Dealing with injuries has been an unfortunate part of the 2021 MLB season that every Fantasy player has had to deal with, and the last week hasn't made things any easier. Mike Trout went on the IL last week with a calf strain that could cost him a couple of months, and he was joined by, among others, Jeff McNeil and Michael Conforto, Zach Plesac, Nick Senzel, Franmil Reyes, Lance McCullers, Kenta Maeda, and, just Wednesday, Corey Kluber (shoulder), Luke Voit (oblique) and Marcell Ozuna (finger).
It's just been that kind of year, and the injuries aren't showing any signs of slowing down. Which means, you might need to start thinking about trading from a position of strength to fill some holes in your lineup. Or, you might need to start considering trading your star players on the IL at a discount, just to get someone in the lineup.
And, if you're in a good spot in the early going, now might be the perfect time to start trying to take advantage of others' desperation by acquiring some of their injured stars. If you're sitting at 6-2 in a points league or with a solid lead in a Roto league, taking the short-term loss might be worth it if you could get someone like Trout or Corey Seager to provide a big boost once they come back.
While I try to provide suggested trade values for every player in this column every week, when it comes to injured players, so much comes down to that team context. I've got Trout valued as a 22-point player in points leagues, right around the same value as someone like Nick Castellanos rest of season. But, if you've got Trout on your roster and you are 3-5, you'd probably much rather have Castellanos. Sure, it might make your team less likely to win a title if you get to the playoffs and Trout is healthy, but you may not get to the playoffs if you don't fill that hole.
If you're off to a poor start, you probably want to discount the injured players on this list at least a few points. You might need to be willing to take a "loss" in the long term in a trade. Because if you don't even make the playoffs, it doesn't matter much at all that you might have "won" the trade in a vacuum, because by the time you start to recoup whatever you might have lost, it'll be too late for it to matter.
Now, that's not the same thing as saying teams low in the standings should focus on sure production over upside in all trades. The opposite is true when you're talking about non-injured players, actually; you should probably be prioritizing slumping stars in deals. For example, I've got Luis Castillo as a nine point player in the chart now, a significant decrease from where he'd been previously, because I just can't trust him to turn this around. It's not the most likely outcome, which is what we're typically dealing with.
However, if you're at the bottom of the standings with a need at pitching, Castillo's downside risk doesn't really matter anymore. He can only hurt you so much now. But his upside can absolutely propel you up the standings. Right now, the most likely outcome is that someone like Freddy Peralta or Trevor Rogers returns more value than Castillo the rest of the way, but neither can hope to match Castillo's best-case scenario as an ace capable of racking up significant innings totals. So, taking that swing on Castillo makes more sense if you're in desperate straits.
And if you're in first place? Well, you've got the luxury to do pretty much whatever you want -- assuming you believe your team's success is sustainable. Taking on an injured star has value if you can weather the short-term hit; buying into a slumping star is also reasonable because you can presumably stomach whatever struggles they do go through. However, you've got the luxury of not needing to do anything in particular, and jettisoning also has a lot of value if you're in this position -- the last thing you need is for someone like Castillo to tank your ratios if he doesn't turn it around.
Ultimately, these values are just suggestions, they aren't hard and fast rules, and your personal situation and how you view any given player is going to play a significant role in how you value individual players. This can be a guide, but don't feel like you have to make a deal that doesn't make sense for your team. In a season like this one, flexibility is going to be key.
