Baseball is coming. The lockout is over. Spring training games are being played. Keepers are chosen. Drafts are over or are happening….
There is only one thing left to do – wait for that first pitch. That glorious opening day, April 7, 1:05 pm eastern, when Nathan Eovaldi will toe the rubber, look across the 60 feet 6 inches at Christian Vazquez and throw Anthony Rizzo (at least if Roster Resources is right about the Yankees’ leadoff man) that first pitch of the season
Or is there something that you should do over this next bit of time?
The answer – as you might assume since this article is being written – is yes.
Follow the news
Spring training is here and you can watch the games for a lot of teams on MLB.tv, you can (and should) follow the beat reporters for various teams, you should follow what is happening. Now – a caveat – spring training stats are, by and large, meaningless. But, if there are position battles, if a team’s closer is unclear, or if there is a fight for a final rotation spot, then those stats matter – those roles can be very important, depending on the depth, format, and style of your league (and in a dynasty, your team’s contention window). But keep track – if those players are either free agents or pieces you can get for a song in a trade, explore that option!
This matters for redraft obviously, and in dynasty – but it’s important to note it matters in dynasty if you are contending or not. As a non-contender you still need an active roster in most leagues (and should), and if you can get a player who becomes a closer or breaks out (but not in a long term helpful player to roster sense), a contending team that needs those saves or other stats may come knocking and you can get a good player back in a trade. For example, as the Cubs were rebuilding before their 2015 jump into relevance they made a habit of signing back end starters to flip at the deadline – some of those players got them the likes of Jake Arrieta and Pedro Strop who, though not worth rostering in fantasy or real baseball now, sure were big for the Cubs for a few years.
So, all that to say – be churning the back end of your bench and – in leagues with IR slots – as guys get put on the IR move them there in your league and fill up those slots – you should never have a roster slot that doesn’t have a purpose and isn’t adding value.
Trades!
While far easier in dynasty leagues, and especially dynasty leagues that didn’t just do the start-up draft, keep making trades! Again no matter what you think you will accomplish this year, keep making those moves, find values, make good trades, and just generally stay active. Especially as injury news comes out – you may have a contending team that was banking on Fernando Tatís Jr. being a big contributor (at least in a roto or season long points league where that loss could be very impactful depending on the timeline of his return), and it may be time to go knock and offer someone who can provide some of those stats this year if you’re not contending. Or is the value added for them enough where you could get Tatís for a different top, but not Tatís level, player in a trade because the immediate return holds more value for them than for you?
These sorts of questions should always be being asked and considered in the league as the season nears and more and more injuries are announced, MLB signings and trades made, and so on.
Finally – draft more!
If you’re itching to get a share of a player you don’t roster, or if you look at an early offseason draft and see it riddled with injuries, maybe you want to hop into another league. I’ve still got some dynasty and redraft leagues here and best ball leagues here, or there’s always the various public leagues we run as well!
Stay active as the season nears! Just a little bit until games that count are going to be played again!