Butler for... too much?

[norrisdivision]

Butler KILLED me today. 7 ribbies and I had him on the bench because of his slow start. I've learned my lesson. Never bench country breakfast!

[gfhyde]

Oh dude no, you can never bench Country Breakfast! lol

He'd probably do something like Profar and junk for Butler but it always comes back to the 1B eligibility for me. That's a real kick in the pants.

My wishlist includes a 1B and an SP.

[norrisdivision]

As a Butler owner I admittedly always have my eyes open for a pure 1B for those very reasons, but I've never put too much pressure on myself to pull the trigger on a move for a 1B that's going to set me back and I definitely wouldn't do it in exchange for Butler. Even if he loses 1B eligibility, he is at worst a beast permanent Util spot filler. I grabbed Youkilis in the draft as 1B insurance and I figure instead of putting pressure on myself to plug my 1B spot with an elite pure 1B and then roll with someone above average as my Util, why not just reverse it and have a stud at Util and roll with the next best thing at 1B? At the end of the day, it's just two roster spots that count the same way but have different names so there's no difference. But IMO, having Butler is better than not having him and I would consider dealing Profar to get him if I didn't already have him (and I'm a Profar owner). I think Butler will be better in a multi-cat situation based on what I've read. Don't let me talk you into something that you don't really want to do but if you have a Util spot that needs an monster plug, I'd put some stock in that, grab Butler if you can get him, and consider the 1B eligibility as gravy from one year to the next. He's going to play a lot of 1B in the inter-league games as we saw this weekend because they need his bat and Hosmer is versatile positionally. I think his eligibility is in decent shape moving forward but that's just my take.

[gfhyde]

You make some good points. He REALLY wants pitching. Latest offer is Bundy Taillon Walker for his Butler. I'm such a frigging sucker for Bundy though.

[norrisdivision]

14 team, keep 20. H2H points
C Perez 1B Konerko 2B Cano SS Tulo 3B Longoria OF Choo, Stanton, J. Upton, BN Sandoval, Smoak, Cozart
SP- Hamels, Gallardo, Zimmerman, Harvey
RP- Axford, Medlen
BN- A. Sanchez, Lincecum, Fujikawa, Hudson(DL)
Minors- Profar, Bundy, Skaggs, Taillon, Walker, Castellanos

And by the looks of things, you don't have a Util spot in your league which makes my approach less applicable. Your team is pretty stellar though, are you not a favourite for the championship this year with that lineup in a 14-team league? You seem to be solid at every other starting position other than 1B, I have to think adding Butler this year at 1B will give you a real shot at the win. That's worth prospects. I'm with you that it would be nice to not include Bundy, any chance he'd take Profar with another pitching prospect or two (sans Bundy)? With Cano, Tulo and Longoria you don't have a starting place for Profar anyway in the next few years, he would be a great trading chip to put you over the top this year if you could land a Butler. Bundy on the other hand fits your lineup much better than Profar when they get up to the bigs.

[gfhyde]

And by the looks of things, you don't have a Util spot in your league which makes my approach less applicable. Your team is pretty stellar though, are you not a favourite for the championship this year with that lineup in a 14-team league? You seem to be solid at every other starting position other than 1B, I have to think adding Butler this year at 1B will give you a real shot at the win. That's worth prospects. I'm with you that it would be nice to not include Bundy, any chance he'd take Profar with another pitching prospect or two (sans Bundy)? With Cano, Tulo and Longoria you don't have a starting place for Profar anyway in the next few years, he would be a great trading chip to put you over the top this year if you could land a Butler. Bundy on the other hand fits your lineup much better than Profar when they get up to the bigs.

Yup, that's the team. We DO have a util spot, my signature was just too long to reflect it And next year I think we're adding a 2nd util slot.

I think his best pitcher is either Hellickson or Niese, so he's pretty desperate for pitching, but I'm also quite sure he'd take Profar/Walker or Profar/Taillon for Butler straight up too.

There are 2 minor league guys I'd love to hold on to and they're Profar and Bundy :\ The rest can go to hell lol But guys like Butler are going to come at quite a price.

Sadly no, I am not the favourite to win. I've probably got the 3rd best team in the league without injuries. Champ from last year has Posey, Pujols, Andrus, Cargo, Mccutchen, Gio, Latos, Kershaw, Kimbrel, Papelbon and Weaver.

Champ before that has what I think is an even better team in Votto, Kipnis, Wright, Braun, Kemp, Melky, Craig, Bumgarner, Cain, Felix, Lee, Soriano, Rivera (to name the biggest guns).

But Butler would sure help right now. Bundy and Profar could be regulars as soon as next year though.


AGGGGHHHHHH!

[norrisdivision]

In that case, I think I'd hold my trading chips. It's early. With injuries ebbing and flowing through the year I'd wait until July and see where I'm at. He's desperate and you're not. He's only going to get more desperate with that pitching staff of his. In the meantime, you'll be hovering near the top of the standings with a solid core of minor leaguers ready to either activate to bolster your lineup (some may be called up by then) or ready to trade for what you need at that point. It's tough to say no to Butler when he's being dangled, but you may have a completely different set of needs a couple months from now and it won't be too late to make a deal at that point that will have a real impact on your season. Let Profar's and Bundy's value climb in the meantime.

[gfhyde]

In that case, I think I'd hold my trading chips. It's early. With injuries ebbing and flowing through the year I'd wait until July and see where I'm at. He's desperate and you're not. He's only going to get more desperate with that pitching staff of his. In the meantime, you'll be hovering near the top of the standings with a solid core of minor leaguers ready to either activate to bolster your lineup (some may be called up by then) or ready to trade for what you need at that point. It's tough to say no to Butler when he's being dangled, but you may have a completely different set of needs a couple months from now and it won't be too late to make a deal at that point that will have a real impact on your season. Let Profar's and Bundy's value climb in the meantime.

If I could give you more rep I would good sir. Thanks.

He grows more desperate by the day. He's downgraded to Bundy, Taillon, Skaggs, Castellanos :P (Skaggs and Castel instead of Walker).

This leaves me with Profar, Dahl and Walker as Minor League keepers. I guess we can take Profar out of there though eh. He'll get the call at some point this season I'm sure.

Hmmmmmmm. Skaggs and Castellanos I'm not too worried about. I's just Bundy and Taillon. Bundy especially. That guy could be real special. Or his elbow could be a disaster

I'm going to mull this one over too. It's probably worth noting that the highest minor prospets available on the waiver wire are still pretty good:

http://imgur.com/vcHK6Nv

[spitball]

don't trade bundy for butler. you will regret that deal for ten years.

[gfhyde]

don't trade bundy for butler. you will regret that deal for ten years.

You really think so? Hmm.

[spitball]

Butler is not all that. He is good, not great.

If I had bundy, I would not trade him in a keeper for less than elite.