Adam Jones and John Danks Swap Homes

The Starcity Arms have re-acquired SP John Danks ($11), agreeing to trade CF Adam Jones ($9) to the Master Batters for him.

Danks was originally traded away by the Starcity Arms in the August 5th, 2009 deal that brought in SP Felix Hernandez.

2009 Fantasy Points Comparison:

Danks (464.50) vs. Jones (425)

This deal is now official and the corresponding roster moves have been made to the Starcity Arms and Master Batters roster pages.

Have your say.. Who won this trade?

Trade: Master Batters Deal Again, Swap Chamberlain For Two Players

The Master Batters have agreed to a trade to send SP Joba Chamberlain ($11) to the Homestead Grays for SP Jonathan Sanchez ($5) and C Jarrod Saltalamacchia ($1).

The Master Batters now have $5 additional dollars to spend on free agents, while the Grays obviously have $5 less.

Chamberlain, 24, is three years younger than Sanchez and has a much more potent New York Yankees offence to support him. Things were running smoothly for Chamberlain in 2009 until his season was derailed by respective 8.22 and 7.15 ERA's in August and September. In 281.2 career IP, he has 285 K's against just 121 BB's.

Joba should vie for the 5th spot in the Yankees rotation entering 2010 (behind C.C. Sabathia, A.J. Burnett, Javier Vazquez and Andy Pettitte) and should face several favourable matchups should he earn the role.

Sanchez, 27, threw a no-hitter against the San Diego Padres on July 10th, racking up 11 K's along the way. A strikeout pitcher (9.34 K/9 IP over his career), the key to success for Sanchez will be lowering his corresponding career 4.66 BB/9 IP rate.

Saltalamacchia, 24, hasn't exactly lived up to his prospect hype and has yet to find an offensive rhythm in the pros. He was originally drafted by the Homestead Grays in the Inaugural Draft prior to the 2009 season but didn't receive a contract at the end of the year. Re-signed by the Grays as a free agent just two days ago, Saltalamacchia will take his .251/.314/.389 career line as a switch-hitting catcher to the Master Batters, but he'll need to show some improvement to be anything more than a backup to incumbent starter Matt Wieters.

Trade: Haren Shipped Again

The Master Batters have sent ace SP Dan Haren ($23) to WinOrLoseHitTheBooze for SP Matt Garza ($11) and RP Francisco Cordero ($12).

Haren, 29, is the definition of an ace starter. He is durable (5 straight years of 33 starts or more), effective (career 3.61 ERA 1.18 WHIP) and improving. According to FanGraphs.com, Haren has improved his K/9 IP rate over each of his seven big league seasons:

2003 - 5.33 K/9
2004 - 6.26 K/9
2005 - 6.76 K/9
2006 - 7.10 K/9
2007 - 7.76 K/9
2008 - 8.58 K/9
2009 - 8.75 K/9

If Haren can ever find a way to make his Post-All Star stats (4.21 ERA and 1.32 WHIP) look more like his Pre-All Star stats (3.08 ERA and 1.06 WHIP) he will solidify himself among the top 5 starters in the game.

The Master Batters receive a younger and cheaper, but less developed starter in Tampa Bay's Matt Garza. Garza posted an 8-12 record in 2009 with a 3.95 ERA and 1.26 WHIP to go with a 189/79 K/BB ratio.

Garza was originally selected by the Minnesota Twins, 25th Overall in 2005. Making his debut in 2006, Garza skyrocketed through the Twins system and made 9 starts in the Majors the same year. Garza split a solid 2007 season between AAA and the big club but was traded to the Rays after the season.

According to FanGraphs.com, Garza dramatically improved his K/9 rate in 2009. It jumped from 6.24 the year before, up to 8.38. Expect that number to come down a bit and settle somewhere slightly above his career average of 7.29 K/9 IP.

The second player acquired by the Master Batters will help strengthen the bullpen. RP Francisco Cordero has had two strong seasons since signing with the Cincinnati Reds prior to the 2008 season. Last year he racked up 39 saves, pushing his career total to an even 250. He also had nice peripheral numbers with a 2.16 ERA and 1.32 WHIP. Although his K rate dropped in 2009, he has more than a strikeout per inning in his career.