Josh Hamilton for John Lackey?: Fantasy Baseball Trade Talk

The question comes regarding whether or not to trade Josh Hamilton now and who gets the better side of this deal.

Q: Who gets the better end of a deal that would send Josh Hamilton and Andy Sonnanstine for Raul Ibanez and John Lackey?

A: I think the Lackey side, but it's close.

Andy Sonnanstine is getting a lot of publicity for a guy that has basically been average. His ERA for the season is just under five and batters hit .304 against him. His WHIP is average at best, sitting at 1.41. He's been awful at home, where in seven starts he's posted an ERA of 5.36 and a WHIP of 1.50.

Sonnanstine is a spot starter at best in most normal mixed leagues and a borderline own in deeper leagues. Sure, he may be better as the season goes on, but we have nothing to go on to prove that. The limited sample from last season shows post-All Star break numbers of .298 BAA, 6.12 ERA, and WHIP near 1.50.

Hamilton is absolutely on a tear and plays in a hitters park. If he stays healthy, he could easily hit 40 home runs and drive in 120. You certainly won't see that out of Ibanez. Hamilton was hurt after the break last year, so we've never really seen him go a full season. Can he continue this pace? I feel his number will more likely fall in the 35 home run range with around 100 RBI. Still, fantastic numbers by any stretch.

Lackey, however, is a stud.

He's dominated hitters in his four starts and he was very good last season as well. There is a reason he was in the top-five pitchers on most draft boards to start the season. If he's healthy the rest of the way, expect him to add about twelve or fifteen wins to his total and he'll keep his ERA around 3.25. Those are ace type numbers in my book.

Ibanez is tougher to read. He's not going to provide the same power numbers that Hamilton is capable of, but he should come in somewhere around 20-30 home runs and drive in more than 90. He might just hit .275 doing it. That's been about his average season. I can live with those numbers in picking up Lackey.

I like this trade more from the perspective of obtaining Ibanez and Lackey.

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