Here are my updated trade values for Week 9:
H2H Points Trade Values
| Name | Value | Change From Last Week |
| Gerrit Cole | 51 | |
| Jacob deGrom | 49 | 3 |
| Ronald Acuna | 48 | |
| Shane Bieber | 48 | -1 |
| Juan Soto | 46 | |
| Mookie Betts | 44 | -2 |
| Jose Ramirez | 42 | |
| Freddie Freeman | 41 | |
| Trevor Bauer | 40 | |
| Yu Darvish | 40 | |
| Max Scherzer | 40 | |
| Fernando Tatis | 39 | |
| Bryce Harper | 39 | -2 |
| Trea Turner | 38 | |
| Trevor Story | 37 | |
| Xander Bogaerts | 36 | 2 |
| Manny Machado | 36 | |
| Aaron Nola | 36 | |
| Tyler Glasnow | 35 | |
| Corbin Burnes | 33 | -1 |
| Lucas Giolito | 33 | -1 |
| Anthony Rendon | 32 | |
| Clayton Kershaw | 32 | |
| Jack Flaherty | 32 | |
| Alex Bregman | 32 | |
| Brandon Woodruff | 32 | |
| Vladimir Guerrero | 31 | 4 |
| Lance Lynn | 31 | 2 |
| Rafael Devers | 30 | |
| Francisco Lindor | 29 | -3 |
| Walker Buehler | 28 | |
| Kenta Maeda | 27 | |
| Zack Wheeler | 26 | 2 |
| Cody Bellinger | 26 | 1 |
| Aaron Judge | 26 | |
| Kyle Tucker | 25 | 2 |
| Bo Bichette | 25 | |
| Ketel Marte | 25 | 4 |
| Christian Yelich | 25 | -4 |
| Nolan Arenado | 25 | |
| Jose Altuve | 24 | |
| Whit Merrifield | 24 | |
| Joe Musgrove | 24 | |
| Mike Trout | 23 | -22 |
| Shohei Ohtani | 23 | |
| Shohei Ohtani | 23 | |
| Ozzie Albies | 23 | |
| Tim Anderson | 22 | |
| J.D. Martinez | 22 | 1 |
| Hyun-Jin Ryu | 22 | |
| Jose Abreu | 21 | -2 |
| Sandy Alcantara | 21 | |
| Jose Berrios | 21 | -1 |
| Kris Bryant | 20 | 3 |
| Zack Greinke | 20 | |
| Charlie Morton | 20 | 1 |
| Kyle Hendricks | 20 | |
| Blake Snell | 20 | -3 |
| Nick Castellanos | 19 | |
| Yordan Alvarez | 19 | 1 |
| Pete Alonso | 18 | |
| DJ LeMahieu | 18 | -4 |
| Ian Anderson | 18 | |
| Julio Urias | 17 | |
| Paul Goldschmidt | 17 | |
| Giancarlo Stanton | 16 | 3 |
| Nelson Cruz | 16 | |
| Josh Hader | 16 | |
| Sonny Gray | 16 | |
| J.T. Realmuto | 16 | -4 |
| Corey Seager | 16 | |
| George Springer | 15 | |
| Luke Voit | 15 | |
| Pablo Lopez | 15 | |
| Austin Meadows | 15 | |
| Anthony Rizzo | 15 | |
| Liam Hendriks | 14 | |
| Trent Grisham | 14 | -2 |
| Kevin Gausman | 14 | 2 |
| Max Muncy | 14 | |
| Edwin Diaz | 13 | |
| John Means | 13 | 1 |
| Gleyber Torres | 13 | |
| Freddy Peralta | 13 | 1 |
| Carlos Correa | 13 | |
| Max Fried | 13 | |
| Lance McCullers | 13 | |
| Dylan Bundy | 13 | |
| Matt Olson | 13 | -2 |
| Aroldis Chapman | 12 | |
| Carlos Santana | 12 | 5 |
| Teoscar Hernandez | 11 | |
| Javier Baez | 11 | 2 |
| Charlie Blackmon | 11 | -2 |
| Tyler Mahle | 11 | -1 |
| Byron Buxton | 10 | 5 |
| Randy Arozarena | 10 | 1 |
| Alex Verdugo | 10 | |
| Kenley Jansen | 10 | 1 |
| Trevor Rogers | 10 | -2 |
