How do trades happen?

[nolanfan34]

Yes, at a high level, I understand how they get done, two GM's talk, blah blah.

I was thinking over the weekend that I don't really know much about the technical logistics of how it "happens" to make it official per se. I mean, does one team write up a formal proposal that has to be signed, or what? Is there some online tool for leagues, like in Yahoo leagues, where you can just select players and offer trades? [img]/images/graemlins/wink.gif[/img]

It doesn't seem like you hear many stories about guys going back on trades, or backing out after a verbal acceptance, etc. I also think it would be sort of cool memorabilia if there exists things like a fax from one team showing an offer they made to trade a superstar, etc.

So kind of a random question, anyone know?

[Kneel B4 Zod]

dunno, but I was thinking about this during the NFL draft. trades are proposed and are finalized within minutes, so the process must be pretty standardized/turn key.

it's also possible that verbal agreements stand, and all phone calls are recorded on draft day in case discrepancies come up.

[kyleb]

In baseball, AGMs do most of the posturing and initial trade talks for valuable players. GMs can then claim plausible deniability when they are asked by the media if they are trying to trade their star player.

When a tenative deal is worked out by the AGMs, then the GMs take over and finalize the deal.

The Cleveland Indians have a software product called DiamondView that was invented by AGM Chris Antonetti. It is a list of all of the players in all systems (over all levels - Rookie to Majors), and when a player is selected on the Indians in the program, a menu is displayed with the projections that Baseball Prospectus, ZIPS, and other systems give for that person, along with actual stats for the current and past years, and exactly what they would trade that player for to any given team. It's a very sophisticated list system that allows the front office to make deals immediately with one single phone call.

[mason55]

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and exactly what they would trade that player for to any given team.

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Who keeps this updated? Scouts? AGMs? Is it done yearly or more often?

It seems like this would be both very time consuming and very subjective to keep updated.

[nolanfan34]

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It's a very sophisticated list system that allows the front office to make deals immediately with one single phone call.

[/ QUOTE ]

Right, I've heard of some of that stuff. Very cool (and Antonelli in '08 for the M's) that the Indians are that far ahead.

What I'm wondering is what happens after the phone call. I have a hard time imagining that everything is essentially a handshake deal over the phone. And if it is, I'm amazed that we don't hear more often that someone agrees to something, then backs out of the deal when the "official" paperwork comes through.

[mason55]

I'm curious how trade talks get started. Say I wanted to trade KG, would I call a bunch of teams that had players/draft picks I am interested in? Or is there like a GM message board where I say "Hey KG is on the block?"

I assume once I make an offer or two to teams that word gets around and other teams might call me with offers?

[kyleb]

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and exactly what they would trade that player for to any given team.

[/ QUOTE ]

Who keeps this updated? Scouts? AGMs? Is it done yearly or more often?

It seems like this would be both very time consuming and very subjective to keep updated.

[/ QUOTE ]

I'm sure they have people in the R&D department that keeps it updated with specific values and subsets of data that make all trades fall under specific categories. For example, the Indians may want additional starting pitchers badly, so Antonetti sets the trade.priority.1 flag to "SP." So, the next time calls asking for Grady Sizemore, their database is scanned first for starting pitchers that are equivalent in value to Sizemore, then whatever else is down the priority list.

Time consuming? Probably, but the tool sounds like it is very much worth it. The addition of Keith Woolner should make this product even better.

[kyleb]

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[ QUOTE ]
It's a very sophisticated list system that allows the front office to make deals immediately with one single phone call.

[/ QUOTE ]

Right, I've heard of some of that stuff. Very cool (and Antonelli in '08 for the M's) that the Indians are that far ahead.

What I'm wondering is what happens after the phone call. I have a hard time imagining that everything is essentially a handshake deal over the phone. And if it is, I'm amazed that we don't hear more often that someone agrees to something, then backs out of the deal when the "official" paperwork comes through.

[/ QUOTE ]

Front offices talk to each other all the time - people make friends in different cities and business deals are forged, just like a regular corporation would develop relationships. I'm sure that some deals are cancelled and some front offices have worse reputations in the business, but spreading that information in the public sector can only be detrimental for whoever leaks the information.

Baseball is still very much dominated by the "old guard," and they value reputation and tradition very highly, which is why there probably isn't much double-crossing and/or backing out of deals.

[mason55]

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Time consuming? Probably, but the tool sounds like it is very much worth it.

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Yeah I guess it depends on how dynamic and how well their databases and relations are set up. Sounds like they've done a pretty good job. I wish I could see their software, as a programmer I'm really interested in how they have everything set up.

[Kneel B4 Zod]

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[ QUOTE ]
and exactly what they would trade that player for to any given team.

[/ QUOTE ]

Who keeps this updated? Scouts? AGMs? Is it done yearly or more often?

It seems like this would be both very time consuming and very subjective to keep updated.

[/ QUOTE ]

probably the same people who do low/mid level data analysis at all quant driven organizations. it does all needs to be fact/sanity checked at some point.