. If you target slumping players most managers will think that you're trying to buy low and would rather eat crow than give you a discount (try getting Hanley Ramirez on the cheap and you'll see what I mean.) On the other hand, trying to acquire a surging player like Sam Fuld or Alex Gordon likely means overpaying for his true talent as a manager is likely going to have a hard time parting with his most productive player. It's really just simply psychology. Slumping players that we payed a lot for are assumed to be just suffering from bad luck while cheap players who are lighting it up are assumed to have really made progress in their development. Either way, it's hard to find bargains.
So where can we profit when looking for a trade? Well, here are a couple of thoughts. Hint: the key is to make them think they're selling high.
Rajai Davis - The Toronto speedster was outright dropped in some leagues after his ankle injury in the early goings. Those who worried that his speed might suffer were proven seriously wrong in the past three games as Davis has attempted six steals and been successful five times. I think he's fine. I've already talked about the new running philosophy in Toronto and with his hot start back bank on 40+ steals I wouldn't be surprised to see Davis finish with fifty or more. And the best part? You can probably get him. Five steals in three days isn't something that the average manager will think repeatable so make an offer and he'll think he's selling high. He's got more power and better on-base skills that Juan Pierre so even if you think you really are overpaying, you're probably not.
Bud Norris - How a man that carries a career K/9 9.37 of is only 29% owned in Yahoo leagues is beyond me. Yes he plays for the Astros so W's will be hard to come by and yes his career BB/9 is 4.19 but K's are really the name of the game in most fantasy formats. Add in the fact that he's only walking 3.03 per nine this year and that his first pitch strike percentage is up quite a bit and you have the makings of a seriously valuable fantasy starter. Make an offer now and you might be able to get him from that manager who just picked him up off the wire. If you really can't get him then consider making an offer for Brandon Morrow who's basically Norris with more hype.
Trading is tough. As part of my shameless plug series I would recommend posting potential offers over at TradeBashers.com. You input the players your thinking of and the league type and the community votes on which side of the trade they'd prefer. So if you're thinking of offering your Maicer Izturis for his Bud Norris (a steal in my opinion) then you will get back a report stating exactly what percentage of managers prefer the Izturis side or the Norris side. So going into the official negotiation you know whether you're offering something he's likely to react favorably to or not. Similarly, you can run his offers by TradeBashers.com to see whether they are reasonable or not.
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