| Carlos Rodon | 10 | 1 |
| Salvador Perez | 10 | |
| Stephen Strasburg | 10 | 2 |
| Mitch Haniger | 10 | 1 |
| Eugenio Suarez | 10 | -2 |
| Jesus Luzardo | 10 | -1 |
| Mike Yastrzemski | 10 | |
| Luis Castillo | 9 | -16 |
| Jesse Winker | 9 | 2 |
| Mark Melancon | 9 | 2 |
| Josh Donaldson | 9 | |
| Marcell Ozuna | 9 | -14 |
| Jarred Kelenic | 9 | -2 |
| Raisel Iglesias | 9 | |
| Brandon Lowe | 9 | |
| Wil Myers | 9 | |
| Adalberto Mondesi | 9 | 5 |
| Jazz Chisholm | 8 | |
| Craig Kimbrel | 8 | |
| Yoan Moncada | 8 | |
| Lourdes Gurriel | 8 | |
| Hector Neris | 8 | |
| Trey Mancini | 8 | 3 |
| Matt Chapman | 8 | -1 |
| Willson Contreras | 8 | -2 |
| Michael Brantley | 8 | |
| Zach Eflin | 8 | |
| Ryan McMahon | 8 | 2 |
| Eduardo Rodriguez | 8 | |
| Rhys Hoskins | 8 | |
| Marcus Stroman | 8 | |
| Aaron Civale | 8 | |
| Robbie Ray | 8 | 4 |
| Michael Conforto | 8 | -3 |
| Zach Plesac | 7 | -1 |
| Dansby Swanson | 7 | -4 |
| Eric Hosmer | 7 | |
| Starling Marte | 7 | |
| Eddie Rosario | 7 | |
| Jared Walsh | 7 | |
| Gio Urshela | 7 | |
| Will Smith | 7 | |
| Will Smith | 7 | |
| Emmanuel Clase | 7 | |
| Chris Paddack | 7 | |
| Frankie Montas | 7 | |
| Austin Riley | 7 | 5 |
| Cavan Biggio | 7 | -4 |
| Adolis Garcia | 6 | 1 |
| Willie Calhoun | 6 | |
| Joey Gallo | 6 | -2 |
| Yasmani Grandal | 6 | |
| Mike Moustakas | 6 | -3 |
| Max Kepler | 6 | |
| Yermin Mercedes | 6 | -1 |
| Sixto Sanchez | 6 | |
| Jameson Taillon | 6 | |
| Yusei Kikuchi | 6 | |
| Dallas Keuchel | 6 | |
| Marco Gonzales | 6 | |
| Jeff McNeil | 5 | -5 |
| Marcus Semien | 5 | |
| Justin Turner | 5 | |
| Alex Reyes | 5 | |
| Mark Canha | 5 | 2 |
| Yuli Gurriel | 5 | 2 |
| Patrick Corbin | 5 | -1 |
| Ryan Pressly | 5 | |
| Dylan Carlson | 5 | -2 |
| Christian Vazquez | 5 | |
| Diego Castillo | 5 | |
| Griffin Canning | 5 | |
| Michael Pineda | 5 | |
| Adam Wainwright | 5 | |
| Joey Votto | 5 | |
| Matt Barnes | 5 | |
| Nico Hoerner | 5 | |
| Ramon Laureano | 4 | 1 |
| Omar Narvaez | 4 | 1 |
| Nick Solak | 4 | |
| Jake Cronenworth | 4 | |
| Jonathan Villar | 4 | 2 |
| Bryan Reynolds | 4 | 4 |
| Garrett Hampson | 4 | |
| Wander Franco | 4 | |
| Noah Syndergaard | 4 | 1 |
| Dominic Smith | 4 | -2 |
| Dinelson Lamet | 4 | |
| Anthony Santander | 4 | |
| Sean Manaea | 4 | |
| Carson Kelly | 4 | 2 |
| Lou Trivino | 3 | 3 |
| Isiah Kiner-Falefa | 3 | 1 |
| Avisail Garcia | 3 | |
| Ke'Bryan Hayes | 3 | |
| Tommy Edman | 3 | |
| Raimel Tapia | 3 | 3 |
| Kolten Wong | 3 | |
| Cedric Mullins | 3 | |
| James Karinchak | 3 | 2 |
| Tyler Naquin | 3 | |
| Alex Kirilloff | 3 | |
| Adbert Alzolay | 3 | 3 |
| Luis Severino | 3 | |
| Brady Singer | 3 | |
