Parker was pulled in the 3rd inning without giving up a run and the 5th man in the A's rotation was optioned to the minors. Word is Parker may start Wednesday. Not sure if this would be a one-start thing or for the long term. In any case, Parker is knocking at the door. Starting against the White Sox would be a good way to begin as that lineup doesn't exactly strike fear, at least not yet.

We all know Ron Washington is a stubborn manager who resists changing his beliefs and assumptions. We also know the Rangers face a formidable challenge from the Angels and that Washington, Ranger management and fans expect the Rangers to win the division. The question of who closes may rest in the balance of those competing forces. In the meantimes, here's a chance to weigh in. Does Nathan's pedigree convince you he's the man despite two early-season blow-ups.? Has Adams been so dominating a set-up guy that he's the best option for the ninth? Or do you prefer someone else altogether?

Just held our auction for a 12-owner A.L.-only root league ($260) that allows up to 15 keepers each year but with some limiting rules:

(1) A player can be kept for only 3 years at the salary he was bought for -- either the auction price for the active roster or set prices for a subsequent 17-man reserve snake draft: The first pick is $15, picks 2-8 are $10; 9-14 ate $5 and 15-17 are $2.

(2) Before the third year of a player's contract, he can be signed to an extended contract that adds 1 or 2 years after the 3rd year. A 1 year-extension boosts salary by $5 in years 3 and 4; a 2-year extensions adds $10 in years in years 3, 4 and 5. If a player is extended before his third year, his salary counts against your $260 cap in his 3rd year even if he is rookie-eligible and on your reserve.

The rules put a premium on prospects more likely to play the current year or the following year because it's difficult to long-term a player before he has even suited up for a game or is guaranteed a starting spot. With that in mind, here's who I have:

- Matt Moore at $1 entering his 2nd year of a contract, obtained in a trade before the auction.

- Yu Darvish at $7 entering his 2nd year of his contract, obtained last August in a monthly free agent bid.

- Jesus Montero, picked in the auction for $23

- Derek Norris, picked in the auction for $1

- Tom Milone, picked in the auction for $5

- Jarod Parker, picked in the auction for $1

- Danny Hultzen,$2, entering 2nd year of his contract, obtained last July in monthly free agent bid.

- In the draft: James Paxton, Brandon Guyer, Nick Franklin, Jean Segura, Vinnie Catricula, Simon Castro, Matt Antonelli, Kelvin Herrera, Alex Wilson, Robbie Ross and Alex Hassan. (many non-prospects were taken in the reserve too -- I chose Roy Oswalt, for example, as we are eligible to take any player not signed to a NL team).

A lot of top prospects were already spoken for before the auction because our league is so deep and most of those that were not were likely more than 2 years from the majors, which makes them problematic with our keeper rules. With 12 owners, what's left of the top-100 goes pretty quickly. I was satisfied if not thrilled with my picks. Paxton and Parker have good chances to start later this year, Guyer needs the Rays not to re-sign BJ Upton, Franklin has an open path to Seattle if he plays well this year and Segura is ready to step in for the Angels if the team doesn't sign Aybar, something rumoured to be likely. Others are longer shots but were the best of what was available for prospects who are more likely get a chance to play this year or next.

So who did you get and how did your league rules shape your strategy?

Feeling pretty well today after pulling off a trade in my exceptionally deep A.L. auction keeper league.

With each of 12 teams having up to 15 keepers, there were no established closers available for the auction after Soria went down (all his possible successors but Broxton are keepers) and I had, in a $260 league, a $31 Valverde, a $1 Walden, a $1 Mike Adams and Fautino De Los Santos on my reserve.

My trading partner was knee deep in cheap starting pitching -- Holland, McCarthy, Romero, Bard and McGowan ($20 for all five) -- but had no closers.

The deal leaves me with starter Moore and Yu Darvish (whom I picked up last August) and Danny Hultzen along with a cheap Colby Lewis -- my entire pitching staff so far costs me $6. I've got a $31 Lester too but looking to package him in a trade for a decent priced Erick Aybar, as the shortstop pool is non existent and my offence is short of well-priced guys.

Moore costs me nothing this year as a rookie-eligible on my reserve and next year I could sign him for two years at $6 or three years at $11. Hultzen costs would be the same. Darvish is free this year too and would cost $7 for one more year, $12 for two years or $17 for three. Not a bad core.

With the recent acquisition of Scott and Pena, Brandon Guyer has no chance of playing time unless something changes. Pena at first means Joyce in the OF and Scott means most DH at-bats will be spoken for. You might think there were some at-bats available when a left is on the mound -- as Joyce can't hit lefties and Pena has struggled - but Guyer has shown a reverse platoon split every year but one.

Guyer turns 26 this year so his window as a prospect isn't big. Keeping him in Tampa if he plays once or twice a week won't help much with his development.

Do the Rays see Guyer as part if their future and as more than a backup? Would the Rays be comfortable trading Upton and starting Guyer? What do you think?

