Trade help

[Red Leader]

I was offered this trade and wanted your opinions:

I trade: SP Mike Mussina + OF Geoff Jenkins

I get: SP Jason Schmidt + OF Richard Hidalgo

I just read this morning that Schmidt is scheduled to make his first start April 16th vs LA if an 80 pitch outing goes well in Single A on Saturday. If he has any problems he would be pushed back to April 21 vs SD.

Mussina has pitched like crap his first 2 starts. I know he'll improve and put up good stats, but I hate him and refuse to root for him, therefore, I want to trade him and get him off my team. Problem is, with two bad starts no one will give me fair value for him and I'd hate to wait until he turns it around to trade him.

What do you think?

[westofyou]

Health is a reason to keep Mussina, the season is long and Schmidt is flagged RED by Will Carroll and Mussina GREEN.

"Yes, there are other players on the Giants. Some of them even have injury concerns. With Stan Conte leading the medical team, don't expect the flukish injury results of last season to recur, but he's going to have to work hard with this bunch. The pitching staff is the biggest concern, with Jason Schmidt coming back off of elbow surgery. Schmidt should be OK and the early results are good, but he won't be "full go" on Opening Day. Expect a slower start, and enough risk factors to net him a red light. "

You will be trading an injury risk in Jenkins, but also getting a better offensive player who looks to be healthier too. If your league charts WINS on the pitcher side remember that Mussina will most likely get better offensive support than Schmidt and if Bonds gets hurt Schmidt could take a big hit in the WINS column

[Red Leader]

westofyou. Our league counts W, L, CG, SV, HR, K, ERA and WHIP. I would say that Schmidt might not post as many K's as Mussina, but Mussina has only posted 3 K's in 2 starts so far, and is pitching on an injured ankle. That may heal soon enough, but I still don't like him. I think I'm willing to take the chance on Schmidt. He was throwing 96-97 in a mound session last week and didn't have any soreness afterwards. That's a good sign, no? He may not have the "feel" for his offspeed stuff and as a result may start a little slow, but he may hit full stride at about the same time Mussina gets over the ankle injury. As for Schmidt having arm problems down the road this year, I agree, the risk is high, but I think Mussina will continue to struggle as well. He's got some big games coming up and has to face offenses like BOS, TOR, and BAL frequently. I think he continues to get pounded the rest of this month, and then I'll never be able to trade him...

[Red Leader]

Another offer being tossed around:

SP Mike Mussina and OF Geoff Jenkins
for
SP Kevin Brown and OF Corey Patterson

but he is trying to talk me into taking Kevin Millwood instead of Brown, not sure I want Millwood over Mussina. I don't like Millwood too much either...

[Johnny Footstool]

If all 4 players were guaranteed good health this year, Schmidt + Hidalgo is a better package than Mussina + Jenkins. However, WOY's comments about health are dead-on. Schmidt is more of a gamble than Mussina.

If your pitching staff is solid beyond Mussina, but your offense could use an upgrade, you should do the trade. However, if your pitching staff is full of question marks, you don't need to add yet another question mark (Schmidt's health) to the mix.