The trading deadline has dealt kindly with me. First, I gambled that nothing of significance would be done before my AL-only transaction week ended (Sunday July 29th) and took a $10 FAAB bid on Orioles' reliever Danys Baez. I chose Baez based upon the reasons I have alit upon recently namely his $19MM contract. Friday's announcement that manager Dave Trembley would move the previously-successful Jamie Walker and Chad Bradford from the 9th inning to the 7th and 8th innings made a winner out of that FAAB decision.
On Tuesday with bidding for Jarrod Saltalamacchia occuring on Wednesday, I took a FAAB gamble on Rangers reliever C.J. Wilson based on the facts he closed Tuesday's game, had expressed his interest in closing since the off-season, and that the reports out of Texas had Joaquin Benoit in the role. Wilson closed a game the next night and made my FAAB gamble a winner.
Also, I anxiously refreshed all the baseball sites I visit to see if the Tampa Bay Devil Rays dealt their closer Al Reyes, who happened also to be the closer on my AL-only team. When the Mariners and Devil Rays were unable to work out a deal, I had essentially added a closer as I fully expected Reyes to be dealt.
The trifecta was completed on the July 31st trading deadline when Octavio Dotel to the Braves. This elevated Joakim Soria back to the role he so ably held during Dotel's early season D.L. stint. With Zach Greinke giving-up five earned runs without retiring a batter in yesterday's blowout to the Yankees, Soria looks locked into the job for the remainder of the season.
With this wealth of closers - all under $10 and in an AL-only keeper league, I decided to deal one of them. (FWIW, I have Joel Zumaya on the D.L. also) I checked the standings in Saves and noted every team is bunched in the 30-40 area thus making the addition of a closer more valuable for this season to any of those teams still in the race for the 2007 crown.
I chose to deal $10 Danys Baez and C Adam Melhuse to the second-place team for $27 Jarrod Saltalamacchia and a DL'ed Kameron Loe. (Salty needs to be protected next draft or I pay a $5 penalty at the draft i.e. others teams have $260 to spend and I will have just $255) I am currently in 7th place with 51.5 points, the leader has 73 and the Baez team has 71.5. In Saves, I have 33 and 9 points, and Baez's new owner has 32 and 6 points. The category leader has 43.
Was it a good gamble