Thirty-day window to negotiate a deal begins now.

Whether you rank Darvish above or below Matt Moore as a prospect, there's little doubt who has more bargaining leverage.

Personally, I think it's above Texas needed to make. Their club is built top win now and that goal had been placed at risk by the Angels off-season moves. Of course, that's easy for me to say since I'm not paying what I estimate will be a total commitment of between $111 million and $126 million to sign Darvish.

As to Darvish and what how he will perform, a few points:

(1) I think too much has been made, generally, of struggles by Japanese pitchers in the MLB, first and most importantly, because the sample size of pitchers is too small. Then consider that the two most-compared pitchers in that tiny sample size, Nomo and Dice-K, had an inure history before jumping to MLB while Darvish has none.

(2) The tiny sample of Japanese pitchers is especially misleading in the case of Darvish. Dice-K is 6-feet tall. Nomo was 6' 2' Both were of typical size for a Japanese pitcher. Darvis is 6'5" with a wide frame. He is half-Iranian and his body isn't typical of Japanese pitchers. His build share a lot more in common with Justin Verlander than with Dice-K. -- both Verlander and Darvish are the same height and the latest weight I could find for Darvish is 220 -- 5 lbs less than Verlander.

(3) A link showing Darvish striking out 100+ batters: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DMkKk8s0CFI

(4) No pitcher is risk-free but I would think Darvish carries less risk than most because of his size and track record pitching without injury.

(5) I expect Darvish will establish himself as a solid #1 starter and anchor the Ranger rotation.

Darvish's agent tweeted about 30 minutes ago Darvish will be posted Thursday. While he is 26 he would qualify as a rookie this year. I think he's the best of the free agent class of pitchers this year, and while he will cost a premium with the posting system, I do expect him to be signed.

On a totally selfish note, I'm thrilled because I picked up Darvish in early-September for my very deep keeper league and as a rookie Darvish can be stashed on my reserve without any cost for the upcoming season.

I know much has been written about the dangers of banking on Japanese pitching imports. There is probably some truth to the notion that it is more difficult here to pitch on 4 days rest. But I also think the discussion has been warped by the very few imports who have come here -- a sample size that holds no statistical value.

From what I have seen of scouting reports and looking at Darvish's numbers, I expect he'll be a top-20 starter in either the A.L. or the N.L with an upside to break in to the top-10. I also expect the Yankees, Rangers or Red Sox to be the leaders in signing him.

Darvish's agent tweeted about 30 minutes ago Darvish will be posted Thursday. While he is 26 he would qualify as a rookie this year. I think he's the best of the free agent class of pitchers this year, and while he will cost a premium with the posting system, I do expect him to be signed.

On a totally selfish note, I'm thrilled because I picked up Darvish in early-September for my very deep keeper league and as a rookie Darvish can be stashed on my reserve without any cost for the upcoming season.

I know much has been written about the dangers of banking on Japanese pitching imports. There is probably some truth to the notion that it is more difficult here to pitch on 4 days rest. But I also think the discussion has been warped by the very few imports who have come here -- a sample size that holds no statistical value.

From what I have seen of scouting reports and looking at Darvish's numbers, I expect he'll be a top-20 starter in either the A.L. or the N.L with an upside to break in to the top-10. I also expect the Yankees, Rangers or Red Sox to be the leaders in signing him.

Darvish's agent tweeted about 30 minutes ago Darvish will be posted Thursday. While he is 26 he would qualify as a rookie this year. I think he's the best of the free agent class of pitchers this year, and while he will cost a premium with the posting system, I do expect him to be signed.

On a totally selfish note, I'm thrilled because I picked up Darvish in early-September for my very deep keeper league and as a rookie Darvish can be stashed on my reserve without any cost for the upcoming season.

I know much has been written about the dangers of banking on Japanese pitching imports. There is probably some truth to the notion that it is more difficult here to pitch on 4 days rest. But I also think the discussion has been warped by the very few imports who have come here -- a sample size that holds no statistical value.

From what I have seen of scouting reports and looking at Darvish's numbers, I expect he'll be a top-20 starter in either the A.L. or the N.L with an upside to break in to the top-10. I also expect the Yankees, Rangers or Red Sox to be the leaders in signing him.

Darvish's agent tweeted about 30 minutes ago Darvish will be posted Thursday. While he is 26 he would qualify as a rookie this year. I think he's the best of the free agent class of pitchers this year, and while he will cost a premium with the posting system, I do expect him to be signed.

On a totally selfish note, I'm thrilled because I picked up Darvish in early-September for my very deep keeper league and as a rookie Darvish can be stashed on my reserve without any cost for the upcoming season.

I know much has been written about the dangers of banking on Japanese pitching imports. There is probably some truth to the notion that it is more difficult here to pitch on 4 days rest. But I also think the discussion has been warped by the very few imports who have come here -- a sample size that holds no statistical value.

