Finishing Touches
By Mike SanClemente - Managing Editor
03/03/2005
Whether you’re a contender, rebuilder, or in-between, your draft has likely gone by and you’re ready to make those last-second changes before rosters are due in a few weeks.
Well, whom to target? This is by no means a comprehensive list, but below are some shopping ideas to get you started:
Contenders:
- Damion Easley. A utility player with flexibility (though best to limit him to 2B or 1B), he slams righties and hit enough last year for Florida to get him some big-league playing time in 2006 as well.
- Orber Moreno. There are hundreds of good-card, low-inning relievers out there (OK, not hundreds, but you get the point) and Moreno is currently my favorite. An excellent card and possibly a good future as well, just 27, though he could easily start the year in AAA for the Mets. His low innings total means you won’t have to mortgage your franchise to get him.
- Salary Space. No, this isn’t a player, it’s what you might do if you’re a contender who’s loaded up on high-price, high-output players in salary leagues. Maybe you now realize you don’t need every single horse on your roster in order to reach the postseason. Could you jettison Reggie Sanders or Jon Lieber for a less-skilled but cheaper alternative and not lose much steam? Make that move, and next year you’ll be happy to have that additional cap space.
- Rookie Review. Yet another non-player – what’s the deal? The deal is for you to scan our Rookie Review even after your rookie draft, specifically combing through our “current card value” column for each team. Pick out the guys with grades of A, B, and even C. David Newhan, Mike Lamb, Carlos Almanzar, and others will come to your attention and provide an easy way for you to find a few guys to round out your playoff-bound club. And if you only need a niche player, you can even find one of them among the C’s: for example, Wilson Delgado, <200 AB, poor D, but plays SS and has the best batting average of anyone on the Mets against righties.
Rebuilders:
- Many of our earlier pieces this year have covered what rebuilders should do: Jon Skilbeck’s Bargain Hunting series could basically be plugged in right here, as well as Dave Krantz’s article on Under + Overrated Rookies, or Rick Speciale’s All-Underrated Team. Review those for more ideas.
- Therefore, I won’t go into much detail here, except that projected starting lineups might reveal a few low-priced options, such as Brady Clark, rumored to be Milwaukee’s new starting CF now that Podsednik’s gone.
In-between:
- By definition, if you’re in between the two extremes, you may not be doing much dealing by this point in the season. You’ve probably opted to hang on to a core of strong veterans, banking that they will replicate prior seasons’ results while your younger players improve in card value in 2005.
- However, your multi-faceted roster also puts you in an ideal position to keep trading, as you have both good-carded players to tempt the contenders, and some young bodies which could be peddled to a rebuilder. If your league has a late final roster date, you will be able to see position battles fought to the finish, and a quick pickup here or there might net you some gains down the line. What if Doug Glanville turns in a strong spring and Torre loves him as Bernie’s backup in CF? Glanville hasn’t hit well in a long time, but 200 AB, some steals, another 2 in CF and maybe, maybe a good platoon card could work well for you in leagues with large roster sizes.