It seems like you never get full value for an older player. Sheffield may be in the league longer than anyone else in this trade, but the guy trading for him is concerned he'll retire soon. Who knows?

It seems to me like both offers are about equal and it just depends on whether you have roster space for all the guys or will be cutting some of them after the rookie draft to get to 27. What good are 2 rookie picks and 3 players if you already have 26 guys you really like and want to keep? The 2 guys and FA upgrade would work better in that case.

Loading up a trade with marginal players and rookie picks doesn't necessarily improve the trade for me, but then I may be undervaluing the potential value in re-trading those rookie picks for more players or FA picks. Would you trade a #1FA for a low round #1 rookie? Tough choice perhaps.