Well, my team in my league here at work was sinking like a rock. I dropped from 1st place at the end of April down all the way 7th a week ago. Here was my roster at the time (there's a maximum innings pitched, so I only throw a couple of my pitchers, and just park the rest on my bench):
C Kenji Johjima
1B David Ortiz
2B Felipe Lopez
SS Julio Lugo
3B Morgan Ensberg
OF Ichiro Suzuki
OF Ken Griffey Jr.
OF Pat Burrell
Util Jermaine Dye
Bench Nick Johnson
Bench Brad Hawpe
Bench Bill Hall
SP Roy Oswalt
SP Jose Contreras
SP John Smoltz
SP Kenny Rogers
RP Francisco Rodriguez
RP BJ Ryan
RP Chris Reitsma
Bench Zach Duke
Bench Tony Armas
DL Mike Maroth
So, first off, I made a few free-agent moves: I dropped Reitsma for Josh Johnson, and Zach Duke for Orlando Cabrera. Then, I realized I had a lot of depth at OF, so, I wanted to make a 2-for-1 where I get an elite player. So, I traded Griffey and Burrell for Cabrera, slid Dye into my 3rd OF spot, then moved Nick Johnson into my Util spot. Also, Kenny Ray, who seems to be closing for Atlanta, is on waivers, so I put in a waiver claim for him, and I would drop Maroth
One guy in my league absolutely hates his SS (Jhonny Peralta), so I offered him Cabrera and Hawpe for Peralta and Magglio Ordonez (hes got OFs to spare...he has like 5 starting caliber OFs). Then, my and one other guy were negotiating, and the last offer he made me is Aramis Ramirez, Wilkerson, and Francisco Liriano for Ensberg and Dye. If I get Magglio from the other guy, then I have a bat to spare, so I counter-offered Ensberg for Liriano straight up. So, if it all goes through, this would be my new roster:
C Johjima
1B Ortiz
2B Lopez
SS Lugo
3B Miguel Cabrera
OF Ichiro
Of Magglio Ordonez
OF Jermaine Dye
Util Nick Johnson
Bench Peralta
Bench Bill Hall
SP Contreras
SP Smoltz
SP Liriano
SP Rogers
SP Josh Johnson
RP K-Rod
RP Ryan
RP K. Ray
BN Armas
DL Oswalt
So, my question is: Do you think I made my team better? Worse? One thing to take into account is that I'm last in wins and Ks, so getting a young strikeout pitcher like Liriano would be huge for me. Also, I'm pretty strong on homeruns, so giving away a few mashers isn't a big deal for me, especially since I have Ortiz to pick up the slack