One false move entering the league’s most hectic weekend could set a team back for years, but a key acquisition could lead your franchise to the promised land. While some front offices and major markets are always sticking their nose into each and every player on the trading block, some general managers may argue that the best deals are the one’s not made.
So no matter if Boston is expecting a Victor Martinez-like blockbuster addition or a Darren Bragg-like bust, there are always a set of rules to follow when moving personnel around.
If It Ain’t Broke, Don’t Fix It
Trades don’t have to be made, do they? Some could argue that a trade acquisition could benefit a team for the sole purpose of sparking up the clubhouse. If you want to spark up your clubhouse, keep the franchise intact and go buy a few Roman candles.Attitude Adds Up
Keep telling yourself that the implosions, ejections and dugout drama you saw on SportsDesk from Player Z all season long were a “product of the environment,” as these so-called baseball experts say. If he’s batting .300 and his team is shopping him for peanuts, what harm would it be to pick him up, clean up his attitude and have a hot bat off the bench? How about more implosions, more ejections and more drama?
Simply put, a new team or city isn’t going to mean changes for a player with attitude problems, so why shuffle your deck and unload players for the headache? What you’ll get is the same stuff, just in a different town — your town.
No Backup Plan, No Deal
Does that potential final piece of the puzzle cost your club nothing more than your veteran starting middle infielder who bats in the No. 9 slot? With a promising rookie with good numbers in the farm, it sounds like a done deal, right? Wrong. As much as a big bat or key reliever helps, reliable defense and consistency at the back of the lineup can’t be replaced.
Tossing a rookie or inexperienced bench player into the fire down the regular-season stretch may just throw a wrench in your overall playoff plans. A booted grounder here, a missed sacrifice bunt there, and it’s early tee times in October.
Wounded Warrior Warning
Injury-prone players are injured for a reason: They’re either soft, crazy or getting old. Chances are, you don’t want any of these characteristics in your locker room and lineup. So ignore those impressive numbers. It’s only a matter of time before he’s pulling this, tearing that and sitting there (on the end of the bench, that is).
Locker-Room Love
Baseball is a business, and these are professionals, but if you put two bitter rivals in one locker room, there are going to be problems. And problems spread. If Player A is hitting the cover off the ball for your rivals across town, it’s not a good idea to bring him into a clubhouse currently occupied by Pitcher B, who plunked him twice in the back and caused a bench-clearing brawl two months ago. These aren’t just any professionals — they’re professional baseball players. Big difference.Interdivision Drama
Alex Rodriguez in a Red Sox uniform.
As much as his bat would be welcomed into the Red Sox lineup each night, the thought of trying to root for a rival would sicken the fans — and even some teammates — to the point of no return. Plus, what’s worse than watching a former player drive in the winning run, strike out the side or barrel over your catcher for a tying run while wearing your rivals’ uniform?
Streaking Suspicions
Don’t be confused between a streaky hitter and a slumping hitter. Slumps are temporary, while streaky hitters fall into slumps over and over again. Is it worth taking a gamble on a player with a streaky history? It’s not worth giving up a solid role player or promising rookie for a bat that may not even show up in a quick playoff series.
Freedom Fighters
If there’s an impending free agent on the move, it’s sometimes a smart move to nab him before it’s too late. But this would-be rental player is on the move for a reason, and that reason is so his current team can steal your prospects while you walk away with a two-month rental. Very few teams can actually afford to dish out a top prospect for nothing more than a rental.
Sometimes, this player could be just what your club needs to get over that hump. But more times than not, that bushel of prospects you developed for the last few seasons is now enjoying the beginning stages of a promising young career in a different uniform. As for the renal? He’s signing a deal too heavy for your checkbook to handle this offseason.
What’s In a Name?
There’s a future Hall of Famer out there looking for a chance to win, and your team is one experienced veteran shy of a championship recipe. Problem is, this has-been hasn’t hit a solid line drive or seen the other side of 90 mph since Astroturf ruled the land.
There’s potential, and there’s washed-up potential. Chances are, if a first-ballot Hall of Famer is still playing but looking for a new home, then his new home should be a retirement home, not your cleanup spot.
Prospect Priority
There’s a reason why you traded a few studs at the deadline a few years ago to move up in the draft and nab those promising 18-year-old prospects. So please, don’t trade them away. Not at the deadline, and not in the near future.
After grooming your franchise’s top prospects, the last thing you should want to do is unload them for an older arm or bat. While the young stud may not pan out to be the Hall of Famer you envisioned him to be on draft day, at least give him a chance — there’s nothing worse than wondering what your team could have been with that blue chipper anchoring the staff or lineup.