From what I have seen of scouting reports and looking at Darvish's numbers, I expect he'll be a top-20 starter in either the A.L. or the N.L with an upside to break in to the top-10. I also expect the Yankees, Rangers or Red Sox to be the leaders in signing him.

No, not Desmond Jennings, who has an injured finger (not serious) but Brandon Guyer, who has been absolutely raking in AAA - .318/.387/.509 with 13 SB to go along with 10 homers and 22 doubles.

It's the second Big League stint for Guyer, who homered in his first at-bat but was not up much longer as the Rays were just filling a hole. I hope this time he'll be named the starting LF as Fuld and Ruggiano have struggles overall.

Mark Ellis was hurt in Monday's game and Weeks pulled from a AAA game and promoted to the Athletics. I'm not sure the extent of Elli's hamstring injury but I suspect if Weeks plays well it may be his position to lose. As we all know Weeks biggest challenge has been staying healthy, something he's done this year with the exception of missing a few days with a minor injury. I like his combination of plate discipline, speed and ok pop for a middle infielder.

I've always liked Weeks — in my fantasy league, a very deep A.L. auction keeper league, I picked him up in our reserve draft before the 2010 season, included him in a trade that netted me Mitch Moreland and Colby Lewis, then picked him up in the 2011 reserve draft with my 5th pick, the 59th pick overall (not all our reserve picks are rookie-eligible; I haven't checked but I would guess Weeks was somewhere between the 20th and 30th minor leaguer taken in the reserve auction, noting that about another 25 minor leaguers were carryovers as keepers from the previous season).

Weeks, 24, entered Monday's action batting .321/.414/.446 with three homers, 22 RBI and nine stolen bases over his first 44 games with Triple-A Sacramento this season. He had 28 BB and 32 Ks. With his plate discipline and bit of extra-base power I expect him to hit for a decent average; if he can keep pace for 25-30 steals over a full season, that makes him a good value for deeper leagues. As he develops I could see him hitting 15 or so home runs, which would make him a more valuable fantasy commodity.

Last year I bought the hardcopy version of the prospect book and found it both useful and fun to read, but later, when the pdf-copy came out, I wished I had waited to buy it as I would have liked to have it on my laptop.

So this year I decided to wait to buy the pdf-copy, but time is running out before my various fantasy auctions -- I was wondering if anyone else was in the same boat.

I did ask John two or three weeks go about the pdf during an all-answers post and he replied that the pdf would be sold after the paper copies were sold out. I know John has had a heck of a week battling a big bug while keeping this great site going. I just hope the pdf comes out soon, because once fantasy drafts and auctions are done, the book becomes a whole lot less useful for those of us who buy it for its fantasy value. Maybe if there's sufficient interest, he'll make it available a bit sooner.

With John soon to finish this year's prospect book, I thought it would be interesting how those of us who play fantasy baseball made use of his book last year.

The best example for myself: John cued me into Texas Ranger prospect Mitch Moreland. At the time, a year ago, there appeared to be no quick path for Moreland to get to the majors with two higher-profiled prospects in his path: Justin Smoak and Chris Davis. So while I marked Moreland among my under-the-radar prospects to monitor, I did not select him in my 17-man reserve draft.

Sickels had flagged Moreland for a lot of the attributes I look for in a fantasy prospect — scouts doubted his excellent performance in college, he was not athletic and didn't play a prime defensive position. The one thing he could do was hit, for both power and with patience, and in a fantasy league like mine that doesn't include defensive stats, that's a valuable commodity.

So when Smoak was traded I targeted Moreland for what little was left in my free agent budget — $3, Unfortunately my biggest rival bid $4. Soon after, needing some offense to firm my hold on second place (first was out of reach), I swung a trade in which Moreland was the secondary player. He was a real asset to my fantasy team the balance of the year,  what I hope is a valuable keeper as I head towards the 2011 season and his presence created a surplus of keeper-quality first basemen that I was able to use to swing an off-season trade to fill a week spot.

So what about you? Which player or players have helped your cause that you may not have targeted without Sickels' guidance?

McGee was a top pitching prospect and was graded an A by Sickels until Tommy John called upon his elbow. His velocity and performance suffered when he first returned but he is back to throwing smoke and at DBayRays there is some debate beginning whether he or Hell Boy should get on the post-season roster — I know it's post Sept. 1 but the Rays have the flexibility to do so by placing an active player on the D.L.

Soriano has been great this year and a key contributor to the team's success but that success likely pushed the soon-to-be-free-agent to salary demands the Rays can't afford. Will that open the door for McGee, whose fastball dominant repertoire may be better suited for the bullpen?

McGee was solid at AA this year with excellent strikeout rates despited a high BABIP and was dominant in a brief appearance at AAA.

I doubt the Rays begin 2011 with McGee as closer and expect he will be used as a LOOGY initially. But I also think he may grab the role as the season progresses.

As a fantasy player, I think McGee is a good under-the-radar pickup for deeper leagues.

