Some of my longest-standing and favorite fantasy competitions occur in AL- and NL-only leagues. I do understand why they are not as popular with the more casual player, but due to the 50% smaller player pools (compared to standard leagues), “only” leagues require greater attention to position battles, playing time changes as well as upcoming minor league promotions.
For the “only” leagues, our Christmas comes at the start of August.
Players moving from the AL to the NL and vice-versa at the MLB trade deadline typically remain eligible in their original leagues but also immediately join the free agent pool in their new leagues.
This major influx of talent leads to a bidding frenzy unlike any other time of the year. A handful of names draw huge bids as the season enters its final two months.
Is there a “best” strategy?
On Sunday night, during a Zoom call with a number of industry colleagues, one of them asked the group if holding free agent allocation budget dollars (FAAB) until the trade deadline was worthwhile this year. The responses were inconclusive.
Personally, too often in the past, I became caught in between. I lacked enough money to win the post-deadline bidding for the best handful of cross-league traded players but hadn’t spent aggressively enough earlier in the season, either.
So, it was the worst of both worlds, leaving me no difference-making acquisitions and more money than I could responsibly spend late in the season.
Prevailing logic says to spend early and often in the season to receive the maximum benefit. And I agree with that – with one clarification. That is to do so responsibly, as can also be easy to overspend on marginal players and get caught with low funds later on.
Another factor which cannot be anticipated is injuries. Both LABR and Tout Wars allow FAAB reclaim for injured players out for an extended period. This process, while the right thing to do, can lead to strategic relative changes in FAAB balances.
Yet another factor is FAAB trading, which is allowed in Tout, but not in LABR. Needless to say, this can lead to unexpected jockeying by key competitors to move up in the FAAB pecking order.
Finally, there is the player pool. One needs a number of good players to move from one league to the other at the deadline. Without that, all the money in the world would not matter.
Put all these variables together and any plans to hold FAAB until August 1 in the hopes of getting a difference-making player for the final two months is a risky strategy that would require a lot of attention and good fortune to play out as hoped.
My deadline story in 2023 NL Tout Wars
My hopes in NL Tout in 2023 were dashed within hours of the March draft when Rhys Hoskins went down for the year. However, my FAAB reclaim of $230 (10x the winning auction bid) added significant punch to the $1000 season-opening balance.
Four months later, when the deadline arrived, I had the third-most FAAB at $513, with the fourth-ranked team in finances holding $470. Since that team was ahead of me in the standings, I was assured of winning a tie breaker.
Fortunately, four standout players moved from the AL into the NL at the deadline, two hitters and two pitchers. So, I was assured of getting one of them, no worse than my third choice. Needing offense, I preferred a hitter, but if Jake Burger and Josh Bell were gone, I would be very satisfied with new Phillies starting pitcher Michael Lorenzen.
My $470 bid brought home my highest priority – new Marlins third baseman Burger. (New Arizona closer Paul Sewald went for $511, Bell brought $473 and Lorenzen $411.)
In hindsight, I could have saved $59 as the second-highest bid for Burger was $411. But I also could have been shut out – and that was a far worse potential outcome. And I still have $37 for the remainder of the year.
Knowledge is power
Because Tout Wars’ Sunday night FAAB deadline is four hours ahead of LABR, the Tout results offered me insight as to how my peers, some of whom are in both leagues, ranked the quartet.
Ten other Tout warriors bid on the four free agents. Here is a summary of their relative rankings based on their comparative bid amounts and priorities:
| Bidding priority # owners of 10 | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | total score |
| Lorenzen | 3 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 22 |
| Sewald | 3 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 24 |
| Burger | 2 | 1 | 6 | 1 | 26 |
| Bell | 2 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 28 |
With the lowest score best, the two pitchers were preferred among Tout bidders, with Lorenzen on top. Burger was slightly more desirable than Bell. But all four were fairly clumped.
Of course, all owners did not have the same needs, but still, I found this enlightening.
My deadline story in 2023 NL LABR
Though only seventh in the standings, I had the hammer in NL LABR, with $62. The teams with the second- and third-most FAAB held $60 and $56, respectively. From there it was a major drop to the first-place team, with $31.
My LABR offense is the weak point by a considerable margin, so I planned to bid $60 on Burger (as I held the tie breaker). But as I was placing my bid and I could once again focus on the other owners’ balances, I came to an important discovery.
Instead of one $60 bid, I could make two $31 bids and get not one, but two of the big four free agents. Yes, it meant that I would cede my top pick, but who is to say I wouldn’t get him anyway? And two good players are always better than one! Further, it blocked the league leaders from getting even stronger by shutting them out of the big four.
It played out perfectly, as I secured my top pitching priority, Lorenzen, and my top hitting priority, Burger. (As noted above, they were also the top Tout pitching and hitting targets.) In NL LABR, Bell went for $33 and Sewald for $32.
Again, in 20-20 hindsight, looking at the next highest bids, I could have acquired Lorenzen and Berger for $22 and $24, respectively. But taking that risk would have been stupid, as I could have ended up with neither.
The only downside of this plan is that I am precluded from any free agent moves for the remainder of the season, because I have spent my entire $62. LABR does not allow $0 bidding, so if any gaps are created in my lineup the remainder of the way, I will need to trade to fill them (until that deadline, at which point, I will be stuck).
But, hey, I have both Lorenzen and Burger!
In closing
I had a blast managing my teams through the first post-deadline FAAB period and am reminded again why I love AL- and NL-only leagues. If you are not sure, I hope you give it a try in 2024.
Brian Walton was the 2009 National League Tout Wars champion, scoring the most single-season points in the league’s 25 year-history. He also holds the all-time NL Tout single-season records for wins and saves. His work can also be found daily at TheCardinalNation.com. Follow Brian on Twitter.