| Brendan Rodgers | 3 | |
| Andrew Benintendi | 3 | |
| Andrew Heaney | 3 | -1 |
| Alex Wood | 3 | |
| Jorge Polanco | 3 | |
| Carlos Carrasco | 3 | |
| Anthony DeSclafani | 3 | |
| Michael Kopech | 3 | |
| Jordan Montgomery | 3 | |
| Shane McClanahan | 3 | |
| Jose Urquidy | 3 | |
| Framber Valdez | 3 | -2 |
| Michael Fulmer | 2 | 2 |
| Brad Hand | 2 | |
| Andrew Vaughn | 2 | 2 |
| Ryan Mountcastle | 2 | |
| Nate Lowe | 2 | |
| Kendall Graveman | 2 | -1 |
| Jean Segura | 2 | 2 |
| Didi Gregorius | 2 | -1 |
| Kyle Schwarber | 2 | |
| Chris Sale | 2 | |
| Josh Staumont | 2 | 2 |
| Nick Senzel | 2 | |
| Yimi Garcia | 2 | |
| Ty France | 2 | |
| Cesar Hernandez | 2 | 2 |
| Mike Minor | 2 | 2 |
| Matthew Boyd | 2 | |
| Jake Diekman | 2 | 2 |
| Alec Bohm | 2 | |
| Josh Bell | 2 | |
| Joey Wendle | 2 | |
| Tommy Pham | 2 | |
| Jesus Aguilar | 2 | |
| Gavin Lux | 2 | |
| Clint Frazier | 2 | |
| Drew Smyly | 2 | |
| J.D. Davis | 2 | |
| Madison Bumgarner | 2 | |
| Manuel Margot | 2 | |
| Domingo German | 2 | |
| Rich Hill | 2 | |
| Tony Gonsolin | 2 | |
| Jed Lowrie | 2 | |
| Amed Rosario | 2 | |
| German Marquez | 2 | -1 |
| Jorge Soler | 2 | -4 |
Roto Trade Values
| Name | Change From Last Week | |
| Ronald Acuna | 43 | |
| Fernando Tatis | 42 | 3 |
| Juan Soto | 41 | |
| Gerrit Cole | 41 | |
| Mookie Betts | 40 | -2 |
| Trea Turner | 39 | |
| Jacob deGrom | 38 | |
| Jose Ramirez | 38 | |
| Shane Bieber | 37 | -2 |
| Trevor Story | 36 | |
| Bryce Harper | 35 | -2 |
| Freddie Freeman | 34 | |
| Trevor Bauer | 33 | |
| Max Scherzer | 33 | |
| Yu Darvish | 33 | |
| Xander Bogaerts | 32 | 2 |
| Manny Machado | 32 | |
| Vladimir Guerrero | 29 | 4 |
| Tyler Glasnow | 29 | |
| Anthony Rendon | 28 | |
| Aaron Nola | 28 | |
| Corbin Burnes | 28 | -1 |
| Tim Anderson | 27 | |
| Francisco Lindor | 27 | -3 |
| Clayton Kershaw | 27 | |
| Lucas Giolito | 27 | -1 |
| Jack Flaherty | 26 | |
| Byron Buxton | 26 | 7 |
| Rafael Devers | 26 | |
| Alex Bregman | 26 | |
| Brandon Woodruff | 26 | |
| Cody Bellinger | 25 | 1 |
| J.D. Martinez | 25 | 1 |
| Whit Merrifield | 25 | |
| Walker Buehler | 25 | |
| Kyle Tucker | 25 | 2 |
| Lance Lynn | 24 | 2 |
| Bo Bichette | 23 | |
| Christian Yelich | 23 | -4 |
| Ketel Marte | 23 | 4 |
| Ozzie Albies | 22 | |
| Aaron Judge | 22 | |
| Zack Wheeler | 22 | 2 |
| Kris Bryant | 22 | 3 |
| Mike Trout | 22 | -1 |
| Jose Altuve | 21 | |
| Nolan Arenado | 21 | |
| Kenta Maeda | 21 | |
| Giancarlo Stanton | 20 | 6 |
| Shohei Ohtani | 20 | |
| Adalberto Mondesi | 20 | 2 |
| Pete Alonso | 20 | |
| Joe Musgrove | 20 | |
| Shohei Ohtani | 20 | |
| Nick Castellanos | 19 | |
| Yordan Alvarez | 19 | 1 |