I'm in a A.L. roto league with a 23-man active roster and 17-man reserve. We're allowed up to 15 keepers and heading into the auction I kept Brian Matusz, Desmond Jennings and Jesus Montero and traded Tyler Flowers, Austin Jackson and Josh Reddick for a reasonably-priced Alex Rodriquez (reasonablle by Arod standards).

Because our reserve picks get pegged with salaries that start at $15 and gradually drop to $2, I targeted a pitching prospect for the auction itself, picking Derek Holland, who had been among my last cuts during the off-season. His peripheral numbers were quite good last year, especially considering he had pitch only a few dozen innings above A-ball, and I'm glad the Rangers sent him to AAA where he can work on his command and pitch selection without the pressures of Arlington. I expect him up mid-year and think he will do well.

After our auction we had a 17-man snake draft in which anyone not in the NL is eligible, so people take major leaguers too. That said, I went almost exclusively with minor leaguers, in part because some of the key big leaguers I wanted were snapped up just before my picks.

Here's whom I took:

1. Justin Smoak (my last cut the off-season and I held my breath as I had the third pick in the first round -- two owners before me went for major leaguers).

2. Michael Saunders

3. Hector Rondon

4. Lonnie Chisenhall

5. Danny Valencia

6, 7, 8 -- keeper spots for Matusz, Jennings and Montero

9. Martin Perez

10. Jemile Weeks

11. Anthony Slama (insurance - I picked up Jon Rauch in the auction)

12. Mike Montgomery

13. Eric Hosmer

14. Kam Mickolio

15. Jake McGee

16. Tanner Scheppers

17. Lou Montanez (who is the first to get a starting gig with Felix Pie hurt and Reinold still a bit hobbled)

For context, because of our keeper and salary rules, it's rare to hold on to a prospect for more than two years, so I draft mainly with that in mind - I want guys who have some chance of making the Bigs this year (preferably) or next. That's one reason I took Chisenhall and Valencia, for example. And since we have 12 owners, I had the 3rd, 22, 27, 46th etc. picks, so the talent pool shrinks by 18 going from an odd-numbr pick to an even number pick.

So who did you pick? Anyone in particular that pained you to see picked up from someone else? 

I am a veteran of auction leagues, American-League only, with 12 owners, a 23-man roster and a 17-man reserve. But Sunday I waded into my first snake draft and mixed-league at that, with 15 teams, which makes talent a lot more scarce than 8, 10 or even 12 team auctions. Here's my team:

C Suzuki

1 Adrian Gonzalez

2 Scott Sizemore

ss Reyes

3b Arod

of Cruz

of Carlos Gonzalez

of Borbon

u Reynolds

u Guerrero

bench - Ordonez, Snider, Everth Cabrea (Reyes insurance), Kyle Blanks

P Kershaw

P Vasquez

P B. Anderson

P J Sanchez

P M Latos

P Matusz

P R. Soriano

P Aardsma

bench - Chris Young (will pitch him when he plays at home in San Diego)

On offense I have a lot of power and a fair amount of speed -- I took a risk on Reyes in the 4th round. I'm a bit concerned about batting average so I took Ordonez for the bench since he will hit for average if nothing else.

My pitchers should rack up the K's -- all are strikeout pitcher. I went with youth, which means they have high ceilings but also lower floors. Aardsma and Soriano both pose some risk (commnd for one. injury for the other) but if they close all year their clubs will produce a ton of save chances. Young was a fun pick -- awful on the road but dominating at home because of his park. 

In September, November  and again in February I asked your advice about who to cut to get from 40 to 25 players and then to 15 in late-March in a 12-owner A.L.-only roto league, with standard 23-man roster and a 17-man reserve, $260 and 4 x 4 categories (HR, RBI, BA, SB, ERA, Whip, S, W) .  Thanks for all the helpful input. I've just made my final cuts after making a major trade. Here's the final 15 keepers along with open spots to fill at our auction in 9 days:

C Matt Weiters  $11 —  can keep at price two years

C

1 Kendry Morales $6 —can keep at price two years

3 Alex Rodriguez $40 - obtained in trade; can keep at price for two years

CI

2

SS Elvis Andrus $5 — last year of contract 

MI Marco Scutaro $6 — can keep at price two years 

OF Adam Lind $8 - can keep at price two years

OF Shin Soo-Choo $10 — can keep at price two years

OF Julio Borbon $5 —can keep at price two years

OF 

OF

P Zack Greinke $10 -  last year of contract

P Max Scherzer $2 -  can keep at price two years

P Phil Hughes $3 — can keep at price two years

P David Aardsma $1 - can keep at price two years

P

P

P

P

P

Reserve  Desmond Jennings free — no cost to keep on reserve; $4 in year two

Reserve  Jesus Montero free — no cost to keep on reserve; $2 in year two

Reserve  Brian Matusz free - no cost to keep on reserve; $1 in year two

Reserve -- 17 spots in all

New Cuts:

Mike Aviles $2 — last year of contract

Josh Reddick - - no cost to keep on reserve;

Daric Barton - $2

Chris Tillman $1 

Derek Holland $2

Hector Rondon - no cost to keep on reserve;

Brian Duensing - $4 

Aroldis Chapman - $2 — Dropped because signed in N.L.

