The Homestead Grays are my 10-team 6x6 Dynasty squad who finished second in 2020. The offseason in this lead has been dead: less than five transactions. The players do other things in the fall and winter, and the uncertainty of the lockout unleashed group FOMO. During the dulldrums, I reached out to one of the more active owners and showed interest in acquiring Logan Gilbert. This is a homer move.
My wife follows my teams and puts up with an unreasonable amount of baseball activities. She grew up in the northern suburbs of Seattle, where we currently reside, and is a rabid Mariner's fan. We watch 150 Mariners games per year together on TV and attend another 10 in non-pandemic years.
My first league is filled with Seattle resdents which drives up the price of Mariners players. On the other hand, the Grays are in a mostly East-Coast based league. I think three owners live west of the Mississippi, so this is the team where I like to scratch my Mariners itch. I enjoy having a fan to please because it simulates what a real organization does more closely. When I deal away fan favorites, I have to think about messaging as a real club should. Similarly, if players will make the fanbase happy, it adds value. Additionally, I never roster guys who beat their wives because my fan base won't tolerate the move. My franchise will suffer if my wife is unhappy with my baseball activities.
This brings us back to fan-favorite Logan Gilbert. Sometimes you show interest in a guy, and you don't come to a deal, but when the other player wants something from you - they already know the price. This is what happened just after the lockout ended: the player with Gilbert decided he wanted Shane McClanahan. He came in asking about Ke'Brayan Hayes. I told him I wanted to focus the deal on Gilbert. Then, he mentions McClanahan.
What? I can't send Hayes and McClanahan for Gilbert! I have McClanahan over Gilbert on his own.
He replied, "I was thinking Hayes and McClanahan for Gilbert, Will Smith (C), and one of Urquidy, E. Rod, and Luis Garcia."
And that's how I ended up trading Shane McClanahan. Hayes was an extra piece for this team, and we need innings. I like the Tigers MLB coaching staff and what they have done with Mize and Skubal. I like that E. Rod won't be seeing as much of the Yankees and Rays and more of the Royals and Indians. I LOVE Will Smith. I didn't even know he was on the block. Smith can hit and will have Dodgers R & RBI creation around him for the foreseeable future. Plus, my wife gets to root extra hard for Logan Gilbert.
All I did to create this opportunity was talk to people in November, December, and January. I checked in. I was honest about my wants. Zig Ziglar, a legendary salesman, once said. "You can get anything in this world that you want, as long as you help enough other people get what they want." My texts in the offseason helped the other player get what they wanted, and he helped me solve my problems along the way.