Trade help: Please help

[Red Leader]

O.K. Here is my current roster:

C - Varitek
1B- Klesko
2B- Durham
SS- Garciaparra
3B- Alfonzo
OF- L.Gonzalez
OF- B. Giles
OF- S. Green
UT- J. Cruz, Jr
UT- D. Lee
UT- A. Huff
Bench- K. Millar
Bench- D. Jimenez

SP- M. Prior
SP- J. Schmidt
SP- J. Vazquez
SP- K. Benson
SP- B. Myers
RP- E. Guardado
RP- K. Foulke
P- Ramon Ortiz
P- Ted Lilly
DL- Randy Johnson


O.K. I was trying to upgrade my pitching because of the loss of the Big Unit until probably mid-June.

Was offered SP Randy Wolf for SP Kris Benson and 2b/3b D'Angelo Jimenez. Is this a good trade for me?

Also, someone in my league just dropped SP Joel Pineiro. Do you think I should drop Ortiz and pick up Pineiro?

If I make the 2/1 trade above, I could pick up Pineiro without dropping anyone, would that be good. I'd essentially be getting Randy Wolf and Joel Pineiro for Kris Benson and D'Angelo Jimenez. That seems like a good trade to me.

What do you guys think I should do?

[Johnny Footstool]

With so many UT spots in your league, I don't know how important it is to keep a backup infielder like Jiminez.

I like Wolf better than Benson - more K's and more W's - but he's not going to replace Johnson.

Pinero has really struggled this year. Definitely don't drop Ortiz to pick him up. Is Gil Meche available?

I'd say do the trade for Wolf and then acquire another starter, if you can't find a 3B.

[Gus]

I would take the trade, I'm not sure how your scoring is weighted regarding wins/losses but the Phillies are beginning to jack the ball pretty good so the run support should be solid. I had Pineiro last year and personally think that would be a good pickup for you. Only down side to Pineiro is his ability to pitch after 6 innings, seems like he struggled toward the end of last season. You can always find someone to fill one of your utility spots imo.

[Red Leader]

I went through with the trade:

SP Kris Benson and 2B/3B D'Angelo Jimenez for SP Randy Wolf. Wolf pitched a CGSO in his first start on my team. I like it. The only problem is that now I have Ray Durham on the DL and no backup. I have been sending trade offers out. One manager seems interested in trading 2B Marcus Giles for 1B Aubrey Huff. Huff is leading my team in HR's with 10. If I didn't do this trade I would have to waive either Millar or Ortiz to pick up either A) Jerry Hairston, Jr, B) Michael Young, C) Adam Kennedy. I'm leaning toward Hairston as the team I'm playing has Castillo, Cameron, etc who get stolen bases, while my team as struggled with SB's lately, so I may need Hairston to pick up the slack and keep up with him in SB's. Durham will be out 3-4 weeks though, so I need a long term replacement and am not sure if Hairston is who I want long term. Not sure what to do here. I wish I would have allowed more than 1 DL spot in our league. Let me know what you guys think I should do. Our free agent list is getting slim on hitters, but there are some pitchers to be had, so I'm thinking dropping or trading Ortiz will be the least harmful as I think he can be replaced easier. Also, the manager that said that he would do the Huff - M. Giles trade said that when Durham came back from the DL we could trade back if both were healthy. Not sure how that would work out, but just thought I would throw that out there. Basically he's saying that I could "rent" Giles for 4 weeks until Durham comes back and he would "rent" Huff and we would trade back after Durham is able to play. Not sure what to do here. Should I keep Huff and pick up Hairston by waiving Ortiz, or should I trade Huff and get Giles. Please give me your opinions. Thanks.

[Redny]

I'd go with Hairston, he is always at the top of the line-up (so he will get you runs, as well as steals).

[Red Leader]

I picked up 2B Michael Young and dropped Ramon Ortiz. I am still thinking about trading Huff for Marcus Giles, but if I do, it will be in a week or so. I also plan on jumping between Young and Hairston. For instance, I will pick up Hairston this weekend when they play Tampa Bay and drop Young, who plays the Yanks. After this weekend, I will analyze their matchups and pick which one I want in the lineup. Hopefully in the next week or two, I'll get a better timeline on Durham's injury, as he was quoted as saying he'd like to cut the 3-4 week diagnosis in half and return in 2 weeks when he is eligible or close to that date. If that is the case then I can activate Durham in 2 weeks and pick up A) Josh Beckett, B) Ramon Ortiz (again), C) Johan Santana, or D) Pedro Astacio.

[Johnny Footstool]

Hairston is the man you want to replace Durham. He's putting it all together this year.