Older Cuts: Trevor Cahill, Kam Mickolio, Michael Saunders, Adam Moore, Hank Conger, Brett Gardner and Danny Valencia 

Traded for ARod:

Justin Smoak Free on reserve if kept this year only, $8 a year if kept this year and next or $13 a year if kept this year and each of the next two years.  

Tyler Flowers - no cost to keep on reserve; $2 in year two

Austin Jackson - - no cost to keep on reserve; $1 in year two

Thoughts and observations:

(1) I've committed $91 of my roughly $190 budget on hitters, and by my projections to finish first in each counting hitting categories, have 68% of the home runs, 69% of my rbii's and 89% of my stolen bases and would also be above the typical league-leading batting average of .277.

(2) I've committed $16 of my roughly $70 budget on pitching and have one closer, one elite starter and three young starters I like. That leaves me $56 to secure a second closer, a fairly established starter such as Garza or Shields, with the balance on low price guys whose upsides I like.

(3) In past auctions ARod has usually gone for about $50; while his price in standard A.L. only leagues is usually close to $40, because we have so many keepers, the inflation on prices is usually 10% to 20%. Last year he went for $40 because he would miss at least the first month of the season and his health prognosis was uncertain. The only comparable hitter available in the auction is Longoria, who I may still get for my open corner, but I expect him to cost about $45.

(4) I'm sad to trade Smoak. I picked him two years ago in a free agent auction before he was drafted by the Rangers because I like his chance of moving up quickly more than anyone else. But for his injury last summer, he might have been in Texas in August, but it was not to be. My dilemma this year was Smoak was entering an option year (his third year) and if I wanted to keep him beyond this year, I'd have to pay $8 a year for one extra year and $13 a year for two extra years. I didn't want to pay that for a player who won't be up until September if Davis plays well and Vlad stays healthy. I may regret this in June and I may regret this next year, but I already have tremendous value on the roster -- in an expert  non-keeper auction for a 12-team AL-only league, my non-Arod players who I have for $67 went for just over $200, and that's without any inflation effect. What I need now is production that is reliable even if it's at a premium. 

(5) Jackson really bumped up his trade value with a great spring -- several teams had some interest. He's a cheap source for steals and a decent average but I already have that, I already have 3 outfielders, so he was really surplus.

(6) Not fun to trade Flowers either as he will get called up if the White Sox trade AJ and will likely start next year, but I already have Wieters and Montero in reserve.

(7) I was roundly criticized for keeping Aviles but he has come back much earlier than expected, is hitting great (though it's only Spring Training), enough that I could mention him in trade talks and not have someone laugh. I do think he'll be a great reserve pick as his bat could push him past Betancourt or Getz.

(8) I was also criticized for keeping Scutaro. I won't rehash my argument -- we'll find soon enough if he produces more value at $6 than I would have gotten from someone else.

(9) The Brett Anderson trade didn't happen though it was very close - in the end I offered Jackson, Tillman, Rondon, and Daric Barton -- don't laugh; my trade partner has Chris Carter on his reserve so getting Barton insures a cheap $2 first baseman all year. What killed the trade in the end was that his pitching behind Anderson is very shaky.

(10) I was offered a $12 Aaron Hill in his last year of a contract for Smoak and Matusz, I turned it down.

What do you think of the ARod trade? The proposed trades that didn't work out? What do you think of my keepers?  How are you things coming together in your own leagues?

Thanks for all the input and votes on my previous posts. Thought it's only fair I post an update to let you know what happened in my fantasy league  . . . 

My trade partner balked.  Was too in love with Beckham at a low price to package him with Anderson for Greinke. So the good news is I still have the best pitcher on the planet.

Then something strange and unexpected happened. A different owner is quite savvy made me an offer I couldn't refuse. And I didn't have to give up Greinke. He offered Arod, who signed at our auction last year at a discount because Arod was hurt, would miss at least the first month and his health beyond was uncertain. His salary is $40, which still sounds like a lot in a $260 league, but since we each have up to 15 keepers, there is an inflation effect on auction prices -- players go for typically between 10 and 20% more than standard A.L. only leagues, which places ARod in the $45 to $50 range.

In return, he asked for Austin Jackson and Tyler Flowers, each of whom I have for $1, and Justin Smoak, who would cost $3 for this year only, $8 a year to keep him this year and next or $13 a year to keep him this year and the next two. My roster is so deep that two of the three weren't going to make my final keeper list of 15. And I already have Wieters locked up this year and the next two, Jesus Montero on reserve and Kendry Morales at 1B this year and next.

I'm surprised he made the offer because he has been a tough competitor who won our league last year. I know ARod is dealing with helping with the prosecution of a Canadian doctor but he seemed to cope last year with that sort of stress and put up pretty good numbers considering he missed a month and took some time to get back his swing.

