Since you can pick up guys as good or better than Hasselman, Acevedo & Carpenter in a monthly FA draft,

the trade is really
Higginson + #1Rookie +1 FA

For Leiter and Piazza plus 2 extra picks in the next montly FA draft (I think there is one round left right?).

At least that is how I see it and I suspect that is why you posted this, as an example of a bad trade - correct??

Now if the rookie and FA you get turn out to be clones of Albert Pujols and Doug Mientkiewicz it could be a good trade (#1Rookie and #1Fa in one league this past year) but if you get Chris Reitsma and Willis Roberts (the 2nd picks in the first round of the same rookie & FA drafts)- it wouldn't look as good.

I think some guys offer trades like this in the hopes you'll think you can get a Pujols, when reality is you are much less likely to pick up a true star.

Personally, I think the RT monthly FA drafts are a better place to pick up players than either the rookie or FA drafts. In the same league I used for the example above, the #1 montly FA picks for months 3,4,5 were Oswalt, Dunn, and Duckworth. Not bad in my book.

Pretty long winded reply - I think you hit a sore subject form me.

DaveF