| Jose Abreu | 19 | -2 |
| Nelson Cruz | 18 | |
| Corey Seager | 18 | |
| DJ LeMahieu | 17 | -3 |
| Hyun-Jin Ryu | 17 | |
| Julio Urias | 17 | |
| Sandy Alcantara | 17 | |
| Josh Hader | 16 | |
| Edwin Diaz | 16 | |
| Liam Hendriks | 16 | |
| Paul Goldschmidt | 16 | |
| Teoscar Hernandez | 16 | |
| Trent Grisham | 16 | -2 |
| Jose Berrios | 15 | -1 |
| Javier Baez | 15 | 2 |
| Luke Voit | 15 | |
| Zack Greinke | 15 | |
| J.T. Realmuto | 15 | -4 |
| Pablo Lopez | 15 | |
| Austin Meadows | 15 | |
| Kyle Hendricks | 15 | |
| Charlie Morton | 15 | 1 |
| Matt Olson | 14 | -3 |
| George Springer | 14 | |
| Aroldis Chapman | 14 | |
| Ramon Laureano | 14 | 1 |
| Ian Anderson | 14 | |
| Gleyber Torres | 13 | |
| Randy Arozarena | 13 | 1 |
| Starling Marte | 13 | |
| Alex Verdugo | 13 | |
| Sonny Gray | 13 | |
| Blake Snell | 13 | -3 |
| Max Muncy | 13 | |
| John Means | 13 | 1 |
| Kevin Gausman | 13 | 5 |
| Kenley Jansen | 13 | 1 |
| Carlos Rodon | 13 | 1 |
| Trevor Rogers | 12 | -2 |
| Anthony Rizzo | 12 | |
| Carlos Correa | 12 | |
| Salvador Perez | 12 | |
| Max Fried | 12 | |
| Yoan Moncada | 12 | |
| Lourdes Gurriel | 12 | |
| Craig Kimbrel | 12 | |
| Freddy Peralta | 12 | 1 |
| Jarred Kelenic | 12 | -2 |
| Eddie Rosario | 11 | |
| Raisel Iglesias | 11 | |
| Charlie Blackmon | 11 | -2 |
| Lance McCullers | 11 | |
| Dylan Bundy | 11 | |
| Mitch Haniger | 11 | 1 |
| Matt Chapman | 11 | -1 |
| Brandon Lowe | 11 | |
| Jazz Chisholm | 11 | |
| Jesse Winker | 10 | 2 |
| Wil Myers | 10 | |
| Brad Hand | 10 | |
| Willson Contreras | 10 | -2 |
| Joey Gallo | 10 | -2 |
| Jared Walsh | 10 | |
| Mark Melancon | 10 | 2 |
| Trey Mancini | 10 | 3 |
| Marcus Semien | 9 | |
| Michael Brantley | 9 | |
| Josh Donaldson | 9 | |
| Mike Moustakas | 9 | -3 |
| Gio Urshela | 9 | |
| Eugenio Suarez | 9 | -2 |
| Tyler Mahle | 9 | -1 |
| Zach Eflin | 9 | |
| Ryan McMahon | 9 | 2 |
| Luis Castillo | 8 | -14 |
| Marcell Ozuna | 8 | -14 |
| Justin Turner | 8 | |
| Robbie Ray | 8 | 3 |
| Ryan Pressly | 8 | |
| Eric Hosmer | 8 | |
| Stephen Strasburg | 8 | 2 |
| Rhys Hoskins | 8 | |
| Will Smith | 8 | |
| Alex Reyes | 8 | |
| Will Smith | 8 | |
| Zach Plesac | 8 | |
| Eduardo Rodriguez | 8 | |
| Dylan Carlson | 8 | -2 |
| Jesus Luzardo | 8 | -1 |
| Jeff McNeil | 8 | -3 |
| Michael Conforto | 8 | -3 |
| Marcus Stroman | 8 | |
| Aaron Civale | 8 | |
| Garrett Hampson | 8 | |
| Adolis Garcia | 8 | 1 |
| Carlos Santana | 8 | 5 |
| Ke'Bryan Hayes | 7 | |
| Hector Neris | 7 | |
| Victor Robles | 7 | -1 |
| Dansby Swanson | 7 | -3 |
| Emmanuel Clase | 7 | |
| Yuli Gurriel | 6 | 2 |
| Alec Bohm | 6 | |
| Austin Riley | 6 | 3 |
| Tommy Edman | 6 | |