I'm in a 12-team A.L. only roto league with keepers. Two years ago I traded for Greinke (and Gil Meche for Grant Balfour when Balfour looked like he might close for Tampa). Greinke has been unreal since and I expect him to be among the dominant few starters in baseball.

But in my league, with keepers and long-term contracts, Greinke is entering the final year of a contract and will go back to the auction next year. Brett Anderson and Gordon Beckham can be had for this year AND next year, with Anderson at the same salary as Greinke ($10 in a $260 league) and Beckham at $8. So the trade is essentially one year of Greinke for two of Anderson and Beckham.

My starting pitchers behind Greinke (just keepers -- auction in a couple of weeks) are Scherzer $2; Matusz $1 and Hughes $3. I have a strong, cheap group of hitters to which Beckham would add - Wieters, Morales, Andrus, Scutaro, Lind, Choo and Borbon, and all but Andrus I have for this year and next. (all the pitchers too but Greinke).

Would you make the trade? Why or why not?

In September  and again in November I asked your advice about who to cut to get from 40 to 25 players and then to 15 in late-March in a 12-owner A.L.-only roto league, with standard 23-man roster and a 17-man reserve, $260 and 4 x 4 categories (HR, RBI, BA, SB, ERA, Whip, S, W) .  Thanks for all the helpful input. Here's who I kept:

Adam Lind $8 - I can keep him at this price the next two years (obtained in trade this year)

Shin Soo-Choo $10 — I can keep him at this price the next two years (obtained in trade this year)

Julio Borbon $5 — I can keep him at this price the next two years (bought at auction)

Kendry Morales $6 — I can keep him at this price the next two years (obtained in trade before this year)

Matt Weiters  $11 —  I can keep him at this price the next two years ((obtained in trade last year)

Marco Scutaro $6 — I can keep him at this price the next two years (bought at auction)

Elvis Andrus $5 — last year of contract next year (bought at auction)

Mike Aviles $2 — last year of contract next year; health concerns but low price

Justin Smoak $3/$8 — depends on if I keep him for one year more or two

Desmond Jennings free — no cost to keep on reserve; $4 in year two

Jesus Montero free — no cost to keep on reserve; $2 in year two

Tyler Flowers - no cost to keep on reserve; $2 in year two

Austin Jackson - - no cost to keep on reserve; $1 in year two

Josh Reddick - - no cost to keep on reserve; $7 in year two; thought he could be part of trade for Gonzalez

Daric Barton - $2 — I don't love him but may have trade value in league if named starter

Zack Greinke $10 - will be in last year of two-year contract (obtained in trade last year)

David Aardsma $1 - I can keep him at this price the next two years (obtained in trade this year)

Max Scherzer $2 - Got him because  Ian Kennedy traded to the N.L.; can keep at price two years

Phil Hughes $3 — I can keep him at this price the next two years (auction)

Brian Matusz $1 - I can keep him at this price the next two years

Phil Hughes $3 - I can keep him at this price the next two years

Chris Tillman $1 - I can keep him at this price the next two years

Derek Holland $2

Hector Rondon - no cost to keep on reserve; $2 in year two

Brian Duensing - $4 — I don't love him but may have trade value in our league

Aroldis Chapman - $2 — Must be dropped because signed in N.L.

Key Cuts so far: Trevor Cahill, Kam Mickolio, Michael Saunders, Adam Moore, Hank Conger, Brett Gardner and Danny Valencia 

(1) Scutaro and Jackson for Brett Anderson, who I would be able to sign for two years at $6 - this trade would be to a rival and I might have to toss in a pitching prospect as well. The trading partner lacks offensive depth. I think if he trades Anderson his starting pitching would be very iffy but I'm not complaining ;)

(2) Smoak for Aaron Hill, who I could keep for this season only at $12. Again, I might have to include a pitching prospect; I've been asked for Matusz, which of course I wouldn't do, I asked about Smoak alone and would likely include Tillman to cement a deal. The trading partner has a weak keeper list and is building for the future.

From my perspective, the two trades are related. The two trading partners may seek the same pitching prospects. And I'd like to have two middle infielder on my final keeper list and plan to keep Andrus; There is enough talent there in the auction to get one middle infielder with the pricey prize being Ian Kinsler, who I love being moved down to 5h in the order (and 4th if Hamilton or Guerrero get hurt)

If I make the trades, I would have 14 definite keepers and a 15th with an inside tracks.

Keepers: Lind, Choo, Borbon, Morales, Hill, Andrus, Wieters, Jennings, Montero, Aardsma, Greinke, Anderson, Scherzer, Matusz.

Inside track: Hughes if he wins the 5th starting position with the Yankees, which I should know by late-March.

Here's why I like the trade:

(1) My goal is to win this year and next and with Greinke gone after this year, Anderson could be at the top of my rotation next year and provides a strong base along with Scherzer, Matusz and possibly Highes.

