Is Lucas Duda too much to offer for Randal Grichuk? #tradetalk
@DrewCasper

I wrote about Grichuk a few days back and lamented the lack of patience people were having with him this season in is it Time to Drop Randal Grichuk?  Obviously I would like to have him on my squad despite his awful start.

Who is Duda? The 30 year old lefty swinger of the Mets is coming off seasons of 30 and 27 home runs. The last two seasons he’s also averaged 83 RBI and 71 runs scored. He’s also gotten on base at a .351 pace. That’s all really good. The bad follows. He’s a career .247 batter who has hit .253 and .244 the last two seasons. That stinks. Though he hit .285 last season with seven homers in 123 at-bats against lefties, he still owns a .227/.299/.366 slash line against portsiders, and that really stinks. I need more than one season of good to erase the taste of that in my mouth. Alas, there are still concern there, and Duda doesn’t substantially stand out in any way from guys like Chris Carter, mark Teixeira, Pedro Alvarez, Mark Trumbo etc. There are a lot of power bats at first base that bring with them batting average downside.

For me Duda isn’t too much to offer for Grichuk. At the same time, I don’t know who you would turn to at first base, if you start 3/5 outfielders or how big your league is? Regardless, the deal seems fair to me.

Trade Trevor Story for Jacoby Ellsbury in a 12-team, H2H, 7x7 league?
@mrantasyboy

Everyone knows my thoughts on Story by now. As for would I do this deal…

Tough call.

The reason I say that is two-fold.

First, I’ve probably been asked about 500 times (no exaggeration) what to do with Story. I’ve seen some wild returns that folks are getting for Story. Note that better players than Ellsbury are being offered in leagues all across the country for Story.

Second, what is Ellsbury at this point? A 32 year old outfielder, Ellsbury has seen his steal total decline from 52 to 39 to 21 the last three seasons. He’s also seen his batting average dip from .298 to .271 and .257. He’s also failed to record 10 homers in three of the last four seasons. He’s failed to record 55 RBI in three of four seasons, and he’s averaged 69 runs the past two years. There’s also the fact he’s appeared in 135 games just once in, you guessed it, four years.

You can do the deal. I wouldn’t say it’s a bad one. At the same time people are getting more for Story, and Ellsbury is about as unsteady as any potentially upper-end option out there.

Drop Ben Zobrist, Addison Russell or Scooter Gennett for Trea Turner stash? Elvis Andrus and Russell are my primary SS/2B. 
@MaddenCircledMe

Why on earth would you drop Zobrist? I will just move on without comment cause he’s obviously a hold.

Russell is an elite talent looking to find his footing. I know he’s hitting .160 on the young season, but I don’t care. What I do care about is that he’s hit 14 homers, with 59 RBI, 64 runs and four steals through 149 big league games. He’s going to play daily, qualifies at second base and shortstop, and is… an elite talent. Hold him.

You could drop Scooter, a solid, but limited player, for Turner. Love the name, but not necessarily the game. Gennett is off to a smoking start hitting .409 through seven games, but just look at his track record. We know who Gennett is. He will produce in batting average, the mark is .290 for his career, but that’s all you’re gonna get. He’s hit 24 homers and stolen nine bases over 327 games, and his .322 on-base percentage is barely better than average. He’s a strong league only play, but nothing more than a bench option in mixed leagues unless injuries strike.

As for Turner, there is nothing not to like other than… he’s in the minors. We have no idea when he will be called up. Might be in a week, a month, two months, three… we just don’t know. Through nine at-bats at Triple-A he’s batting .667 and has hit .326 for his career, and he’s also the owner of 55 steals his last 189 games. He’s a polished hitter with ample speed.

You can drop Gennett for Turner and hope that the Nationals make the move to their uber-prospect soon.

Drop Jeremy Jeffress, Luke Gregerson or Shawn Tolleson for Kevin Jepsen?
@D_Russell12

First, NEVER EVER drop a closer. Period. End of story.

Second, as of this writing we don’t know how long Glen Perkins (shoulder) will be out. We’re not certain, though it seems likely, that Jepsen will close. For more on this situation see my Video Report.

You can add Jepsen, absolutely, but not at the cost of the three closers you listed.

Drop Mallex Smith for Yasmani Grandal or Wilson Ramos? Got OF depth and Russell Martin is struggling.
@blondebobsaget

I broke down Smith and his talent in this Daily Trends article. My question to you… why on earth would you be dropping a guy you added less than a week ago? Nonsensical to me.

Second, it hasn’t even been two weeks that we’ve played official baseball, right? If you believed in Martin three weeks ago why are you now willing to drop Martin after seven games? Also nonsensical to me.

Third, Martin was two weeks ago, and still is now, the best catching option of this trio for 2016. Ramos doesn’t hit enough fly balls (his 27.3 percent career fly ball rate is very low), and Grandal cannot seem to stay healthy. Not saying Martin will repeat last year’s numbers (23 HR, 77 RBI, 76 Runs), he won’t, but he’s still in a great lineup, in a good ballpark, and has the best track record of success of the trio.

Dump Kevin Pillar for Mallex Smith?
@WendalsBlues

Why on earth would you drop Pillar? Here’s why I say that.

1 – Pillar stole 25 bases, scored 76 runs and racked up 628 plate appearances last season.

2 – Pillar is the leadoff hitter for the best offense in baseball.

3 – Smith is a rookie with a handful of at-bats.

4 – It’s completely unknown if the Braves will keep Smith around in a couple of weeks when Ender Inciarte returns.

Don’t know how you could drop Pillar to add the speedster of the Braves.

 

Ray Flowers can be heard Monday through Friday, 7 PM EDT and Friday on SiriusXM Fantasy Sports Radio (Sirius 210, XM 87). You can also hear Ray Sunday nights at 6 PM on the channel talking fantasy sports. Follow Ray’s work at Fantasy Alarm and on Twitter (@baseballguys).