Keeper Trade Advice

[bjackson1981]

This league is a $70 salary cap auction league in which you can keep 8 players. Currently I'm holding the following and their salaries, I am the defending champ but due to contracts, I'm putting Kershaw & Trout back out there, Trout would cost me $19 to keep this year and Kershaw $16.50.

These are who I'm currently leaning on keeping.

Andrew Benintendi $2.50
Jonathan Villar $2.50
Brian Dozier $5.75
Johnny Cueto $7.25
Jon Lester $7.75
Carlos Santana $1.00
Chris Davis $3.50

So I still have 1 spot open. Now I can extend MadBum for another year but his salary would rise to $13.50 and that would leave me with only $26.25 for the draft. So you know what guys go for, Trout/Kershaw will be around $14-15 each.
So my question to the field, keep MadBum or trade him? I have 2 offers right now, 1 being for Michael Fulmer @$1.00 or I could possibly get Alex Bregman for $2.50. What are your thoughts. Another possible deal would be for Carlos Carasco @$8.50.

[Peties Army]

I have 2 thoughts on keepers

1. I will keep players if they are really good values. I have Betts at 7 dollars in a 260 cap league. There is nothing in the league I can trade him for. Not one player. To cheap, at to good of a price for a top five player. Now of course that is a rarity but I also have Freddie Freeman for 12 dollars. Now do I think Freddie Freeman is a stud? No, but I know he will go 20-25 dollars in my draft, so that 8 to 13 dollars Im saving will be huge and I have a nice starting first basemen and will give me flexibility for other players(maybe trout is 50 and now I can overpay a little cause I saved money at first).

2. I like to keep players at the values they will be at. A lot of time people think it is all about keeping the guys who are the cheapest when it reality it is about having the best players(see number 1 above). They will say "Well I can keep Neil Walker for 10 bucks cause he will go for ten bucks in the draft and Ill throw back Robinson Cano cause he will cost 35 to keep and he will go for 35 in the draft and I need him I can just pay 35 bucks." I want the best players I can get within reason of their cost. My friend has Josh Donaldson for 44 bucks to keep. He will go for between 40-47 so that is right inline with value. Im trying to trade for him and my friend doesn't understand why I would want to keep him at 44 bucks. Because I have Josh Donaldson and I don't have to worry that someone in the draft will go crazy and bid him to 48 cause they "Really like guys with bad mohawks".

So I say that cause which one is Madbum? Well we know he isn't one. You already said Trout/Kershaw go for 14/15 which,due to you guys bidding in quarters(see that question below) is actually a pretty big % of your bid. So if assume Kershaw goes for 14.50, what will other pitchers go for? If we say MadBum is the third best pitcher in the game will he go for right around 13.50 in your draft? If your answer is yes, then I would say keep him. If he would go in the 12 dollar range, Id say trade him. Id do the deal for Bergman if he isn't in the 13.50 range.

Why do you guys bid in quarter dollars like that? What a pain to keep remembering. Make the salary cap 280, multiple each players price by 4(280/70) and make it whole numbers. Save yourself the headache.