(2) While I love Smoak and got him in a free agent auction the month BEFORE he was drafted by the Rangers, he is entering his third year of his contract, which means I can keep him for free on reserve for only this season and then let him go or long-term him for $8 a year this year and next or $13 for this year and the next two. While I'm confident he will be a full-timer next year, his arrival this year is much more uncertain: He has to wait for Davis to resume his struggles or for Vlad to get hurt while DHing. While either of the two are quite possible, It's also possible he doesn't get called up until late this year, which does me little good for this year.

(3) If I keep Jennings and Montero and my other planned keepers, I have no room for Smoak. Jennings and Montero are entering their second years, which means I don't have to decide on long-terming them until the next off-season, by which time Jennings will have been a starter and Montero will likely have shown if he's ready to take over as a catcher/first baseman/DH (Yanks would let Nick Johnson go)

What do you think of the proposed trades? What do you think of my proposed keepers? What other suggestions do you have?

In September I asked your advice about who to cut to get from 40 to 25 players in a 12-owner A.L.-only roto league, with standard 23-man roster and a 17-man reserve, $260 and 4 x 4 categories (HR, RBI, BA, SB, ERA, Whip, S, W) .  Thanks for all the helpful input. Here who I kept and who I cut:

Kept:

Zack Greinke $10 - will be in last year of two-year contract (obtained in trade last year)

David Aardsma $1 - I can keep him at this price the next two years (obtained in trade this year)

Adam Lind $8 - I can keep him at this price the next two years (obtained in trade this year)

Shin Soo-Choo $10 — I can keep him at this price the next two years (obtained in trade this year)

Kendry Morales $6 — I can keep him at this price the next two years (obtained in trade before this year)

Matt Weiters  $11 —  I can keep him at this price the next two years ((obtained in trade last year)

Desmond Jennings free — no cost to keep on reserve; $4 in year two

Jesus Montero free — no cost to keep on reserve; $2 in year two

Marco Scutaro $6 — I can keep him at this price the next two years (bought at auction)

Elvis Andrus $5 — last year of contract next year (bought at auction)

Mike Aviles $2 — last year of contract next year; health concerns but low price

Justin Smoak $3/$8 — depends on if I keep him for one year more or two

Julio Borbon $5 — I can keep him at this price the next two years (bought at auction)

Phil Hughes $3 — I can keep him at this price the next two years (auction)

Derek Holland $2

Brian Matusz $1

Chris Tillman $1

Hector Rondon - no cost to keep on reserve; $2 in year two

Tyler Flowers - no cost to keep on reserve; $2 in year two

Austin Jackson - - no cost to keep on reserve; $1 in year two

Josh Reddick - - no cost to keep on reserve; $7 in year two; could be part of trade for Gonzalez

Ian Kennedy — no cost to keep on reserve; $2 in year two; outside shot at Yankee rotation

Brian Duensing - $4 — I don't love him but may have trade value in our league

Aroldis Chapman - $2 — I don't love him but may have trade value in our league

Daric Barton - $2 — I don't love him but may have trade value in our league

Key cuts:

Trevor Cahill $4 - entering option year of contract; really don't like peripherals

Kam Mickolio — no cost to keep on reserve; $11 in year two; outside shot at being O's closer

Michael Saunders - $2; probably my toughest cut; likely starter, good potential but still likely to struggle next year

Adam Moore — - no cost to keep on reserve; $1 in year two; likely in platoon

Hank Conger - - no cost to keep on reserve; $2 in year two

Brett Gardner

Danny Valencia - doesn't look like Twins will give him chance next season

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We're allowed up to 15 keepers, including up to five on reserve who haven't used their rookie eligibility. Players entering the third year of a contract can be long-termed by bumping up their salary by $5 for two years or $10 for three years. Players who are long-termed have their salaries counted against the $260 total even if they are on the reserve. Players traded to the National League can net you a player coming to the A.L. -- the trade of Hughes netted me Max Scherzer for the same price (nice!) and I'm keeping Reddick largely because he may be included in any trade for Adrian Gonzalez.

I have to cut to 15 by a week before Opening Day. Here's my latest projection of those keepers — 13 are locks and the other two are up in the air:

 SP

Zack Greinke $10 - will be in last year of two-year contract (obtained in trade last year)

Max Scherzer $2 — I can keep him at this price the next two years

Brian Matusz $1 — I can keep him at this price the next two years

Phil Hughes $3 — I can keep him at this price the next two years (auction)

RP David Aardsma $1 - I can keep him at this price the next two years (obtained in trade this year)

C Matt Weiters  $11 —  I can keep him at this price the next two years ((obtained in trade last year)

1B - Kendry Morales $6 — I can keep him at this price the next two years (obtained in trade before this year)

SS — Elvis Andrus $5 — last year of contract next year (bought at auction)\

OF —

Adam Lind $8 - I can keep him at this price the next two years (obtained in trade this year)

Shin Soo-Choo $10 — I can keep him at this price the next two years (obtained in trade this year)