| Nick Solak | 6 | |
| Mark Canha | 6 | 2 |
| Max Kepler | 6 | |
| Kolten Wong | 6 | |
| Christian Vazquez | 6 | |
| Jake Cronenworth | 6 | |
| Isiah Kiner-Falefa | 6 | 1 |
| Willie Calhoun | 6 | |
| Didi Gregorius | 6 | -1 |
| Diego Castillo | 6 | |
| Mike Yastrzemski | 6 | |
| Nate Lowe | 6 | |
| Yermin Mercedes | 6 | -1 |
| Cavan Biggio | 6 | -4 |
| Wander Franco | 6 | |
| Omar Narvaez | 5 | 1 |
| Raimel Tapia | 5 | 3 |
| Anthony Santander | 5 | |
| Ian Happ | 5 | 3 |
| Chris Paddack | 5 | |
| Alex Kirilloff | 5 | |
| Andrew Benintendi | 5 | |
| Sean Manaea | 5 | |
| Matt Barnes | 5 | |
| Carson Kelly | 5 | 2 |
| Yusei Kikuchi | 5 | |
| Yasmani Grandal | 5 | |
| Cedric Mullins | 5 | |
| Jameson Taillon | 5 | |
| Dominic Smith | 5 | -2 |
| Noah Syndergaard | 5 | 1 |
| Jonathan Villar | 5 | 2 |
| Alek Manoah | 5 | |
| Nick Senzel | 4 | |
| Andrew Heaney | 4 | -1 |
| Patrick Corbin | 4 | -1 |
| Dylan Cease | 4 | -1 |
| Kendall Graveman | 4 | -1 |
| Nick Madrigal | 4 | |
| Jean Segura | 4 | 2 |
| Bryan Reynolds | 4 | 4 |
| Tommy Pham | 4 | |
| James Karinchak | 4 | 2 |
| Kyle Schwarber | 4 | |
| Frankie Montas | 4 | |
| C.J. Cron | 4 | |
| Buster Posey | 4 | |
| Griffin Canning | 4 | |
| Sixto Sanchez | 4 | |
| Michael Pineda | 4 | |
| Adam Wainwright | 4 | |
| Kyle Lewis | 4 | |
| Jesus Aguilar | 4 | |
| Gavin Lux | 4 | |
| Dallas Keuchel | 4 | |
| Clint Frazier | 4 | |
| Alex Wood | 4 | |
| Andrew Vaughn | 4 | 2 |
| Luis Robert | 4 | -1 |
| Tyler Naquin | 4 | |
| Luis Severino | 4 | |
| Framber Valdez | 4 | -2 |
| Josh Rojas | 4 | -2 |
| Joey Votto | 3 | |
| Jorge Polanco | 3 | |
| Carlos Carrasco | 3 | |
| Lou Trivino | 3 | 3 |
| Taylor Rogers | 3 | |
| Chris Sale | 3 | |
| Gary Sanchez | 3 | |
| Brady Singer | 3 | |
| Yimi Garcia | 3 | |
| Chris Taylor | 3 | |
| Jorge Soler | 3 | -4 |
| Ty France | 3 | |
| Drew Smyly | 3 | |
| Myles Straw | 3 | |
| Michael Kopech | 3 | |
| Brendan Rodgers | 3 | |
| Marco Gonzales | 3 | |
| Randal Grichuk | 3 | |
| J.D. Davis | 3 | |
| Ian Kennedy | 3 | |
| Cesar Valdez | 3 | -3 |
| Avisail Garcia | 3 | |
| Jose Urquidy | 3 | |
| Zac Gallen | 3 | -2 |
| Franmil Reyes | 3 | -5 |
| Anthony DeSclafani | 3 | |
| Jo Adell | 3 | |
| Adbert Alzolay | 3 | 3 |
| Ryan Mountcastle | 2 | |
| Dinelson Lamet | 2 | |
| Josh Bell | 2 | |
| Cesar Hernandez | 2 | 2 |
| Mike Minor | 2 | 2 |
| Chris Bassitt | 2 | 1 |
| Josh Staumont | 2 | 2 |
| Michael Fulmer | 2 | 2 |
| Nathan Eovaldi | 2 | |
| Matthew Boyd | 2 | |
| German Marquez | 2 | -1 |
| Eduardo Escobar | 2 | |
| Jordan Montgomery | 2 | |
| A.J. Pollock | 2 | |
| Amed Rosario | 2 |
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