Julio Borbon $5 — I can keep him at this price the next two years (bought at auction); looks like he will start

Reserve:

Desmond Jennings free — no cost to keep on reserve; $4 in year two

Jesus Montero free — no cost to keep on reserve; $2 in year two

Up in the air: (can only keep two)

Marco Scutaro $6 — I can keep him at this price the next two years (bought at auction)

Mike Aviles $2 — last year of contract next year; health concerns but low price

Justin Smoak $3/$8 — depends on if I keep him for one year more or two

Derek Holland $2

Chris Tillman $1

Hector Rondon - no cost to keep on reserve; $2 in year two

Tyler Flowers - no cost to keep on reserve; $2 in year two

Austin Jackson - - no cost to keep on reserve; $1 in year two; likely starter in Detroit

So what do you think of my choices? Who would you keep/cut to get down to 15?

Baltimore manager Trembley just announced Matusz won't pitch again this season. He's at 44 2/3 innings, so one more start and he would have likely lost rookie status for those of us playing in keeper leagues. Bad news if you were counting on him for a few more quality starts (I wasn't) but great news if he's a keeper -- in my league I can park him on my reserve squad and leaving open an active spot to hopefully get next year's Brian Matusz.

As an aside, I've been more impressed so far with Matusz than with Tillman. The former's command has ben better and he doesn't have the long-ball weakness Tillman has shown. Much too small a sample size to draw to much from but I'm curious who you think will be better (a) next year and (b) long-term

I'm in a 12-owner A.L.-only roto league, with standard 23-man roster and a 17-man reserve and 4 x 4 categories (HR, RBI, BA, SB, ERA, Whip, S, W) . We're allowed up to 15 keepers, including up to five on reserve who haven't used their rookie eligibility. Players entering the third year of a contract can be long-termed by bumping up their salary by $5 for two years or $10 for three years. Players who are long-termed have their salaries counted against the $260 total even if they are on the reserve.

I took over a mediocre team last year and coaxed it into the money for the first time in a decade, but this year gave up on this season with the goal of building a dominating team in each of the next two years. Between the established low-priced talent and top prospects I have accumulated, I'm way over 15 keepers.

Here are the easy ones (6):

Zack Greinke $10 - will be in last year of two-year contract (obtained in trade last year)

David Aardsma $1 - I can keep him at this price the next two years (obtained in trade this year)

Adam Lind $8 - I can keep him at this price the next two years (obtained in trade this year)

Shin Soo-Choo $10 — I can keep him at this price the next two years (obtained in trade this year)

Kendry Morales $6 — I can keep him at this price the next two years (obtained in trade before this year)

Matt Weiters  $11 —  I can keep him at this price the next two years ((obtained in trade last year)

Top prospects who I think I must keep(2)

Desmond Jennings free — no cost to keep on reserve; $4 in year two

Jesus Montero free — no cost to keep on reserve; $2 in year two

Here are other strong candidates (6)

Marco Scutaro $6 — I can keep him at this price the next two years (bought at auction)

Elvis Andrus $5 — last year of contract next year (bought at auction)

Mike Aviles $2 — last year of contract next year; health concerns but low price

Justin Smoak $3/$8 — depends on if I keep him for one year more or two

Julio Borbon $5 — I can keep him at this price the next two years (bought at auction)

Phil Hughes $3 — I can keep him at this price the next two years (auction)

Other top prospects (10)

Derek Holland $2

Brian Matusz $1

Chris Tillman $1

Trevor Cahill $4

Hector Rondon - no cost to keep on reserve; $2 in year two

Tyler Flowers - no cost to keep on reserve; $2 in year two

Adam Moore — - no cost to keep on reserve; $1 in year two

Hank Conger - - no cost to keep on reserve; $2 in year two

Austin Jackson - - no cost to keep on reserve; $1 in year two

Josh Reddick - - no cost to keep on reserve; $7 in year two

Michael Saunders - $2

Worth keeping until Spring to see if they have a role: (2)

Kam Mickolio — no cost to keep on reserve; $11 in year two; outside shot at being O's closer

Ian Kennedy — no cost to keep on reserve; $2 in year two; outside shot at Yankee rotation

By the end of October I must cut from 40 to 25 players; one of the above must go. By one week before next season I must cut to 15 so another 10 would have to go.

Who would you cut? Who would you keep? Why?

Kazmir's trade was largely a salary dump by the Rays, who decided they couldn't afford the last two years of his contract with his shaky performance and huge injury risk.  With Kazmir gone, does that increase or decrease the odds they trade Carl Crawford this off-season rather than pick up a $10-million-plus option? On the one hand, the Kazmir trade made signal the Rays will be in full salary-dump mode and will trade Crawford with Jennings taking his place next year. On the other hand, by trading Kazmir the Rays may feel they can afford Crawford next year, and if Crawford stays, Jennings has a much harder path to making a big impact next year.

I have Jennings on my reserve and hope the first scenario will play out. What do you think happens?